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Former cricketer Shahid Afridi on Wednesday rejected claims of endorsing pro-Israel groups and clarified that a selfie with members of a Zionist group was taken because he thought it was a normal fan interaction. He also expressed his concern for the situation in Palestine in a social media post.

Afridi’s comments came after a Zionist group in the UK called ‘North West Friends of Israel’ shared a photo of the former cricketer with two of his members, with the caption, “Pakistani international cricketer Shahid Afridi stopped to offer his support for our call to release the hostages at our NWFOI vigil last Sunday in Manchester. Shahid is pictured with NWFOI co Chair Raphi Bloom & deputy Chair Bernie Yaffe. Thank you for your support, Shahid!.”

This led to a loud debate, prompting the former cricketer to issue a clarification rejecting the claims in the social media post and expressing his concern for the situation in Palestine.

Afridi wrote, “Imagine strolling down a street in Manchester (UK) and so-called fans approach you for a selfie. You oblige, and moments later, they upload it as some form of Zionist endorsement. Unbelievable! Please don’t believe everything that is uploaded”

He further stated, “Seeing innocent lives in Palestine suffer is truly heartbreaking. Thus, any photo or association shared by in Manchester does not reflect my support for any situation where human lives are at stake.”

The former Pakistani cricket said that he takes pictures with fans from all over the globe, and “this situation was no different”.

“I pray for peace, I pray for an end to this war, I pray for freedom,” he said.

The Israeli offensive against Hamas in Palestine, launched on October 17 after the Palestinian group’s attack on Israel, has claimed over 37,000 lives in Palestine. Close to 1,200 have died in Israel in the Hamas attack.