Pakistani celebrities continue to target Javed Akhtar over his Mumbai attacks remark

Akhtar made the remark during his recent visit to Pakistan to attend an event in Lahore.

Actress  Saboor Aly wrote on social media as quoted by The Express Tribune: "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?"

“If we can’t respect ourselves then how will others do it? I agree that art has no boundaries or borders but you can certainly draw boundaries when it comes to your self-respect,” she wrote in her Instagram story section.

Actor Faysal Quraishi targeted Akhtar and said in his video posted on Instagram: "First of all, you were invited to the Faiz Mela and you mentioned how India invited Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Well, many artists from Pakistan have performed in India over the past few decades such as Mehdi Hassan, Atif Aslam and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. But, the way they were treated over there is transparent to us. Likewise, many Indian artists too visited Pakistan, including Sonu Nigham, Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Vinod Khanna."

"When you mentioned Ajmal Kasab, it shocked us all. Even though neither his name nor his face is like ours, a groundless accusation was levelled against us. Sadly, this happens quite often in India; a pigeon is seen as a spy or even if a cylinder bursts, Pakistan is blamed for it," he shared," he said.

''You had no proper proof to associate Ajmal with us, yet you did. I'm telling you with complete evidence that Pakistan's intelligence agency is quite efficient and does not issue false statements. You might remember Kulbhushan to Abhinandan, they were not from Pakistan, Sweden, or London, but from India. I also met Shahbaz Ali, a Pakistani pilot, after he was declared dead by India. The photos are on my Twitter," he said.

"I have a small request for you: when you go back home, show us your bravery by talking about what is happening in Kashmir. Please highlight the Gujarat incident and the persecution Muslims are facing in India. If not for the sake of Muslims, do it for humanity. I'm waiting to see when you will tweet about Kashmir and Gujarat," he said.

Actor and filmmaker Shaan Shahid questioned hosts over issuing a visa to Akhtar.

He tweeted: "He knows about the murderers of Muslims in Gujrat but he’s silent about that. And this gentleman is now looking for the perpetrators of the 26/11 attacks in Pakistan. Who gave him the visa?”

Actor Aijaz Aslam said the country's tolerance is evident from the fact that Akhtar could return home safely.

"Mr javed akhtar would you mind shedding some light on Kashmir issue ? You shouldn’t have come if you have so much hatred for pakistan, we still let u go back safely & thats our answer to your nonsense #javedakhtar #goback #nonsense," Aslam wrote on Twitter.

Singer Haroon Shahid attacked the lyricist and said: "Javed Sahab can party all he can in Pakistan, but I can't stand him suggesting that ‘India has given Pakistani artists a chance."

Pakistani VJ Anoushey Ashraf said: "Giving respect to a guest is essential. But never at the cost of your own 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?)"

What did Akhtar say?

Akhtar slammed Pakistan during his recent visit to the neighbouring nation over the issue of terrorism and said the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks are still roaming freely.

While attending an event in Lahore, Akhtar was quoted as saying in a video that had gone viral: "We saw how Mumbai was attacked."

"They (the perpetrators) are still roaming freely in your country," he said.

He pointed out that Pakistan never hosted a mega event for Lata Mangeshkar while India organized major concerts of artists Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mehdi Hasan.

“We hosted several big events for Nusrat and Mehdi Hasan but no performance of Lata Mangeshkar was ever organized in your nation,” he said.

Mumbai Attacks:

The 2008 Mumbai attacks were twelve coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai by members of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

The attacks, which drew widespread global condemnation, began on Wednesday, Nov 26, 2008 and lasted until Saturday, Nov 29, 2008, killing 164 people and wounding at least 308.