Ijaz Ahmed’s racist rant slammed by cricket fans

Former Pakistani cricketer Ijaz Ahmad’s criticism of the recent poor performance by the Pakistan cricket team in the T-20 World Cup turned into a racist tirade against Pakhtoon players.

Talking on the ARY NEWS programme Off The Record on Monday night, Ijaz said, “Almost 80 percent of Pakistan’s cricket team constitutes of players from remote areas or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Even if the team is made from Sindh, seven to eight players are Pathan. They have neither the education nor the exposure which is why these players cannot handle the pressure.”

Given the already fragile religious and ethnic fault lines that exist in our nation, the statement from Ijaz Ahmad –who was once a sportsman– revealed a highly irresponsible and discriminatory attitude.

Netizens were quick to condemn the racist remarks. Meanwhile, the owner of ARY News Salman Iqbal also condemned the racist remarks by Ijaz Ahmad saying that “It is not acceptable.”