India will face Pakistan in the biggest game of the 2019 World Cup in Manchester on Sunday. The interest for the match peaked due to the recent diplomatic tensions between the two countries involving the capture of the IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.
Pakistan's Jazz TV broadcasted an advertisement mocking the incident with an actor in a blue jersey and sporting Abhinandan's trademark handlebar moustache. The actor is holding a cup of tea and being questioned about the upcoming World Cup match between the two countries. He is asked what will he do if they win the toss and who are the 11 players in the team to which he replies, "I'm sorry, I am not supposed to tell you this."
The actor is then asked if he liked the tea and he answered that it is excellent.
Jazz TV advt on #CWC19 takes the Indo-Pak air duel to new level. It uses the air duel over Nowshera and Wing Co Abhinandan Varthaman's issue as a prop. @IAF_MCC @thetribunechd @SpokespersonMoD @DefenceMinIndia pic.twitter.com/30v4H6MOpU
— Ajay Banerjee (@ajaynewsman) June 11, 2019
This refers to the video in which Abhinandan was questioned by Pakistani forces regarding his mission and him replying that he couldn't disclose those details. In the video, which surfaced in February, Abhinandan was sporting a black eye and drinking a cup of tea. He was asked if he liked the tea and the wing commander had replied that it was excellent.
In the ad, the man acts frightened while in reality, Abhinandan was calm and collected during his questioning.
The advertisement is in bad taste because it mocks the incident which heightened diplomatic tension between India and Pakistan. In addition to this, there was also slight racism where the actor had visibly blackened his face to portray Abhinandan's dark complexion.
Abhinandan was captured by Pakistani forces in February when he was in air combat and blocked Pakistan's F-16 jets tried to target military bases in Jammu and Kashmir. He had to eject after his flight was damaged.
He had landed in Pakistan occupied Kashmir and was immediately captured and beaten up. He was later taken by the Pakistan security forces and subjected to intense questioning. Abhinandan was later released to India as a gesture of "goodwill gesture by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan."
