Shahid Afridi joins chorus of Pakistanis slamming arrest of his Indian fan

Ripon Chowdhury was arrested by the police in Assam after a complaint was filed by a rightwing groupCricket is a religion in the Indian subcontinent And time and again cricketers have appealed to citizens and politicians to keep politics and the game separateWell that looks like an impossibilityIn what is being seen as a mirror to what Pakistani authorities did in January 2016 when they arrested a diehard Virat Kohli fan police in the Indian state of Assam detained a youth recently for wearing a jersey with Pakistan allrounder Shahid Afridis number embossed on it during a cricket matchAccording to reports Ripon Chowdhury was apprehended bylocal police following a complaint filed by the youth wing ofthe ruling Bhartiya Janata Party BJPThe police are said to have arrested the youth and lodgeda case under section 120B 294 of the Indian Penal codeIn January 2016 a diehard fan of India Test skipper Virat Kohli was arrested in Pakistan and was facing up to 10 years imprisonment for hoisting the Indian tricolour atop his home in Punjab Province which he claimed to have done to show his love for the cricketer22yearold Umer Daraz a tailor by profession from Okara district of Punjab province was arrested and sent him to jail on judicial remand Daraz was arrested on January 26 when India beat Australia in a T20 match and Kohli scored 90 runs Police raided Draz home on a complaint that he hoisted the Indian flag on the rooftop of his housePolice registered a case under section 123A of Pakistan Penal Code and 16 Maintenance of Public Order against him The section 123A acts of damaging the sovereignty of the country carries maximum punishment of 10 years in jail or fine or bothDraz pleaded before the judge that he hoisted the Indian flag only for his love for Kohli Police had sought his physical remand for investigation into the case however the judge sent him to jail on judicial remandTalking to reporters Draz said I am a big fan of Virat Kohli I support the Indian team because of Kohli Hoisting of Indian flag on the rooftop of house only shows my love for the Indian cricketerHe said he had no idea that he committed a crime urging the authorities concerned to pardon him as he should be seen as an Indian cricketers fanAfter Umers case caught the medias attention Indian cricket fans rallied behind him while ridiculing Pakistan There was also talk of Virat Kohli talking to the Pakistan government in this regards with Virats brother Vikas giving assurances that the cricketer would take the issue forwardEven Shiv Sena had in its mouthpiece Saamana had flayed Umers arrest22yearold Umar Draz a tailor by profession from Okara district of Punjab province was arrested for hoisting the Indian flag atop his house in Pakistan PicPTIWell Afridi has spoken out in support of his fan THe Pakistan cricketer expressed disappointment about the detention of his fan It is shameful that such an incident should take place It is sad that politics is being played with cricket Afridi was quoted as saying by Jang newspaperAfridi said he would appeal to Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi to look into the matterSuch incidents highlight intolerance and should becondemned Because if there are fans of Pakistan cricketplayers in India the same is the case in Pakistan where thereare fans of Indian players Afridi saidCricket fans should only be seen as cricket lovers inboth countries Afridi reiterated that cricket should be kept away from politicsHe said fans in both India and Pakistan put the sport above the oftenfraught relations between their countries and admired each others players You cannot stop fans from supporting a player by arresting them he saidSports and politics should be kept apart and such incidents go against the principles of sportsmanshipAfridi himself landed in hot water with home fans for saying he got more love in India than he did in Pakistan ahead of a crucial clash in the World Twenty20 in MarchTwitterati from across the border reacted to the news with anger and anguish With some suggesting that both countries needed to let the game not be affected by politicsHERES WHAT THEY SAIDBoth countries need to chill We arrest Kohli fan they arrest Afridi fan httpstcoZntgQajNItmdash Ali iPakistani10 December 19 2016Just because somebody is a fan of Afridi and wore our cricket teams shirt was arrested Wow ethAcircAcircu00c2u009fAcircAcircu00c2u0098AcircAcircu00c2u0092mdash Jadirah Sarmad JadirahSarmad December 19 2016Man arrested in Assam for wearing a Shahid Afridi jersey rediculous laws of India I am too a fan of him and so whatinshorts news pictwittercomvFsOziZSXtmdash Chintan Dave chintanjdave December 19 2016Few months ago a Pakistani fan of imVkohli was arrested now an Indian fan of Shahid Afridi Tough competitionhttpstcoIWXQik5HZBmdash Aman Wadud AmanWadud December 18 2016Fan detained for wearing Afridis shirt I dont think anybody would detain anyone if they wear Dhonis shirt in Pakistan toomuchextremismmdash Ahmad Hameed Ahmadpakistani December 21 2016A Shahid Afridifan arrested for wearing a Pak shirt during a match in Assam FIR also filed saying he had indulged in an antinational actmdash Saj Sadiq Saj_PakPassion December 19 2016Assam youth a Shahid Afridi fan arrested for wearing Pakistan Jersey after a complaint by youth wing of BJP FIR registrd us120B294 IPC pictwittercomVgf8ZhPT3Umdash Aman Wadud AmanWadud December 18 2016Shahid Afridis fan arrested in India for wearing No 10 jersey bearing Afridis nameIndia amp their chotay dil ethAcircAcircu00c2u009fAcircAcircu00c2u0098AcircAcircu00c2u0092ethAcircAcircu00c2u009fAcircAcircu00c2u0098AcircAcircu00c2u0092mdash Gumshuda Rabeel_Tariq December 21 2016Relations between the two nations have plummeted since a deadly attack on an Indian army base in Kashmir in September perpetrated by Pakistanbased militants Cricketing ties have also been on hold since Pakistan made a short tour in 2012 though the two teams do play against each other in tournaments involving other countriesWith input from agencies