FACT CHECK: Did Kerala community in Dubai ‘invite’ Shahid Afridi to cultural event?

Even as tensions continue to simmer between India and Pakistan over the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and the retaliatory strikes under Operation Sindoor, an Indian community in Dubai has attracted much criticism after a video emerged showing them welcoming former Pakistani cricketers Shahid Afridi at an event.

In the viral video, Afridi and Gul are seen being escorted on to the stage while a cultural event is going on. The duo are welcomed with loud cheers and chants of ‘Boom Boom’, referring to his famous nickname. Afridi addresses the audience, expressing his love for Kerala and food. Reports suggest that a Malayali community in Dubai had organised the event.

Afridi, who was a swashbuckling all-rounder in his heydays, is a popular Pakistani cricketer. But, what irked Indian netizens was that he was invited despite his recent critical comments against the Indian Army and India in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.

The Resistance Front, an affiliate of the banned Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 people. India responded with precision strikes on terror infrastructures in Pakistan and PoK, leading to a military conflict between the two countries which was finally called off on May 10.

Afridi had, however, blamed the security lapse on the part of the Indian Army for the Pahalgam attack, and called the armed forces ‘nalayak’ and ‘nikamma’, meaning useless and inefficient. He also claimed Pakistan had given a befitting reply to India’s strikes under Operation Sindoor and that India had targeted civilian areas, though India had provided proof debunking such claims.

Did the event organisers really ‘invite’ Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul to the event?

The event organisers, however, have dismissed reports that they invited and welcomed Pakistani cricketers to the programme.

The Cochin University B.Tech Alumni Association, UAE Chapter (CUBAA) which organised the ‘Ormachivadukal Season 2’ event at Pakistan Association Dubai centre, clarified that Afridi and Gul made an “unannounced and unsolicited appearance” at their event because it was being held at the same venue as the Guinness World Record for largest UAE flag was being held, which the duo were attending.

CUBAA released a statement in this regard and also shared it on X.