New Delhi: Ever since the Pakistan Cricket Team arrived in India earlier last month to take part in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, it has been subjected to multiple controversies with news anchors and right-wing social media users repeatedly scrutinizing their activities and the local support they have been receiving.
Pakistan arrived in Hyderabad and played their practice games there before beginning their World Cup campaign at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium there.
But apart from the Pakistan players, the fans supporting them have also been subjected to scrutiny on social media by the right-wing users and have been slammed for supporting their arch rivals both on-field and geopolitically.
Fans especially from Hyderabad, have been slammed by these users, giving their support a communal angle and it has been used to spread hate and anger among the people of the country against them. During Pakistan’s match against Sri Lanka in Hyderabad, when the DJ played “Jeetega bhai jeetega” fans erupted with roars of “Pakistan Jeetega” which did not go down well with right-wingers who labelled the support as supporting of terrorists and terror promoters.
Several prominent figures also commented on the issue and went as far as to call for sending these fans to Pakistan and boycotting them. One of the extremist social media users who goes by the name of Bala, who is also followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is seen repeatedly spreading hate messages and misleading information, also tweeted on Thursday and wrote “Look at the desperation of Hyderabadi Muslims seeking validation from Pakistani players. He says “Rizwan sir, Rizwan sir, we love Pakistan” The greatest irreversible damage that Gandhi and Nehru did to Bharat was the non-transfer of 100% of the population during Partition.”
Meanwhile the BCCI headed by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah accorded a grand welcome to the Pakistan team when it arrived in Ahmedabad, Gujarat where it is scheduled to play India on Sunday. They were welcomed by dancers dancing on the tunes on Bollywood numbers.
The move received severe backlash and users slammed the right-wingers for the hypocrisy.
Earlier, when Pakistan had arrived at Hyderabad, the locals had gathered at the airport to welcome the team which was also criticized by right-wing news anchors and users for welcoming Pakistan.
The BCCI has also scheduled grand set of programs ahead of the India vs Pakistan match that has also sparked controversy. The BCCI did not accord an opening ceremony to the ICC ODI World Cup and has asserted that several Bollywood stars, will perform and attend the program before India vs Pakistan match. Critics have slammed the BCCI and Jay Shah for glorifying India vs Pakistan match while right-wingers backed by his father and the BJP are playing hypocrisy on social media to slam enthusiastic fans of the sport.
Look at the desperation of Hyderabadi Muslims seeking validation from Pakistani players.
— BALA (@erbmjha) October 12, 2023
He says “Rizwan sir, Rizwan sir, we love Pakistan”
The greatest irreversible damage that Gandhi and Nehru did to Bharat was the non-transfer of 100% of the population during Partition. pic.twitter.com/8g4DvT3sFg
Look at the desperation of BJP in Gujarat seeking validation of pakistani players
— Ayush Jain (@aestheticayush6) October 12, 2023
They are dancing "Jogira ta ra ra ra"
The greatest irreversible damage that Gandhi and Nehru did to Bharat was not crushing RSS-ISI collaboration since 1947.https://t.co/6Yz3UpzDqM
Look at the desperation of BJP in Gujarat seeking validation of pakistani players
— Ayush Jain (@aestheticayush6) October 12, 2023
They are dancing "Jogira ta ra ra ra"
The greatest irreversible damage that Gandhi and Nehru did to Bharat was not crushing RSS-ISI collaboration since 1947.https://t.co/6Yz3UpzDqM
Flowers are being showered on Pakistani players in Gujarati Hotel.
— زماں (@Delhiite_) October 12, 2023
- Whereas if the same had happened in Hyderabad then Godi media would be raising questions on the People there.
- By now they would have declared the city a Traitor. pic.twitter.com/QGHuoEdKN7
Grand welcome given to Pakistani cricketers in India, did you hear it wrong ? No it’s in Modi Ji’s Ahmedabad!
— Vijay Thottathil (@vijaythottathil) October 12, 2023
Will Sanghi’s call them also Paki’s like they called crowd in Hyderabad who supported Pak team ?? pic.twitter.com/dqSYuHcp3h
When the crowd in Hyderabad responded to the DJ's sloganeering with "Pakistan jeetega", IT Celliyas labelled the whole crowd 'anti-national.'
— PuNsTeR™ (@Pun_Starr) October 12, 2023
Now Pakistan team is in Ahmedabad and BCCI has organized a grand welcome for them with girls dancing and showering them with flowers.
Is… pic.twitter.com/rZ21k2gb0w
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Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.