The renowned Indian poet, lyricist and scriptwriter Javed Akhtar showed up at the 7th Faiz Festival in Lahore a few days ago where he received a warm welcome.
A video went viral across the internet in which Akhtar levelled some allegations against Pakistan.
He talked about the attack of 2008 on Mumbai, India saying that the terrorists were still roaming freely in Pakistan.
He said, “We welcomed and did huge functions of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mehdi Hassan but you did not do any function for Lata Mangeshkar in your country.
Further, he said, “We saw how Mumbai was attacked. The terrorists came neither from Norway nor from Egypt but they are still roaming freely in your country. If these complaints are in an Indian's heart, you shouldn’t take offence. Let us not blame each other. That won’t solve the issues.”
Pakistani veteran actors including Saboor Aly, Shan Shahid, Anoushay Ashraf, Resham, Haroon Shahid, Ijaz Aslam, Mishi Khan, Noor Bukhari, Zara Shahjahan, Amar Khan, Arsalan Naseer and Ali Safina jumped on to their social media handles and raised their voices in support of their beloved country Pakistan.
Actress Sabbor Aly lashed out at all those Pakistanis who were going gaga over Javed Akhtar when he was giving the negative statements about Pakistan during the festival.
“What a shame! All the educated illiterate the so-called niche you never gave the same respect to your own talent. There were so many artists in this country that didn’t even have money to afford healthcare at the end of their lives. Where were all of these appreciators of talent back then?” she asked.
Resham took to her Instagram stories and said “For me my country is my first priority I was not aware about the statement Javed Akhtar gave against Pakistan during the festival.”
Actor and filmmaker Shan Shahid taking to twitter handle questioned the arrival of Javed Akhtar in Pakistan, condemning his approach towards bilateral ties between India and Pakistan.
He also said that why is Javed Akhtar silent on Muslim genocide in Gujrat riots?
Actress Anoushey Ashraf suggests Pakistani celebrities to show some dignity, in order to avoid such disrespectful incidents towards the country.
Actresses Mishi Khan and Noor Bukhari also expressed their disappointment in our people, especially those who applauded Javed Akhtar, following the negative remarks about Pakistan
Amar Khan also showered her opinion on social media saying that people judged the clapping wrong. She said that everyone clapped when Javed Akhtar talked about Lata Mangeshkar not after the terrorist roaming remark.
Zara Shahjahan slammed the "fake elite" for hosting Javed Akhtar at their homes, despite his insulting remarks at Faiz Festival.
“Pakistan itna unsafe hai to tu zinda kese bach gya” (If Pakistan is too much unsafe then how would you be kept alive?).
Ali Safina dedicated a verse to Javed Akhtar.
Whereas the Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut took to her twitter handle and tweeted, “Whenever I listen to Javed sahab's poetry, I feel like Goddess Saraswati has blessed him. There must be some truth within a person for him to be blessed with divinity. Jai Hind. He attacked them [Pakistanis] in their own land.”
After all the controversy Javed Akhtar in a recent interview said that his statement was well-received by the all sitting in the hall. “They all clapped. They agreed with me. There are many people who admire India and want to have a relationship with us.”