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HomeGo To Pakistan‘Brain fogged’ Pakistani actor Resham litters flood-affected river. Gives bizarre apology

‘Brain fogged’ Pakistani actor Resham litters flood-affected river. Gives bizarre apology

Pakistani social media tore into actor Resham for littering a river while on her way to conduct flood relief work in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday.

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New Delhi: When you’re on the receiving end of a nationwide backlash for posting a video of yourself littering a river amid times of calamitous floods, make sure to first double down and remind people that there are bigger crimes. Also, ensure that you blame Covid-induced brain fog when eventually apologising for your transgressions. And don’t forget to remind everyone that you personally oppose littering. That’s what Pakistani actor Resham did when she found herself at the centre of controversy on Sunday.

Best known for her work in Lollywood cinema since the 1990s and television drama shows since the 2010s, Resham had posted a series of videos to her Facebook page on 11 September while on her way to the town of Charsadda in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to conduct relief work in flood-affected areas.

However, in one such video, filmed on a highway bridge, Resham is seen opening and tossing, item by item, meat and bread into a river before throwing the plastic packaging as well.


Also read: Livestock on life support: Where Pakistan floods hit the hardest


Unforgiving fans

The backlash in the comments to her video was swift, numerous and unequivocal, as users and public figures tore at Resham for littering in a flood-affected river.

“You lost your total personality by throwing a plastic bread wrapper in water…cutting you from my nice people list,” Facebook user Salim Ghauri said.

“IQ so high that you are high,” another user, Hira Saeed, quipped.

Singer Meesha Shafi, known for popular singles like Hot Mango Chutney Sauce, also made her views public when she highlighted the irony on Twitter. “Distributing aid on camera to victims of horrific floods caused by giant climate change calamity right after throwing groceries and plastic shoppers/trays into a river (also on camera),” she wrote.


Also read: Jemima Goldsmith comes to Pakistan’s aid again—to raise funds via pvt screening of her film


Resham’s ‘rebuttal’

Resham doubled down in response to the criticism on Tuesday in an interview with The Friday Times. Labelling it a “pathetic performance,” she justified her actions as “offering sadqah [charity].” She then attributed her lack of civic sense to mental health issues such as her brother’s passing. And finally, she blamed brain fog as a result of contracting Covid-19 twice. In an attempt to put her actions in a larger context, she pointed to other pressing issues in Pakistan today, such as women being “gang-raped here every day.”

“I am in Charsadda as we speak. I have been quietly helping thousands affected in the calamity-hit district. But, of course, people are only interested in trolling me. I do a lot of good too, only if people knew. I have an enviable social media following. Over 600,000 people follow me just on Facebook. That’s more than enough publicity for me…I feed hundreds,” Resham told The Friday Times. 

She went on to add that a large part of her income was spent on charitable and relief efforts, “but people will only comment on that video.”

Resham’s interview was only the first attempt at an “unconditional apology.” She followed it up with an apology on her Instagram account, stating that her actions were careless, unintentional and her career’s “biggest mistake.”

“I am personally opposed to any form of littering, and keeping our country clean is an important duty. I am human, humans make mistakes and I also made a mistake,” Resham added.

While Resham received appreciation from some on Twitter for belatedly taking ownership of her actions, it is not the first time she has been at the centre of controversy.

In 2018, she weighed in on Meesha Shafi’s #MeToo allegations against actor and singer Ali Zafar by supporting the latter and saying she couldn’t “see any truth” in Shafi’s allegations.

“How can it be true that Ali Zafar harasses a woman and she doesn’t slap him back, hit him with a shoe, push him away or complain to his wife?… I have known Ali Zafar for 20 years; he is someone who gives a lot of respect to others… who gives respect to women,” Resham had said.

(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)

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