Shahid Afridi says India making Pakistan scapegoat after failing to stop Pahalgam terror attack

Former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi has said India were wrongly blaming his country after failing to prevent the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu & Kashmir that resulted in 26 deaths.

Talking to mediapersons in Pakistan on Sunday, Afridi claimed that his country does not support terrorism. "The terrorists spread terror for an hour, and none of the 8 lakh soldiers showed up. And when they showed up, within ten minutes, Pakistan was blamed," Afridi said.

"They (India) themselves do blunders, themselves say people are dead and then show videos saying those people are alive. Don't do such things. No country or religion supports terrorism. Pakistan and our religion, Islam, gives the message of peace."

Sports diplomacy
Afridi accused India of having double standards when it comes to sports diplomacy. "Your Kabaddi team comes here, but not the cricket team. If you want to stop, stop everything or else let everything be open."

The 48-year-old claimed that Pakistan have always tried to have good relations with India. "We used to get threats before (cricket) tours and were often not sure if we would go. In the 2016 World Cup (T20), I was captaining the side and we weren't sure if we would be going (to India)," he said.

The government of India has taken several significant decisions against Pakistan in the wake of the terror attack that was reportedly carried out by Pakistan-based The Resistance Front, a shadow group of the terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken charge of investigation, ramping up efforts to gather evidence to uncover the perpetrators.