“Joker”: Asaduddin Owaisi lambasts Pak cricketer Shahid Afridi over his remarks on Pahalgam attack

HYDERABAD: AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday hit back at Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi over his remarks on the Pahalgam attack, terming the latter as a “Joker”.

Afridi has blamed India for making “blunders” in Pahalgam, alleging that “India carries out terrorism itself and then blames Pakistan.”

Reacting to this, Owaisi said, “Who is he? Do not mention the names of such jokers in front of me. Forget about these people.”

Further, the Hyderabad MP demanded that Pakistan be placed back on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list following the Pahalgam attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people.

Speaking to the media at an event, Owaisi made the demand after claiming that Pakistan is financing terrorism with illegal money.

“It is my demand that Pakistan must be placed back on the FATF grey list. They are financing terrorism with illegal money, so it is necessary to put Pakistan back on the FATF grey list. Under international law, we can impose a naval and air force blockade. Under Article 51 of the United Nations, the right to self-defence is granted. In the Indian Constitution, Article 355 states that if there is external aggression against any state, it is the government’s responsibility to counter it,” the AIMIM Chief said.

Pakistan was on the FATF grey list from June 2018 to October 2022. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is the international organisation responsible for tackling money laundering and terrorist financing. It maintains black and grey lists of countries that fail to implement sufficient safeguards.

The attack in Pahalgam on April 22 is one of the deadliest attacks in the Valley since the 2019 Pulwama strike, in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed. Following the Pahalgam terror attack, India has taken strong measures against Pakistan for its support of cross-border terrorism, including the abeyance of the Indus Water Treaty.(agencies)