Shahid Afridi clarifies after selfie with pro-Israel group members goes viral
Former cricketer Shahid Afridi clarified that taking a selfie with members of a Zionist group was a misunderstanding from normal fan interaction, and rejected claims that he supported pro-Israel groups.
Former cricketer Shahid Afridi on Wednesday rejected claims of supporting pro-Israel groups and clarified that the selfie with members of the Zionist group was taken because he thought it was a normal fan interaction. He also expressed his concern for the situation in Palestine in a social media post.
Afridi’s comments came after a UK-based Jewish group ‘North West Friends of Israel’ shared a photo of the former cricketer with two of its members with the caption, “Pakistani international cricketer Shahid Afridi stopped by our NWFOI event in Manchester last Sunday to lend his support to our call to release the hostages. Shahid is pictured with NWFOI Co-Chairman Rafi Bloom and Vice-Chairman Bernie Yaffe. Thank you for your support, Shahid!”
This sparked a heated debate and the former cricketer had to issue a clarification, rejecting the claims made in the social media post and expressing concern over the situation in Palestine.
Afridi wrote, “Imagine you are walking on the street of Manchester (UK) and so called fans come up to you for a selfie. You agree with them and after a while they upload it as a Zionist support. Unbelievable! Please don’t believe everything uploaded”
He added, “It is truly heartbreaking to see innocent lives being lost in Palestine. Therefore, any photo or connection I shared in Manchester does not reflect my support for any situation where human lives are at stake.”
The former Pakistan cricketer said he takes pictures with fans all over the world and “this situation was no different.”
He said, “I pray for peace, I pray for an end to this war, I pray for freedom.”
The Israeli offensive against Hamas in Palestine began on October 17, when the Palestinian group attacked Israel. More than 37,000 people have lost their lives in Palestine in this attack. About 1,200 people have been killed in Israel in Hamas attacks.
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