New Delhi, September 15- The family of a Pahalgam terror attack victim from Jaipur has defended the decision for India to play Pakistan in an Asia Cup cricket match held in Dubai on Sunday, saying that the game and the attack were different matters.
According to a report in Indian Express, Niraj Udhwani from Jaipur worked in Dubai and had come to India with his wife, Aayushi, to attend a wedding in Shimla earlier this year. After the wedding, the couple went to Pahalgam in Kashmir for a holiday, when terrorists opened fire on tourists, killing 26 people including Niraj. The April 22 attack was followed by days of cross-border hostility, leaving several civilians dead in border areas.
Bhagwan Das Udhwani, the younger brother of Niraj’s late father Pradeep, told The Indian Express that he had no interest in watching cricket. However, he said the matter of cricket and the terror attack should not be mixed.
Bhagwan said, “Woh khel ki bhavna hai, woh alag cheez hai, ye cheez alag hai. Usmein is baat ko tuul dena nahi chahiye (It’s the spirit of the game. This is a different thing and that [the Pahalgam attack] is a different thing. One should not equate the two).”
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