New Delhi: Many Pakistani celebrities and influencers from actors Mahira Khan and Armeena Khan to singer Arooj Aftab have become more vocal in their support for Palestinians trapped in Gaza.
They starting speaking out after the attack on Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City earlier this week during the Israel-Hamas war. Now, they are attending protests in Lahore and other parts of the world, posting updates and appeals for help on social media, distinguishing fact from fake news, and a few are criticising world leaders for their inaction.
Humsafar fame Mahira Khan, for instance, has been posting regular updates—at least four a day—on what’s happening in Palestine on X (formerly Twitter). One of the videos she shared was of a Jewish author putting Israel and Palestine in context and breaking down the imbalance of the situation. But for the most part, she’s careful not to assign blame or call out any government. Her appeals are more on humanitarian grounds.
Captioning a picture of a child looking at the bombs and blasts, his back to the camera, she wrote: “I wish I could hide you in my heart when the bombs fell. I wish, I wish, I wish.”
Meanwhile, actor and writer Osman Khalid Butt is not mincing any words— he rarely does. On social media, he has criticised world leaders for their neutral stand and for speaking passively about Israel. Tweeting against the US President Joe Biden’s support for Israel, he wrote, “They just bombed a mosque, Joe.”
https://twitter.com/aClockworkObi/status/1714683625609003357
Also read: ‘Turn up for Nawaz Sharif, take a bike’ – Pakistanis criticise PML-N’s motorcycle bribe
Standing up for Gaza
Pakistani celebrities have rarely shied away from social causes and current events. When former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested, his celebrity supporters like actor Ahmed Ali Butt and model Zara Peerzada did not remain silent. In the past, Radio jockey and actress Anoushey Ashraf and others have participated in climate change awareness campaigns and marches. They are equally vocal about women’s rights and the plight of transgenders in Pakistan.
Now, it’s the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Gaza Strip that has everyone weighing in. Director Sarmad Khoosat to actors Yumna Zaidi and Adnan Malik, and singer Hasan Raheem and Asim Azhar are among the many celebrities who are talking about Palestine.
A few like Pakistani Canadian actor Ushna Shah are confronting celebrities from other countries. Shah shared American comedian and actor Amy Schumer’s post on Hamas with the comment, “Never found Amy Schumer funny, until now.” And on Instagram story, she penned an open latter to “Jewish/Zionist American acquaintances” saying: “It is evident you believe Jewish lives matter more than Arab ones. “
https://x.com/ushnashah/status/1714632377010426267?s=20
Another Pakistani-Canadian actor Armeena Khan shared photos of her daughter and her husband participating in protests in Canada with the caption: “Amelie at her first protest with dada, standing up for all the babies brutalised. Children are innocent, they need to be spared.”
But one celebrity, singer Momina Mustehsan, evoked anger for expressing her solidarity for Israel’s children. “I grieve with my Jewish friends for the innocent lives lost,” she wrote on X.
The backlash was swift and harsh.
To which Mustehsan responded, “Wow never thought the condemnation of human killings gets Pakistani Twitter to come for your life. I do not believe the state of Israel represents all Jews, just like I don’t believe the Indian government represents all Hindus, nor does the Pakistani government represent all Muslims.”
https://x.com/MominaMustehsan/status/1714756420506173793?s=20