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 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 Mehndi 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, and 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 disagree. 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.”
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.”
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As Quraishi concluded his recorded message, he issued a challenge to Akhtar. He requested that upon returning home, Akhtar should demonstrate his bravery by speaking out about what is happening in Kashmir. Quraishi urged him to highlight the Gujarat incident and the persecution faced by Muslims in India. He further added that if not for the sake of Muslims, Akhtar should do it for the sake of humanity. Quraishi expressed his eagerness to see when Akhtar will tweet about Kashmir and Gujarat.
The Dil‑e‑Momin actor also mentioned how Akhtar took advantage of the “freedom of speech” in Pakistan. He highlighted that in Pakistan, people are allowed to express themselves freely even if there is a mishap within any community. Quraishi acknowledged that this is the privilege that Akhtar took advantage of during his visit to Pakistan.
On the work front, Quraishi was recently seen in Muqaddar, Farq, Baba Jani, Chakkar, and Fitoor.
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