Former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi criticized the Indian Army for the terror attack in Pahalgam, which killed 26 people, calling them "useless."
The attack occurred on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, killing over 25 Hindu tourists. The attack came just days after a video of Pakistan's COAS, Asim Munir, screaming about Hindus went viral on the internet.
The Resistance Front (TRF), an affiliate of Pakistan's Lashkar-e-Taiba, is accused of carrying out Tuesday's attack, which was among the bloodiest in recent memory. Baisaran, where the incident occurred on Tuesday, is located in Pahalgam, a renowned tourist destination in South Kashmir's Anantnag district.
The incident started at 3 p.m., when terrorists descended from the mountain in Baisaran valley and began firing on visitors to the area, known as 'mini-Switzerland' because of its long, lush green meadows.
According to accounts, two foreign visitors and an Indian navy commander were also murdered. Victims claimed that terrorists inquired about religion before shooting Hindu visitors, even inspecting their private areas for proof.
Meanwhile, Shahid Afridi, who has spoken against India onthe Kashmir issue several times, called the Indian Army worthless and useless because, as per him, despitethe presence of 8 lac personnel, the attack happened. He also stated that even if fireworks are used, India blames Pakistan.
"Patakha phat jaata hai wahaan par, Pakistan ne kiya (Even if a firecracker bursts there, they will blame it on Pakistan).
Tum logon ki 8 lakh ki fauz hai Kashmir mein aur yeh ho gaya. Iska matlab nalayak ho, nikamme ho na tum log ki security de nahi sake logon ko (You have an 800,000-strong army in Kashmir and this still happened. It means you are inefficient and useless if you couldn't provide security to the people),” Afridi stated on Samaa TV.
Afridi also slammed the Indian media for their "senseless" coverage of the terror attack.
"Hairat hoti hai ki hamle ke ek ghante ke baad hi unka media Bollywood ban gaya. Khuda ke liye har kuch ko Bollywood mat banao (It's surprising that within an hour of the attack, their media turned into Bollywood. For God's sake, don't make everything Bollywood).
Main hairaan ho gaya, balki main enjoy kar raha tha jis tarah ki woh baatein kar rahe they (I was astonished, in fact, I was enjoying the way they were talking). Main keh raha tha dekho inki soch, yeh apne aap ko padhe likhe log kehte hain (I was saying, look at their thinking, and they call themselves educated people),” he stated.
Without naming any former Indian players, Afridi criticized them for accusing Pakistan without any evidence.
"Do cricketers jo India se itni cricket khele hue hain. Ambassadors reh chuke hain, top cricketers reh chuke hain unki taraf se direct Pakistan (There are two cricketers who have played so much cricket for India. They have been ambassadors and top cricketers, yet they directly blame Pakistan). "Bhai kyun Pakistan? Koi saboot hi dikha do yaar (Brother, why Pakistan? Just show some proof),” he said.
Afridi also named Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is currently in a Pakistani jail, and Abhinandan Varthaman, who was arrested and returned by the Pakistani army. The former all-rounder also held India responsible for the instability in Balochistan.
"We have given you the proofs. Ek abhi bhi humare paas hai, ek ko humne chai pila ke wapis bhi kar diya (One is still with us, and the other we sent back after offering him a cup of tea). Show us the proof, don't blame us unnecessarily.
What is happening in our country? What is happening in Balochistan? We all know who is behind it. We never made any allegations. We gave the proof to India and the world," he said.
