Stop praising Sachin Tendulkar, says Taliban to Pak media

The Pakistan Taliban commander, in a video message, widely circulated on social networking site Facebook has warned the Pakistan media to stop paying tribute to Sachin Tendulkar, cricket legend who retired this month.

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The Pakistan Taliban commander, in a video message, widely circulated on social networking site Facebook has warned the Pakistan media to stop paying tribute to Sachin Tendulkar, Indian cricket legend who retired this month. The commander flanked by two masked gunmen carrying AK-47s, warned Pakistani media on Sunday mentioning that since Tendulkar was an Indian he did not deserve praise from Pakistan media. "We have been monitoring Pakistani media, including news channels and newspapers, for the past three weeks and got to know how was Pakistani media praising Indian cricketer during his farewell. It was unfortunate to see Pakistani media went to great extent to pay tribute to Indian cricketer by running video clips on TV channels and writing huge articles in his praise. On the other hand, it was sad to know same Pakistani media badly criticised Pakistani cricket team as well as its captain Misbah-ul-Haq. We condemn this move of Pakistani media and expect it will not repeat the same in future," said the commander in the video. "Shame for Pakistani media that spoke highly of Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. No doubt, he has been a great cricketer, but, he`s Indian after all, so stop promoting him," Pakistani Taliban warned media houses in Pakistan. The Pakistan media had been showering praises on Tendulkar following his retirement. Notably, it is the first time in history of Pakistan that their media had showered praises on an Indian individual.