Recently, the massacre of more than 40 Indian military personnel that took place at a camp in Pulwama, a district of occupied Kashmir, has stirred up a storm between India and Pakistan. Pakistan has been held responsible for the attack by the Indian Government.
Previously, Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi were invited at a literary event arranged by the Karachi Arts Council in honor of Kaifi Azmi. The couple had confirmed their attendance at the event. However, they canceled their visit to Pakistan, in light of the unrest between the two countries.
Ever since they announced the cancelation of their visit to Pakistan, the couple has been tweeting on the matter
This all appears mainly to reassure their fellow Indians that they were in fact standing in solidarity with them because as soon as the Pulwama incident happened there was massive backlash against the two for planning to attend an event in Karachi.
Javed Akhtar initially tweeted saying he has a special relationship with CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force)
He said that he had written the anthem for CRPF and met a number of officers during the process which increased his love and respect for them.
I have a special relation with CRPF. I have written Their anthem Before putting the pen to paper I met a number of CRPF officers n what ever I learned my respect admiration and love for these braves increased by many a fold Today I share the grief of the dear ones of the martyrs
— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) February 14, 2019
Then, in another tweet, Javed Akhtar formally canceled his and Shabana Azmi’s attendance at the event
He also quoted a poem in reference to the cancelation of his plan that was written by Kaifi Azmi during the war between India and Pakistan in 1965.
Kranchi art council had invited. Shabana and me for a two day lit conference about Kaifi Azmi and his poetry . We have cancelled that . In 1965 during the indo Pak war Kaifi saheb had written a poem . “ AUR PHIR KRISHAN NE ARJUN SE KAHA “
— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) February 15, 2019
His cancelation took the internet by storm. Some stood by his stance, some were apparently in disagreement.
One person who jumped at the opportunity to respond was Shaan, who has been quite active on social media lately
In his response, he said that now was the right time for the couple to come and prove their friendship and trust in Pakistan. He offered his condolences for the lives lost and said that ‘hate wins elections’….
Actually now is the time to come,and show the friendship and trust you have on us ..it is a fact that Pakistan has nothing to do with it , remember hate wins elections ..we condole the deaths of all the humans who died in this tragedy .. from 1947 till 2019
— Shaan Shahid (@mshaanshahid) February 15, 2019
Shaan didn’t just stop there
He urged Javed Akhtar to write a poem like his father-in-law, Kaifi Azmi regarding Kashmir being an occupied region by external forces.
Pls write a poem like your father in law did ,on Kashmir the occupied paradise …zulm rahay or aman bhi ho kya mumkin hay tum hi kaho .. hastee gatee roshan wadee tareeqee maim doob gai… betay Dino ki Laash per aye dil main rotaa hoon tu bhi roo
— Shaan Shahid (@mshaanshahid) February 15, 2019
But someone pointed out that the “poem” Shaan was referring to was actually written by Habib Jalib for a movie by Shaan’s own father
Whoops!
Bahi kam az kam apnay walid sahib ko to azeyat na dain pic.twitter.com/Ap3v3WSYIX
— ARZ (@1qRizwan) February 15, 2019
But guessing from Shaan’s response, he either didn’t really get the fact checking or chose to ignore it out of embarrassment
Your father was a filmmaker years ahead of any other in Pakistan. I love #Shaheed and #Zarqa. Beautiful movies with serious themes which are still afresh today. I watch both these movies from time to time😊
— LollywoodMovieLines (@LollywoodLines) February 15, 2019
No it was my father the song is from yeh AMAN made in 1971 on the illegal occupancy by Indian forces in Kashmir
— Shaan Shahid (@mshaanshahid) February 15, 2019
Later, other Pakistanis also trolled Javed Akhtar.
Like digital rights activist Nighat Dad, who first of all, corrected the lyricist and said its ‘Karachi’, not ‘Kranchi’. then she pointed out that artists should play a positive role when it comes to bringing peace and refrain from giving silly statements based on unfounded allegations.
Aik to it’s not Kranchi, it’s Karachi dosra artists can play a positive role in bringing peace to the region instead of giving silly statements based on unfounded allegations. https://t.co/p8yR0RslzP
— Nighat Dad (@nighatdad) February 15, 2019
Shabana Azmi, too, took to Twitter to declare her stance
In her first tweet pertaining to the unfortunate events, Shabana said that they will have to “call halt to cultural exchange”. She said that she is filled with grief and pain by the attack and that she feels weakened in her belief that people to people contact can persuade the establishment to do the right thing.
I am filled with pain and grief and all else ..by the dastardly #Pulwama attack . For the 1st time in all these years I feel weakened in my belief that people to people contact can force the Establishment to do the right thing.We will need to call halt to cultural exchange
— Azmi Shabana (@AzmiShabana) February 15, 2019
This was followed by another tweet that confirmed that the couple will be calling off cultural exchange of any kind with Pakistan
She said that they cannot overlook their martyrs who are laying down their lives for them and continue carrying cultural exchange between the two countries.
#Pulwama attack There is no way we can carry on with cultural exchanges between India and Pakistan even as our martyrs are laying down their lives for us. I stand in solidarity with the grieving families.
— Azmi Shabana (@AzmiShabana) February 15, 2019
But then she went back again by saying that there’s a difference between the Pakistani establishment and the people of Pakistan
She claimed that we’re all brothers and sisters at either sides of the border inevitably divided by circumstance with which they had nothing to do.
But lets not lose sight of d fact dat there is a difference between d Pakistani Establishment n d people of Pakistan n vice versa. On both sides of d border stand sisters n brothers divided by circumstances with which they had nothing 2 do.
Read in continuity of previous tweets— Azmi Shabana (@AzmiShabana) February 15, 2019
These tweets caused an outburst among the Twitter folk where Indians and Pakistanis both seemed to have mixed feeling about the couple. Some Pakistanis stepped up and responded to her tweets. Remember Kangana Ranaut’s disgusting statement against Pakistan? That’s how most people felt about these two, too.
Khair, we condemn this act of violence and offer our deepest condolences and sympathies to India in this time of grief. Pakistan will always be hopeful for peace in the subcontinent.
Indians Allegedly Painted The Pakistani Flag On A Road And Pakistanis Are Trolling Them For Getting It Wrong
Pakistanis Are Applauding This Indian Politician For Saying Pakistan Shouldn’t Be Blamed For The Pulwama Incident
Cover image via tribune.com.pk and pakistan.pk