Waiting for the day Javed Akhtar will tweet about Kashmir and Gujarat massacre: Faysal Quraishi

Actor Faysal Quraishi recently took to social media to share his two cents on renowned Indian lyricist, Javed Akhtar's statement at the 7th Faiz Festival. At the said event, which was held in Lahore, Akhtar voiced how terrorists from the 2008 Mumbai attacks “still roam free” in Pakistan.

Taking to Instagram, Quraishi shared a four-minute clip addressed to Akhtar. "I have a message for Javed Akhtar," he began. "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," noted the Fitoor actor.

He then further elaborated, "This is a perfect representation of the strong bond between the Indian and Pakistani entertainment fraternity. I hope our relationship continues this way, but sometimes we do land in disagreements. If you also encounter MS Dhoni on your way back home, do ask him how his team was treated in Pakistan with such love and respect by everyone. Not only us but also the late military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf lauded him as well."

Moving on, the Dil‑e‑Momin star highlighted how propaganda news has stained ties between the two countries. "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.

Quraishi also believed that the rapid spread of misinformation exists on both borders. "You can go visit any Indian publication's website and see the countless propaganda news spreading around Pakistan, but if you see our newspapers it's not much different as we have our own troubles."

Treading back to the initial statement, Quraishi recalled the time he met a Pakistani Wing Commander who India claimed to have shot down. ''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."

Before concluding his recorded message, Quraishi challenged Akhtar with a small task. "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.

He also highlighted how Akhtar took advantage of the "freedom of speech" in Pakistan and how his country does not shun people away from expressing their truth. "If any mishap occurs within any community here, we are allowed to express ourselves freely and that's the privilege you took advantage of here."

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