Javed Akhtar has compared the poverty of India and Pakistan during an event in India. During the event, the host and writer Chetan Bhagat asked Javed Akhtar that Pakistan’s economy is in a bad state, they are kneeling before the IMF, did you feel this during your visit to Pakistan? Javed Akhtar replied no, not at all, in India we see poverty on the streets, but nothing like that was seen in Lahore, it seems that poverty is hidden there. He said I went to Lahore three times, but I never saw the houses of the poor, nor did I see any poor people on the streets. It is surprising how they have managed all this. Bhagat asked if, during his stay in Pakistan, he travelled via “special streets”. At this, Akhtar said: “You will see poverty in Mumbai no matter whichever road you take but this is not the same in Pakistan.”