SAMAJ WEEKLY UK
Bal Ram Sampla
Geopolitics
For years, Indian media networks and cricket leagues have poured millions of rupees into the pockets of former Pakistani bowler Shoaib Akhtar. He was marketed as the friendly face of “cricket diplomacy”, a bridge between two hostile nations. But that illusion shattered the moment high-ranking leaders of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) walked into his brother’s funeral in Islamabad. Among them was Saifullah Kasuri, a terrorist linked to the butchering of Indian tourists in Pahalgam.
Legally, the International Cricket Council (ICC) will do nothing. Akhtar is retired, the funeral was a private event, and the ICC only cares about active players and match rulebooks. It is easy to hide behind administrative technicalities, but the moral reality is disgusting and impossible to ignore.
The central issue is a massive, hypocritical double standard. Akhtar has spent over a decade extracting immense wealth from Indian fans, broadcasters, and corporate sponsors. Yet, back home in Islamabad, his social environment seamlessly accommodates UN-designated terrorists who plot the murder of the very citizens funding his lifestyle. Even if Akhtar did not personally send out invitations, the open, normalized presence of these militants proves that the lines between Pakistan’s celebrity elite and its terror infrastructure remain dangerously blurred.
India is entirely justified in its explosive fury. You cannot court Indian corporate wealth on weekdays and rub shoulders with the masterminds of Indian grief on weekends. In the wake of relentless cross-border bloodshed, India’s patience with “separating sports from politics” has completely run out.
The corporate coddling of Pakistani pundits on Indian TV is officially dead. If Indian media houses continue to cut checks for Akhtar, they are actively subsidizing an ecosystem that tolerates terrorism. The choice for Indian networks and leagues is simple, brutal, and non-negotiable: protect your national dignity and freeze out Akhtar’s revenue streams permanently, or admit that corporate profits matter more than national security.
References
1.https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/lashkar-e-taiba-leaders-attend-funeral-of-shoaib-akhtars-brother-in-islamabad-report/articleshow/132032017.cms?hl=en-
2.https://youtu.be/4nMh-drcCBM?si=h_3Ifv3Sld0sirGF
3.https://www.ptcnews.tv/world-news/shoaib-akhtar-brother-funeral-let-saifullah-kasuri-islamabad-4426196?hl=en
