Former cricketer Ijaz Ahmed slammed over racist remarks against Pashtuns

Former cricketer Ijaz Ahmed faces criticism from the public over his racist remarks against Pashtuns, as he labelled them a reason behind Pakistan cricket team's poor performance.

Ijaz stated during a live TV show that 80 per cent of cricket in Pakistan was now restricted to remote areas or Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, adding that six to eight players in Sindh team are also Pashtun. 

He claimed that such players lack education and exposure, remarking “They wake up in the morning and go for prayers with their fathers and return home.”

“In tense situations, these players fail to perform well,” said Ijaz.

Following the controversial remark, public and cricket fans slammed the former cricketer for his allegations against the Pashtun community.

A social media user wrote “Never seen more blatant racism on TV,” and criticised the program anchor for staying silent.

Another cricket fan wrote “Such an embarrassing statement by Ijaz Ahmed, any Pakhtoon is more than talented, hard worker, contributor to nation sincere. They have many contributions like Dr AQ Khan, Imran Khan, Younis Khan, Jahangir Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Yasir Shah, and so on.”