Veteran lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar has openly criticised Pakistan for its inaction against perpetrators of terror attacks targeting India. His comments come given the recent Pahalgam incident and the Mumbai terror attacks. Speaking at a recent event, Akhtar underlined the lack of reciprocal cultural respect from Pakistan, despite India’s longstanding hospitality towards Pakistani artists.
#WATCH | Mumbai: Lyricist Javed Akhtar said, “…Sanjay Lele, Atul Mone & Hemant Joshi from this state were looking for a moment of peace and happiness. Perhaps they should not have done that. In search of that, they visited Pahalgam. They were mercilessly shot there. We should… pic.twitter.com/RJyAxoOVri
— ANI (@ANI) May 2, 2025
Akhtar recalled his experience at a literary event in Lahore, where he confronted Pakistani attendees about the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. He said, ”I am a resident of Mumbai and I have seen my city burning. Those who came to burn it did not come from Sweden or Egypt, those people are roaming freely even today in our city.” He highlighted that while India has warmly welcomed Pakistani artists like Mehdi Hassan and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the gesture has not been reciprocated in the same manner. He further added that ”even the biggest of the Indian writers or Indian artists visited Pakistan, they were never invited on PTV. Lata Mangeshkar was undoubtedly the most popular Indian personality of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. But you did not conduct any functions for her”.
Underlining India’s efforts to boost peaceful relations, Akhtar gave the example of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s visit to Pakistan. ”Atal ji visited the location called Nishan-e-Pakistan…He gave his respect to that place…The day after he returned from there, that place was washed and cleaned, where Atal Bihari Vajpayee had come. We went there for friendship. But a few days later, the Kargil War started”, he pointed out. Akhtar raised a question on Pakistan’s sincerity in peace efforts, mentioning, ”When they could not accept their own slain jawans, who would they own? Someone who is laying down their life for you, you say they are not yours when they die.”
Akhtar’s remark underlines the need for genuine accountability and mutual respect in terms of cultural and diplomatic ties.
