Motto in life should be to have pride as Indians: Mohammad Kaif

Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif, who had to face a backlash on social media for expressing his delight at the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) ruling in the Kulbhushan Jadhav's case, on Friday asserted that he is proud to be an Indian and urged his fellow countrymen to have the same feeling.

"Every Indian should be proud of that. Whatever I had to write, I have written it on social media," said Kaif.

"I am very proud to be an Indian, I request all Indians to have pride. That should be the motto in life," he added.

On Thursday, the ICJ, the United Nation's highest judicial body, asked Pakistan to take "all measures" to ensure that former Indian naval officer Jadhav, sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court for alleged espionage, not to execute him till the court had delivered its final verdict on the issue.

"Congratulations India. Thanks to the International Court of Justice, justice has prevailed," Kaif tweeted after India scored a major diplomatic victory over Pakistan.

However, a certain Twitter user named from Pakistan wasn't pleased with Kaif's views and decided to drag religion into the entire issue.

"@MohammadKaif Please remove Mohammad from your name first," was the free advice given by Akram.

"Wow! If I support India's victory, I should remove Mohammad. I am proud of my name. Aamir means "full of life", you need to get one," was the reply from the former middle-order Indian batsman.

The 36-year-old also went on to add that India was the most tolerant and inclusive country in the world.

"1.Nobody is Thekedaar of any religion. 2. No name is copyrighted by the Thekedaars. 3. India is by far the most inclusive & tolerant country," he said.

New Delhi welcomed the court's unanimous decision on Jadhav, while Islamabad said it had informed the ICJ that it did not accept the court's jurisdiction in matters related to national security.