Islamabad/New Delhi/IBNS: Former Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan has slammed ex-Pakistan allrounder Shahid Afridi after the latter passed demeaning remarks on the Indian military in the wake of Pahalgam terror attack.

Speaking on a Pakistan television show, Afridi defended his country and called the Indian military "useless".

"Pakistan is blamed for everything. They (India) have an eight-lakh strong Army but still such an incident took place. This means their Army is useless so security couldn't be provided to people," he said.

Afridi added, "It's surprising that the media turned into Bollywood within an hour of the attack. For God's sake, please do not make everything into Bollywood."

"I was astonished, rather I was enjoying the way they were speaking. I was saying, 'look at their thoughts and they call themselves educated'," the Pakistani cricket icon said.

In a counter, Dhawan, who was a left-handed opening batter, reminded Afridi of the Kargil War result boasting on the Indian military as the two nuclear powers muscle-flexing after the attack, which killed 26 tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir on April 22.

Dhawan wrote on X, "Kargil mein bhi haraya tha, already itna gire hue ho aur kitna giroge, bewajah comments pass karne se acha hai apne desh ki taraqqi mai dimag lagao @SAfridiOfficial. Humein hamari Indian Army par bohot garv hai. Bharat Mata Ki Jai! Jai Hind! (We had defeated your country in Kargil. How much low will you people stoop to? I would advice you to concentrate on using your intelligence for the sake of development of your country instead of passing unnecessary comments. We are proud of our Indian Army. Bharat Mata Ki Jai! Jai Hind!).

Pahalgam terror attack

Twenty-six people, including 23 Hindu male tourists, were killed by terrorists in Baisaran meadows, a popular destination in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, on April 22.

The terrorists- belonging to The Resistance Front (TRF), which is an offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)- asked the victims to chant Islamic verses (kalma) and made them pull down their pants to be sure of their their non-Muslim religious identities (read circumcision)  before gunning them down before their families, including wives, children and daughters.

The massacre triggered a nationwide outrage and escalated India-Pakistan tensions as New Delhi vowed to avenge the killings.

In an immediate response  India suspended the landmark Indus River water-sharing treaty and closed the Attari-Wagah road border which acts a lifeline of Indo-Pak trade and people-to-people ties, besides expelling diplomats, downsizing high commissions and issuing a 48-hour deadline to Pakistani visa holders present in India to leave.