Daily Times

Writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar’s recent comments about the 26/11 attacks, made before a gathering in Pakistan, have irked certain Pakistani celebrities. At an event in honour of the Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Akhtar reminded the crowd that the perpetrators of the attacks are still roaming free and that to expect Indian to ignore this would be unfair.

Reacting to his comments, actor Resham, who has appeared in films such as Jeeva and Ghunghat, wrote on Instagram that she puts her country above everything else and expressed regret at posting a picture with Akhtar from a party during his visit. She wrote in Urdu, “My country is more dear to me than anything else. I absolutely had no knowledge about what Javed Akhtar sahab said about my country in the Faiz Festival session. I condemn his words. As per our customs of special treatment, we consider guests God’s mercy but Pakistan is more precious to us than our hearts and lives.” In an earlier post, she had shared pictures with Akhtar from a party hosted by Ali Zafar and had written that she was ‘lucky’ to have been there.

At the Faiz festival, a person had asked Akhtar to take back messages of peace with him to India. “You have visited Pakistan many times…When you go back do you tell your people that these are good people, they aren’t just bombing us but also greeting us with garlands and love?” they asked of him. Akhtar responded, according to The Print, “Let us not blame each other. That won’t solve issues. Jo garam hai fiza, woh kam honi chahiye. Hum toh Bambaiye log hain. Hamne dekha wahan kaise hamla hua tha. Wo log Norway se toh nahi aaye the naa Egypt se aaye the, wo log abhi bhi aapke mulk me ghum rahe hain. Toh ye shikayat agar Hindustani ke dil me ho toh aapko bura nahi manna chahiye (The atmosphere needs to cool down. I am from Bombay and all of us witnessed the attack on Bombay. The attackers weren’t from Norway, or from Egypt. They are still present in your country, so you should not be offended if an Indian complains about this).”

While his words were appreciated domestically, it turns out that some Pakistani celebrities weren’t quite as accepting of what he said. In a series of Instagram stories, actor Saboor Aly wrote, “Koi apne ghar mein aa kar beizzat kar ke ja raha hai upse khushi se shor machaya ja raha hai aur phir qadmoun mein baitha ja raha hae (Someone has insulted your country on your own soil, and you are celebrating him, honouring him with such joy, sitting at his feet). What a shame!”

She was probably reacting to Akhtar’s statement about how his comments were received by the Pakistani audience. He had told NDTV, “They all clapped. They agreed with me. There are many people who admire India, want to have a relationship with us.”

“Isko visa kis ne dia (Who gave him a visa)?” questioned actor Shaan Shahid. Actor-VJ Anoushey Ashraf tweeted, “Giving respect to a guest is essential. But never at the cost of your self-respect. The way some were hanging off javed akhtar sb’s leg in admiration was a tad bit extra willingness to please. Maybe he’d be weary of his words if we’d shown him the dignity we have (or lack?)” In November 2008, a series of orchestrated attacks were carried out at several locations in Mumbai, claiming 175 lives and injuring hundreds.