Shahid Afridi has fanboy moment for Vladimir Putin; Pakistan anchor calls him Wazir-e-Azam

Days after former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi attempted to spread a fake narrative about India during his visit to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), he has now praised Russian President Vladimir Putin to the moon for tackling Coronavirus crisis.

Even as Russia has reported 353,427 Covid-19 cases till Monday – the third highest in the world – Afridi in a TV debate said that united effort led by President Putin has shown the world how to deal with the pandemic. Alarmingly, he alluded to Putin somehow bringing the opposition parties in Russia together, a statement that rings hollower than the clout of the opposition in Russia where Putin has been in power for over two decades, winning elections by highly questionable margins.

However, what puzzled the netizens more was that the anchor of the Pakistani channel called Afridi as ‘Wazir-e-azam’- an Urdu term meaning Prime Minister. The clip of the same was shared by Pakistani journalist Naila Inayat.

Here are some reactions: 

Pakistan Covid update

Pakistan’s coronavirus cases on Monday reached 56,349 with 1,748 new patients while the death toll climbed to 1,167. Pakistan’s Ministry of National Health Services reported that 22,491 cases were diagnosed in Sindh, 20,077 in Punjab, 7,905 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 3,407 in Balochistan, 1,641 in Islamabad, 619 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 209 in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. So far 1,167 people have died of the COVID-19 including 34 who lost their lives in the last 24 hours.  

So far 1,167 people have died of the COVID-19 including 34 who lost their lives in the last 24 hours. A total of 17,482 patients have recovered from the deadly contagion. The trajectory showed that the number was steadily going up with authorities fearing a rise in cases in the wake of the easing of lockdown before Eid which was observed in the country on Sunday.

READ | Pakistan government website blunders out the truth, confirms that PoK is a part of India

Pakistan Army on Tuesday morning also resorted to firing and shelling on forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, drawing befitting retaliation from Indian soldiers, a defence spokesperson said.

READ | Harbhajan echoes Yuvraj’s pledge to never support Afridi again, adds ‘no matter what’

Shahid Afridi’s fake narrative 

Recently, Afridi spewed anti-India venom as he visited Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the name of providing relief material amid COVID-19 crisis. He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian Army of oppressing the people of Kashmir on the grounds of religion. Following his remarks, he faced a backlash from Indian cricketers, including former cricketer and BJP MP Gautam Gambhir who slammed the trio of Imran Khan- General Bajwa- Afridi as ‘jokers’ who were fooling their people.

READ | ‘Tricolour would be unfurled in PoK soon:’ UP minister sends out message to Shahid Afridi

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