Shahid Afridi gives clarification after launching political criticism against Imran Khan
Shahid Afridi clarified his position after launching political criticism against Imran Khan and said the cricketer-turn-politician is still his ideal.
Former star cricketer Shahid Afridi has clarified his position after launching political criticism against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, saying that the cricketer-turn-politician is still his ideal.
Shahid Afridi also known as ‘Boom Boom’, who is reportedly working as the director of sports at a private news channel Samaa TV, criticised former prime minister Imran Khan by saying that the cricketer-turn-politician had done many mistakes while being premier which he should realise and admit to facing the accountability.
While talking to Samaa TV, Afridi expressed sorrow as an individual along with his family over the failures of Imran Khan. He suggested the PTI chairman choose a good team to implement his ‘good vision’ for Pakistan.
— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) May 6, 2022
The former all-rounder praised the administrative skills of PM Shehbaz Sharif once again and said that he has always been a fan of the PML-N president.
After facing social media backlash, the star cricketer responded to the criticism against him.
He said in a video message on his YouTube channel that Imran Khan is still his ideal as a cricketer and as a national, all individuals are bound to respect the present ruler as he is representing Pakistan across the globe.
Afridi said that he chose to join professional cricket after being inspired by Imran Khan, otherwise, he would not be able to gain such fame as a cricketer. He added that he has always appreciated Khan’s good initiatives like Shaukat Khanum, especially Sehat Insaf Card but he also reserved the right to criticise his bad policies.
He asked critics not to convert the difference of opinion into hatred and freedom of speech is a sign of a civilised society. The people should exhibit tolerance for the difference of opinion of every individual.
Shahid Afridi clarified that he has not criticised Imran Khan’s policies with a political intention but as a common Pakistani. He said that he has just expressed his thoughts and he will continue to express his opinions in future.
He further clarified that he has never launched any personal attack against Imran Khan. The former cricketer also paid tribute to the overseas Pakistanis for caring about the country despite residing abroad.
This is not the first time to see Afridi criticised Imran Khan over his policies as it drew the ire of PTI supporters after calling the former prime minister ‘over-committed’ and ‘over-promised’ besides suggesting the empower institutions for giving NRO instead of the individuals.
Analysts expressed surprise over Afridi’s politically motivated statements and expressed their views that it seems those who wanted to launch Shahid Afridi in the political field have chosen the wrong time. They said that Imran Khan is enjoying a massive public following these days and such attempts to counteract the public opinion would prove to be a failure in near future as well.
