LAHORE: Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Asif Ghafoor on Wednesday took a jibe at India while congratulating Pakistan-born Australian batsman Usman Khawaja for his match-winning performance against the Indian cricket team.
Khawaja, who smashed a century and claimed ‘player of the match’ award, was praised by the ISPR chief who wrote: “Very well played yet again #UsmanKhawaja. Your 100 at excellent STRIKE rate made the difference. You gave [an] excellent performance during [last] last three consecutive ODI contests to CAP the series.”
Very well played yet again #UsmanKhawaja
Your 100 at excellent STRIKE rate made the difference. You gave excellent performance during last three consecutive ODI contests to CAP the series. pic.twitter.com/r4f6V5ROn9— Asif Ghafoor (@peaceforchange) March 13, 2019
The tweet came against the backdrop of Indian proclaimed surgical strike inside Pakistan, in which it declared to have hit the blacklisted Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) headquarters, claiming some 300 militants. However, later, the Indian claim proved to be malicious propaganda as domestic as well as the international media, including New York Times, dismissed the Indian stance for being factually incorrect.
To express solidarity with the Indian soldiers killed in the February 14 attack, Indian cricketers wore camouflaged army caps during the third ODI against Australia — which they lost owing to a thrashing performance again by Usman Khawaja.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Asad Umar also praised Khawaja for his outstanding performance and jokingly tweeted: “What do you think, should we not honour Usman Khawaja with a national award this [coming] Pakistan Day?”
کیا خیال ہے اس 23 مارچ کو ایک قومی اعزاز عثمان خواجہ کا نہ دے دیا جائے؟
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) March 13, 2019
Australian cricket team, who is on a tour to India, bagged the five-match ODI series by a margin of 3-2, with Usman Khawaja emerging as the highest run scorer.