Irresponsible Comments Highlighting Ethnic Tensions in Pakistani Cricket
Former Pakistani cricketer Ijaz Ahmad’s criticism of the recent poor performance by the Pakistan cricket team in the T-20 World Cup turned into a racist tirade against Pakhtoon players.
Talking on the ARY NEWS program Off The Record on Monday night, Ijaz said, “Almost 80 percent of Pakistan’s cricket team constitutes of players from remote areas or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Even if the team is made from Sindh, seven to eight players are Pathan. They have neither the education nor the exposure which is why these players cannot handle the pressure.”
Given the already fragile religious and ethnic fault lines that exist in our nation, the statement from Ijaz Ahmad –who was once a sportsman– revealed a highly irresponsible and discriminatory attitude.
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