‘Use Your Brain for Your Own Country’s Progress’: Dhawan Responds to Afridi After Pahalgam Terror Attack

After the horrific terror attack in South Kashmir's Pahalgam that claimed 28 civilians' lives, former Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan rebutted his bitter Twitter arch-nemesis ex-Pakistan cricket captain Shahid Afridi by coming up with a bitter and patriotic tweet.

Afridi, on Pakistan's Samaa TV, created a controversy by criticizing the Indian Army's performance after the attack. He said, "Tum logon ki 8 lakh hi fauj hai Kashmir mein aur yeh ho gaya. Iska matlab nalayak ho, nikamme ho na tum log security de nahi sake logon ko," suggesting that with such a huge military presence, India had not been able to provide security to its people—calling the forces "inefficient and useless."

He also ridiculed Indian media accounts of the tragedy as from a Bollywood movie and dismissed the accusations of finger-pointing by Indian cricketers against Pakistan.

Dhawan responded and didn't let his emotions get the better of him. Boarding onto the social media site X (formerly Twitter), he came out with a determined response: "Kargil mein bhi haraya tha, already itna gire hue ho aur kitna giroge, bewajah comments pass karne se acha hai apne desh ki taraqqi mai dimag lagao @SAfridiOfficial. Humein hamari Indian Army par bohot garv hai. Bharat Mata Ki Jai! Jai Hind!"

The English translation of his statements is: "We also won in Kargil. You have already sunk so low, how lower will you sink? Rather than posting frivolous remarks, it would be well if you paid attention to your country's progress. We are highly proud of our Indian Army. Bharat Mata Ki Jai! Jai Hind!"

The Pahalgam attack has been reported as the most lethal in the region since the 2019 Pulwama bombing. The attack has created an international uproar with Indian authorities claiming that Pakistan-based terror groups had coordinated the attack.