Sidhu fights Indian criticism over Pak tour with 'peace, prosperity, and positivity'
'If there's a fire in your neighbour's house, you're bound to feel the heat; in a similar manner, if their house is cool, you'd feel that pleasure as well'
August 19, 2018
ISLAMABAD: Navjot Singh Sidhu, a former Indian cricketer who travelled to Pakistan a day prior to attend Prime Minister Imran Khan's oath-taking ceremony as a guest, rebuffed Indian hardliners' criticism over his tour by commenting on how much love and respect he received from Pakistanis.
"Pakistanis have given me infinite respect," Sidhu said Saturday night while addressing media here in the city. "The kind of love and affection that I have got from here, it's… it's unbelievable!
"I'm very happy at Pakistanis' hospitality," he stated, adding that Khan desired peaceful relations with India, which is why New Delhi should also take a step forward to friendly relations with Islamabad.
The Indian sportsman, who has been talking about peace and love ever since he touched down in Islamabad, has been facing a vicious maligning campaign from his country's hardliners, who have resorted to staging protests and burning his effigies.
Demonstrations had erupted in multiple Indian cities, including Ludhiana.
When a right-leaning faction of the Indian media went as far as to label him a "traitor", Kapil Dev, a former captain of the Indian cricket team, stood up in Sidhu's defence and support, saying he had done nothing wrong by going to Pakistan or embracing COAS Gen Qamar Jawed Bajwa.
In addition, Indian journalists Rajdeep Sardesai and Aziz Hasan Rizvi also voiced their support for Sidhu and his tour of Pakistan, highlighting that an Indian public figure participating as a guest in the oath-taking ceremony of a Pakistani premier was a "positive step".
"Well done [Navjot Singh Sidhu]: good to see an Indian public figure rise above the hate mongering and attend [Imran Khan's] swearing in," Sardesai had written on Twitter, before jokingly adding that "captaining Pakistan way more difficult than leading a cricket team!"
On the other hand, the cricketer told reporters that he was "a positive person" and that "if somebody criticises me, it doesn't affect me."
He then went on to repeat a famed phrase: "Duniya ka sabse bara rog, Mere baare mein kya kahenge log," which roughly translates to "the biggest fear in the world is everyone else's opinion of you."
The sportsman underscored the importance of friendly relations between the two nations with an example: "If there's a fire in your neighbour's house, you're bound to feel the heat; in a similar manner, if their house is cool, you'd feel that pleasure as well.
"I think somewhere down the line, you gotta take a path of peace, prosperity, and positivity," he stressed.
Earlier, on Saturday, as the guests arrived at the President House ahead of Prime Minister Khan's swearing-in, Sidhu had met Gen Bajwa and they had embraced each other in a friendly manner — something that eagle-eyed media on both sides of the border watched with gripping interest.
Later, during his talk with journalists, the cricketer had explained that the Pakistan Army Chief had met him with enthusiasm and told him that he wished for peace.
"[Gen Bajwa] also told me that he was considering opening the gates at Kartarpur on the upcoming birthday of Guru Nanak," Sidhu had commented, referring to the area in Narowal's Shakargarh tehsil that is located quite near to the Indo-Pak border.
Noting that he had "brought a message of love from India", he said he was taking back a 100 times more than what he had initially come to Pakistan with.
“The love I have gotten has opened up infinite possibilities that can actually unify us. … I was quite honoured and respected," he commented.
