Screenwriter Javed Akhtar has strongly criticised Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari for his comments on Hindu minorities in Pakistan. The exchange began with a video from an event to mark Pakistan’s Independence Day that surfaced on social media.
“The Indians have a different point of view. They have their own agenda in mind. They believe in Akhand Bharat. “We are Muslims. They are not. They are as free, as good as anywhere else they were.
But we are Muslims of the mindset that we tolerate 3-4 per cent Hindu population in Pakistan.
But there is a lot in between which they have forgotten,” Zardari said in the widely shared video. They would rather be with us than be with them,” the Pakistani leader said.
“India has always made genuine efforts to better the relationship with Pakistan. We opened cultural channels with Pakistan and its artists. “Mr Zardari of Pakistan who had come into the limelight after Benazeer Bhutto had married says that they tolerate the 3-4 per cent Hindu population in their country. I understand Mr Zardari you have always being insensitive to all under the sun which is less than 10 per cent,” the veteran screenwriter said. Zardari was sworn in as the 14th president of Pakistan in March 2024. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) and Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) managed to form a coalition government after an inconclusive general election in February 2024, marred by delays and widespread allegations of vote-rigging.
Reacting to the speech, Akhtar in a post on X took a swipe at Zardari over his reputation as “Mr 10 per cent”, alluding to allegations in Pakistan that he was known to take a cut from government projects. But you can’t clap with one hand, Pakistan never made any solid efforts to make things better,” Akhtar said, citing the example of Jammu and Kashmir.
