J&K cricketer with Palestine flag on his helmet

JAMMU/SRINAGAR: J&K police have started a probe after videos went viral of a cricketer, Furqan Ul Haq, walking into a Jammu tournament wearing a Palestinian flag sticker on his helmet. The row also took on a political edge, with the PDP and others backing the Pulwama youth and BJP condemning the act as an attempt to incite “separatism”.The controversy broke Wednesday after Furqan strode in to bat at Jammu and Kashmir Champions League in Muthi, around 10km from Jammu city, for his team JK Eleven Kings with the flag emblazoned on his helmet. Some players of the rival team Jammu Trail Blazers raised strong objections, leading Furqan’s team to send him back and oust him from the match.On Friday, the police issued a statement confirming a preliminary inquiry to “ascertain the facts” Furqan’s “intent, background and any possible linkages”. The 14-day preliminary inquiry under Section 173(3) BNSS has been ordered given the sensitivity of the matter and its potential public order implications, the statement added. Furqan and the private organisers of the tournament were later called to Jammu’s Domana police station for the inquiry.Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) distanced itself from the controversy, maintaining that the tournament was a private event and not recognised by it. “JKCA has nothing to do with this. It involves local players. Even spectators are not allowed. Police will take necessary action,” JKCA official Anil Gupta said.While JKCA shrugged off the issue, politicians didn’t. Former CM and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti posted a message in support of Palestine. “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. A flag in the wind, bold and free, From the river to the sea,” Mehbooba wrote on X after reports about the police inquiry.Sheikh Khursheed, Awami Ittehad Party MLA and brother of jailed Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid, called the police action “unjustified.” Khursheed said expressing solidarity with Palestine should not be treated as a crime, particularly when India has consistently supported the Palestinian cause internationally.Khursheed recalled that Congress’s Priyanka Gandhi had carried a bag bearing a Palestine symbol in Parliament without facing action. “If such expressions are acceptable for politicians, targeting a sportsperson for a symbolic gesture exposes selective outrage,” Khursheed said.BJP, however, denounced Furqan. Party MLA RS Pathania called for strict action against the cricketer and the organisers of the match, saying such deeds “emanating from Kashmir only promotes separatism”.This is the second cricket event in J&K to have been engulfed by controversy in less than two months. In Nov last year, the privately run Indian Heaven Premier League (IHPL) collapsed when its organisers allegedly bolted out of Srinagar after duping players, officials, broadcasters and hoteliers.