It was not even a week when the Pakistani sports presenter Zainab Abbas declared her jovial chance to cover the World Cup 2023 this year. Her joy was sabotaged when netizens went furious over her “anti-India” and “anti-Hinduism posts” that she had written on X (Twitter) a few years back. The comments made by her on the social media platform were brutal and hit on Indian sentiments. Advocate Vineet Jindal has recently filed a complaint with BCCI for the removal of the reporter from the panel. Amidst all this news coming, Zainab Abbas has left India. Was it because of the threats? Was she asked to leave India? Read on to know all the tea!
Who is Zainab Abbas?
Born in Lahore, Pakistan, Zainab Abbas is the daughter of cricketer Nasir Abbas and politician Andleeb Abbas. Her dad played for cricket teams in Faisalabad and Hafizabad. Her mom is part of Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf Party and used to work as a journalist, covering the 1999 World Cup. In November 2019, Zainab married Hamza Kardar, the son of Shahid Hafeez Kardar, the former governor of the State Bank of Pakistan and now the finance minister. This explains the amount of political support and influence that Zainab enjoys.
This 35-year-old is a television host, sports presenter, commentator, and former makeup artist. Zainab became the first women presenter to represent Pakistan media in the Cricket World Cup 2023. In her recent tweet on X, she even showed her excitement, stating,
“There was always intrigue on what lies on the other side.”
There was always intrigue on what lies on the other side, more cultural similarities than differences, rivals on the field but camaraderie off the field, the same language & love for art & a country with a billion people, here to represent, to create content & bring in expertise… pic.twitter.com/dvoRUASpmm
— zainab abbas (@ZAbbasOfficial) October 2, 2023
She arrived in India on the 5th of October and has recently covered the Netherlands v/s Pakistan match in Hyderabad. She was supposed to cover other matches played by Pakistan in other states of India when the controversy happened, which resulted in her departure.
The controversial X (Twitter posts) by Zainab Abbas
The X posts of Zainab Abbas from 2014 have recently been in talks. She has mocked Hindus by mentioning “cow piss.” She has since deleted these offensive posts and even altered her online username several years ago. However, an examination of her former Twitter username, “zainablovessrk,” and its online activity unmistakably shows that this same username has been changed to “ZAbbasOfficial,” which is now her current X (formerly Twitter) account.
Indian citizens, politicians, and media have together reacted to the derogatory comments made by the Pakistani reporter on Hinduism and India.
Here are some tweets from the netizens showing their anger and disappointment towards the event.
Zainab abbas should just replace the words in her old tweets with our religion and then lets see how forgiving pakistanis would be and how long will she stay here.
— Anas Tipu (@teepusahab) October 9, 2023
Just saw old tweets of Zainab Abbas, As wrong as the threats given to Zainab Abbass are you can not mock anyone’s religion, when Pakistanis don’t tolerate anything on their religion or practices someone else won’t either and the fact that she has returned safely says a lot.
— Zoha. (@zohaaa) October 9, 2023
Just saw old tweets of Zainab Abbas, As wrong as the threats given to Zainab Abbass are you can not mock anyone’s religion, when Pakistanis don’t tolerate anything on their religion or practices someone else won’t either and the fact that she has returned safely says a lot.
— Zoha. (@zohaaa) October 9, 2023
Case filed with BCCI against Zainab Abbas
An Indian advocate, Vineet Jindal, has filed a case with BCCI and HMOIndia seeking the removal of Zainab Abbas as the reporter from the World Cup.
Update on Zainab Abbas Matter:- Complaint letter sent by @vineetJindal19 to @BCCI and @HMOIndia seeking removal of Zainab Abbas @ZAbbasOfficial as the presenter at the ICC World Cup 2023 for her derogatory and provocative posts against Bharat and Hindu Dharma.
“Athiti devo… pic.twitter.com/tiHCCRtYW3— Adv.Vineet Jindal (@vineetJindal19) October 7, 2023
The complaint stemmed from some of her old tweets, which were critical of Hinduism. On the platform X, he expressed his concerns as follows:
“Complaint submitted by @vineetJindal19 to @BCCI and @HMOIndia, requesting the removal of Zainab Abbas @ZAbbasOfficial as the presenter for the ICC World Cup 2023 due to her offensive and incendiary comments about India and Hinduism. ‘Athithi devo bhava’ should apply to those who show respect for our nation and Hinduism. Those who hold anti-Indian views are not welcomed in our country.”
Lawyer Vineet Jindal shared that he has reported the matter to the Cyber Cell of the Delhi Police. He has asked for an FIR (First Information Report) to be registered against Zainab Abbas. The complaint suggests invoking sections 153A, 295, 506, and 121 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), along with section 67 of the Information Technology (IT) Act.
Was Zainab Abbas deported from India, or did she leave due to the threats?
The biggest question of the hour has been whether Zainab Abbas was asked to leave India or she left herself owing to the threats. On Monday, 9th October, she left for Pakistan amidst the threats and backlash on her tweets. Since there have been speculations that she has been asked to leave India. The International Cricket Council (ICC) spokesperson, in conversation with PTI, clarified that Zainab was not deported from the host country.
Pakistani journalist Rizwan Ghilzai mentioned that Zainab Abbas left India without any harm and safely landed in Dubai. He expressed that she had been receiving threats due to her social media posts in India. He also expressed disappointment with the ICC (International Cricket Council) and quoted,
“Sad that @ICC couldn’t protect its presenter.”
she was supposed to cover the biggest match of World Cup 2023, India v/s Pakistan, in Ahmedabad this Saturday, 14th October.
Also Read: Cricket World Cup 2023: All You Need To Know About This Year’s Event
