Row over Afridi's appearance at Dubai Cusat alumni event, univ denies links

Time of India

2 days ago

Kochi: The participation of Pakistani cricketers
Shahid Afridi
and Umar Gul in an inter-collegiate dance event organised by an alumni association of the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) in Dubai on May 25 has sparked outrage.
The association — Cochin University BTech Alumni Association (CUBAA), UAE — issued an apology, saying the incident was not intentional, after a video of Afridi being welcomed at the event went viral. The event was held at the Pakistan Association Dubai (PAD).
Cusat, however, said it had no affiliation, association or connection with the organisation, CUBAA UAE. It said in a statement that its official alumni organisation was the Cusat Alumni Network (CAN) and it was not aware of the programme organised in Dubai.
In the video, the crowd can be seen cheering Afridi and chanting his nickname "Boom Boom" as he addressed the gathering. Several outfits affiliated with the Sangh Parivar criticised the organisers for inviting Afridi to the event. Afridi had made several anti-India remarks, particularly in the wake of the
Pahalgam terror attack
.
Former BJP state president K Surendran accused the organisers of disrespecting Indians who lost their lives in the Pahalgam terror attack.
"If not traitors, what else can you call the Malayali organisation that brought Pakistani cricketers for a celebration in Dubai," he said in a Facebook post.
ABVP has called for the cancellation of the passports of CUBAA UAE office-bearers and submitted complaints to the Prime Minister and the ministry of external affairs. ABVP Kerala state secretary EU Eswaraprasad said Afridi had expressed support for terrorist groups hostile to India.
"The alumni association's approach is suspicious and the event, held in the presence of anti-India forces, undermined the martyrdom of Pahalgam victims and humiliated India globally," he said.
The event organisers, meanwhile, released a detailed statement, saying the appearance of the Pakistani cricketers was entirely unplanned. Without naming Afridi, they said PAD was booked for the second season of their inter-collegiate dance competition well before the escalation of India-Pakistan tensions.
The first season was also organised at the venue last year, due to its affordability, they said in a statement.
"At the time of our event, diplomatic tensions had already eased. Due to the unavailability of an alternative venue at short notice, we proceeded with the programme as scheduled at PAD," it added.
CUBAA representatives also claimed that the cricketers had come to the auditorium for another event on the day. "As our programme was concluding, the cricketers made an unannounced and unsolicited appearance...
We would like to categorically state that no member of our organising team, officials or alumni invited them or coordinated this appearance. The official schedule of the event we published, which does not include these individuals as guests, supports this," they said.
The organisers further said they could not manage the crowd appropriately as the cricketers' visit was a surprise. "We regret any confusion or inconvenience caused to attendees, participants or supporters due to this unplanned development. We deeply regret any hurt or offence our actions may have caused. It was never our intention, and we sincerely apologise to those affected," they added.