'Extremist views': Danish Kaneria rekindles 'conversion to Islam' allegations against Shahid Afridi

Danish Kaneria, Shahid Afridi (Pic: AFP)

Former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria on Monday strongly criticised Shahid Afridi, accusing him of harboring 'extremist views' in the aftermath of latter's controversial remarks regarding the tragic terrorist attack in South Kashmir's Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives and left several others injured.

A video circulating widely on social media shows Afridi making baseless allegations and questioning India's response to the deadly attack. Reacting sharply, Kaneria alleged that Afridi had, in the past, attempted to pressure him into converting to Islam and had refused to share a meal with him, a gesture Kaneria described as deeply disrespectful.

"He has consistently aligned himself with extremist views. In my opinion, he should not be given a platform on Indian television or within the country. Additionally, he tried to persuade me to convert to Islam and declined to share a meal with me, which I found deeply disrespectful," Kaneria stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Afridi, in an interview with Pakistani media outlet Samaa TV, had questioned the Indian army's competence while dismissing allegations of Pakistan's involvement in the attack. He provocatively remarked, "Patakha phat jaata hai wahaa par, Pakistan ne kiya. Tum logo ki 8 lakh ki fauj hai Kashmir mein aur ye ho gaya. Iska matlab nalayak ho, nikamme ho na tum log ki security nahi de sake logo ko (Even if a cracker bursts in India, they blame it on Pakistan. You have an 8 lakh-strong army in Kashmir, yet this happened. This means you are useless for not being able to provide security to people)."

In response to the rising tensions and the spread of misinformation, the Indian government has initiated strong measures. A significant number of Pakistani YouTube channels have been banned for disseminating provocative and communally charged narratives, spreading falsehoods, and misleading information against India, its military, and security forces.

Among the banned platforms are prominent names such as former cricketer Shoaib Akhtar's '100mph' channel and Basit Ali's 'BasitAliShow', both of which were found to be involved in promoting inflammatory and divisive content.