Shahid Afridi Pressured Me To Convert To Islam: Pakistan's Ex-Cricketer Danish Kaneria

Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria has accused his colleague and star player Shahid Afridi of asking him to convert to Islam.

What Kaneria Said?

Kaneria, who was one of the two Hindu cricketers to represent Pakistan, said that Afridi had repeatedly put pressure on him to convert to Islam. He also accused Shoiab Akhtar of insisting him to convert to Islam.

At a Congressional briefing in Washington, DC, he was quoted as saying by ANI: "We all gathered here and shared our experiences of how we were treated in Pakistan. We have faced discrimination, and today, we raised our voices against it."

He continued, "I, too, have faced a lot of discrimination, and my career was destroyed. I did not receive the respect and equal value I deserved in Pakistan. Because of this discrimination, I am in the US today. We spoke to raise awareness and let the USA know how much we have suffered so that action can be taken."

Kaneria had played 61 Tests for Pakistan. He said, "I was doing well in my career and was playing county cricket too. Inzamam-ul-Haq supported me a lot and was the only captain who did so. Alongside him, Shoaib Akhtar. Shahid Afridi and many other Pakistan players troubled me a lot and didn't eat with me. Shahid Afridi was the main person telling me to convert, and he did a lot of times. Inzamam-ul-Haq never used to talk that way."

Asra Nomani Recalls Abduction & Murder Incident

Also, Wall Street Journal journalist Asra Nomani claimed that his friend and colleague Daniel Pearl was "kidnapped, beheaded, and cut into pieces" in Pakistan in 2002.

"I saw on the streets of Karachi, Pakistan, the tragic impact of sectarianism that is claiming too many minorities. My friend and colleague, Daniel Pearl, was the journalist who was kidnapped, beheaded, and cut into pieces in 2002," the news agency quoted Nomani as saying.