The decision to play the Asia Cup cricket match with Pakistan on Sunday is like rubbing salt on the wounds of those who lost their loved ones in the Pahalgam terror attacks, Priyadarshani, the widow of a Pahalgam attack victim from Odisha, has said.
Priyadarshani’s husband, Prashant Satpathy (43), was among the 26 civilians killed in the terror attack in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22.
Speaking to reporters at her residence in Odisha’s Balasore, Priyadarshani said conducting the match with Pakistan is like helping the country financially.
“Forget about the 26 families who faced the tragedy while on a vacation. What about the family members of soldiers who lost their lives fighting against Pakistani forces during Operation Sindoor? It’s an insult to them, too,” she said.
The government took several steps after the Pahalgam terror attack, but it’s unfortunate that it allowed the match to happen, she said. “We thought Operation Sindoor was a setback to Pakistan, and it would suffer financially. But the decision to hold the cricket match is like helping them financially,” she said.
Prashant, who worked as an accountant with the Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and Technology (CIPET), Balasore, was on vacation with his wife and nine-year-old son at Pahalgam on the day of the terror attack. The family is from Remuna in Odisha’s Balasore district.
Speaking to ANI, BJP MP and former sports minister Anurag Thakur said that the match took place only because it is a multinational tournament organised by the ICC.
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“When multinational tournaments are organised by ACC or ICC, it becomes a compulsion, a necessity for nations to participate. If they don’t do that, they will be eliminated from the tournament, they will have to forfeit the match, and the other team will get the points,” Thakur said.