Major General Asif Ghafoor on Monday responded to Indian Home Minister Amit Shah's congratulatory message to the Indian cricket team after their win over Pakistan in the World Cup clash, in which he said: "Another strike on Pakistan by Team India and the result is same." "Congratulations to the entire team for this superb performance. Every Indian is feeling proud and celebrating this impressive win," said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president on Twitter on Sunday.
Shah was referring to the aerial combat between the two neighbouring countries in February, which happened after Indian aircraft on Feb 26 carried out an airstrike on what it alleged was a "terrorist training camp" in Pakistan. Legitimate doubts have been cast over the success of India's airstrike, which Shah had claimed killed 250 - a figure that the Indian Air Force distanced itself from.
Pakistan had denied that there was any damage or casualties. Independent reporting by multiple local and international outlets who visited the site also found no evidence of a terrorist training camp or of any infrastructure damage. Major General Asif Ghafoor, via his personal account, on Monday responded to Shah, saying: "Dear Amit Shah, yes your team won a match. Well played."
Ghafoor, who is the director general of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), pointed out that "two things with different denominators can't be compared, so are strikes and match". "If in doubt please see results of our Nowshera counter strikes and response to IAF [Indian Air Force] violation on 27 Feb 19 downing two Indian jets," he said, ending his tweet with: "Stay Surprised."
AFP adds: "Congratulations to the entire team for this superb performance. Every Indian is feeling proud and celebrating this impressive win," added Shah, who heads the cricket association in his home state of Gujarat.
India cut bilateral cricket ties with its neighbour after the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
With such a history, cricket clashes are regularly tainted by the political rivalry between the two. Many Indian fans view a win against Pakistan as a matter of national honour, while defeats are looked down upon as disasters.
India beat Pakistan by 89 runs in Manchester on Sunday and have now won all seven of their games against their arch-rivals since the World Cup began.
Veteran journalist, Rajdeep Sardesai, son of a former Indian cricketer, said the match was "a bit like the state of the two countries at the moment".
"India: stable, experienced and confident; Pakistan looking chaotic, direction-less and underwhelming," he said on Twitter. Sadanand Dhume, an Indian writer based in the United States, said it was a domineering performance.
"In most matters, I believe India should treat Pakistan with maturity and moderation. But in cricket utter and total domination and abject humiliation work just fine," he wrote on Twitter. Indian newspapers lavished praise on the team, splashing banner headlines and photos on their front pages.
"Bragging rights intact as India make it 7-0 vs Pak", said a Hindustan Times front page headline.
The Indian Express called it a "No match", to underscore how Pakistan were completely overwhelmed. The Times of India said "mediocre" Pakistan were "stymied by a lack of intent and a disciplined, unyielding performance in the field by the Men in Blue".
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