Former cricket star Shahid Afridi took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to slam an Israeli propaganda group for spreading misinformation that he was a Zionist. The group had uploaded a selfie where Afridi was seen posing with two Zionist protesters, and one of whom was holding a pamphlet calling for all the kidnapped Israeli hostages to be returned by the Hamas.
On his account, Shahid released a statement, criticising the groups efforts as misinformation:
“Imagine strolling down a street in Manchester (UK) and so-called fans approach you for a selfie. You oblige, and moments later, they upload it as some form of Zionist endorsement. Unbelievable! Please don’t believe everything that is uploaded. Seeing innocent lives in Palestine suffer is truly heartbreaking. Thus, any photo or association shared by in Manchester does not reflect my support for any situation where human lives are at stake. I take pictures with fans from all over the globe, and this situation was no different. I pray for peace, I pray for an end to this war, I pray for freedom. #HumanityFirst #PeaceMiddleEast.”
Imagine strolling down a street in Manchester (UK) and so-called fans approach you for a selfie. You oblige, and moments later, they upload it as some form of Zionist endorsement. Unbelievable! Please don’t believe everything that is uploaded.
Seeing innocent lives in Palestine…
— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) June 19, 2024
The group responded to Afridi’s tweet saying that the former cricket captain had stopped by to take the picture himself, and had said to the protesters he was a supporter of Israel. To which, Afridi slammed the efforts as false, and told them to take down the post.
Nice try NWFOI. This was just a selfie with what I thought was a fan. I do not endorse your Tweet. As a Muslim I pray for peace across the world. Please delete this post as it’s not accurate!
— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) June 19, 2024
Twitter users criticised Lala for refusing to take a stronger stance against the propaganda group by calling for a ceasefire and an end to the genocide of Gaza. Kanwal Ahmed, the founder of Soul Sisters Pakistan wrote:
“As a Muslim and well, human being why cant you openly say FREE PALESTINE and end the genocide in Gaza now! Why are you playing around with your words?”
As a Muslim and well, human being why cant you openly say FREE PALESTINE and end the genocide in Gaza now!
Why are you playing around with your words? https://t.co/yqIXx3CcHV
— Kanwal Ahmed (@kanwalful) June 19, 2024
If he had enough courage, he would have said that I condemn the oppression of Palestine and I consider Israel to be responsible for terrorism and genocide in Palestine and I think it is wrong to take pictures with Israelis.
But Beghairat is asking him to delete the tweet🥲 https://t.co/wYNwZU3AXY— Hakuna Matata (@RealisticHub) June 19, 2024
