A two-month-old video featuring Jay Shah—son of Home Minister Amit Shah—and BJP MP Anurag Thakur laughing and conversing with controversial Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi has gone viral, sparking uproar across India. The footage, shot discreetly backstage at an international cricket event in Dubai this June, resurfaced today following a renewed wave of geopolitical strain in the region and heated debate over national integrity.
Shahid Afridi, well-known for contentious statements such as “We will take Kashmir,” has repeatedly attracted criticism from Indian public figures for his perceived support of separatist sentiment. The new video’s leak arrives just after Afridi’s recent comments blaming the Indian Army for the tragic Pahalgam attack, which claimed 26 civilian lives, inflaming cross-border tensions yet again.
Official Responses Stir More Debate
The BJP has so far declined formal comment, while party members privately argue the context was “purely diplomatic and cricket-related.” However, India’s opposition leaders and social media critics pounced, accusing Shah and Thakur of hypocrisy after years of denouncing similar contact with Pakistani figures: “Business first, nation later? This is unacceptable optics!” tweeted opposition strategist Vinay Verma.
Union Home Ministry officials, speaking on background, expressed “regret” over the perceptions but underscored that “no formal or policy discussions took place.” Meanwhile, cricketing authorities suggested the interaction was a “chance backstage conversation,” not an indicia of diplomatic thaw.
Background and Immediate Impact
The video coincides with escalating hostilities in Kashmir, where both sides have traded barbs following recent terror attacks. “We expect consistency in both principle and optics from our national representatives,” said political scientist Dr. Manisha Pillai of Delhi University. “With emotions still raw from the Pahalgam tragedy, this appearance is easily misread as a diplomatic misstep.”
For now, the government faces mounting pressure to clarify the nature of such informal exchanges with known critics of Indian sovereignty, especially amid ongoing investigations into LLRM Meerut’s security failures and broader counterterror measures.
“India must be seen to stand united—at home and abroad,” said civic advocate Maria Desai from Mumbai.
As fresh protests and trending hashtags gather steam, it remains to be seen how the Modi administration will navigate this latest optical quagmire.