In an unprecedented move, the Pakistani Taliban commander in a video statement has warned the Pakistani press to stop paying tribute to cricketer Sachin Tendulkar who was recently awarded the Bharat Ratna by the Government of India. The video clip circulated widely on social media site Facebook as well.
Flanked by two masked gunmen carrying AK-47s, he warned Pakistani media on Sunday against giving coverage to Tendulkar saying that since he was Indian, Pakistani local media must not praise him.
"We have been monitoring Pakistani media, including news channels and newspapers, for the past three weeks and got to know how was Pakistani media praising Indian cricketer during his farewell bid to international cricket. It was unfortunate to see Pakistani media went to great extent to pay tribute to Indian cricketer by running video clips on TV channels and writing huge articles in his praise. On the other hand, it was sad to know same Pakistani media badly criticised Pakistani cricket team as well as its captain Misbah-ul-Haq. We condemn this move of Pakistani media and expect it will not repeat the same in future," said the commander.
"Shame for Pakistani media that spoke highly of Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. No doubt, he has been a great cricketer, but, he's Indian after all, so stop promoting him," Pakistani Taliban warned media houses in Pakistan.
The Pakistani Taliban defended under-fire Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq. "No doubt, he is not playing well. However, it was not fair to speak against him or the Pakistani team,"Taliban commander said in the same video message.
It is pertinent to mention that Pakistani newspapers paid rich tributes to Tendulkar following his announcement to retire. It was the first time in the history of Pakistan that the Pakistani press showered praise on any Indian individual since Partition in 1947.
Dawn, the most influential English daily in Pakistan, wrote Tendulkar's retirement marks the end of a truly memorable career that spanned nearly a quarter of a century. "Rated by critics and contemporaries as arguably the greatest postwar batsman to have played the game, Tendulkar continued to rewrite the record books with his brilliant batting skills since making his debut against Pakistan in Karachi way back in 1989," an article in the newspaper said.
Two more English dailies including The Express Tribune and Daily Times said Tendulkar is the most complete batsman of his age, possessing every shot in the book and having the ability to both, tear apart bowling attacks and to control his natural aggression to suit the needs of his team.
"A 100 centuries in one day international cricket (and Tests) and more than 15,000 runs in Test cricket is the milestone that Little Master achieved easily. It is hard to imagine cricket without him,"an article in a local Urdu daily said.
The praise for Tendulkar in the Pakistani press came as a big surprise for the Taliban and prompted them to issue the warning.
Aamir Ghauri, a senior Pakistani journalist and an influential talk show host, said the Taliban warning to Pakistani press was dark but a funny side of the militia.
"I think the clip shows the dark but funny side of Pakistani Taliban who spend their days wandering in the wilderness hopping to kill innocent Pakistanis every now and then have the cheek to let the world know how well clued they are and how much they believed in Pakistani nationalism. It is also a manifestation of who they consider as enemy and thereby come very close to the thinking that dominates national politics during military dictatorship in the country," Ghauri said about the video clip.
Don't praise Tendulkar, he is Indian: Pak Taliban warns Islamabad media : Neighbours, News - India Today
