I still don’t know what was more bizarre: Pakistani hyper and seasonal patriots having a collective meltdown over Javed Akhtar’s plain talk or those seen crying on his lap at sexual harassment-accused singer Ali Zafar’s party in Lahore. Take your pick. The tides have turned from selfie-taking at night to condemnation in the morning.
One thing is for sure. Akhtar has given dard-e-disco to everyone—and their uncles—in Pakistan. And this is while I thought he was acting as chief-of-staff to Michelle Obama after requesting her to return to the White House as President of the United States. She’s not returned yet, but he’s returned to India and how.
‘Izzat, bezzati’ argument
This is how it all began. At the seventh Faiz Festival, organised in memory of legendary Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz in Lahore, an audience member asked Akhtar a pressing question: “You have visited Pakistan many times. When you go back, do you tell your people that these [Pakistanis] are good people; they aren’t just bombing us [Indians] but also greeting us with garlands and love?” The Indian lyricist replied that he was from Mumbai and that he, like all Mumbaikars, had witnessed the 26/11 attacks in 2008. “The attackers weren’t from Norway or Egypt. Those responsible still freely roam in Pakistan. You should not be offended if an Indian complains about this,” he said. While the hall didn’t explode with claps, Akhtar’s response was certainly made into a ‘Pakistan ki bezzati ho gayi’ argument.
National mood: Baat to sach hai magar baat hai rusvai ki.
Pakistanis’ annoyed reaction to the reply makes it seem like it is the first time someone has spoken about Mumbai attack planners roaming freely in the country. The insinuation that Pakistan was actually behind the attack has made many uncomfortable. To the extent that, in the name of hubulwatani (jingoism), calling Javed Akhtar namak haraam (unfaithful), criticising Faiz Festival organisers for inviting the poet, and calling out the Shehbaz Sharif government for issuing a visa to Akhtar have all become the norm in Pakistani discourse today. A deep dive into Akhtar’s past tweets on the 2019 Pulwama attack, using loudspeakers for azaan in India, and the hijab row, among other things, have given more pangs to the already offended.
The rest of the seasonal celebrity condemners have been at the forefront of this ‘good fight’. One actor, in a rather hilarious outburst, claimed that neither Ajmal Kasab’s face nor his andaaz was Pakistani. Which andaaz of Kasab would have determined him a non-Pakistani remains a mystery. But we also learned from this actor that “You [Javed Akhtar] had no proper proof to associate Ajmal with us. Pakistan’s intelligence agency is quite efficient and does not issue false statements”. National delusional behaviour 101.
Also read: Pakistanis angry with Javed Akhtar for 2 things—Mumbai attacks comment, Ali Zafar after-party
It’s not you, it’s me
The outburst stems from State-built intellect, according to which circling Kasab’s wrist with red threads determined he was Hindu and Indian, not Pakistani. And, by further extension, a Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) agent. Hell yes to buying the idea that Kasab couldn’t be a Pakistani when he was actually an alien. There is also no chance the attackers came from Egypt or Norway; they could have well boated down from Mars. There was no such thing as Kasab, just as there was no Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad or like there never were any Pakistani soldiers fighting in Kargil war. But still, Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief and Lashkar-e-Taiba co-founder Hafiz Saeed leading funeral prayers in absentia for Kasab was pertinent for someone eulogised as a hero.
Today, it is an Indian complaining; yesterday, it was former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. In 2018, Sharif raised concern over cross-border terrorism and stalling Mumbai attack trials in the country. “Militant organisations are active. Call them non-State actors; should we allow them to cross the border and kill 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me. Why can’t we complete the trial? It’s absolutely unacceptable. This is exactly what we are struggling for. [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin has said it. [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping] has said it,” the deposed PM had said. Soon after, Sharif and his interviewer were booked for high treason along with former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqqan Abbasi, who had defended Sharif’s comments.
The Mumbai terror attacks took away almost 15 years from any chance of Pakistan having normal relations with India. From Sharif’s to Asif Ali Zardari’s, successive governments have discussed the need to put the House in order and bring the perpetrators to justice—instead of these terrorists fathering children in jails, giving public speeches on waging jihad against India or setting out on religious conversion tourism in the country.
It would hurt to find out that there is a world outside the island of Pakistan where people have actually been impacted and voiced their concerns. “India hasn’t forgotten the Mumbai attacks,” is one such voice on loop. Rabble-rousing can’t change facts. Look toward the northwest, and you find Afghans complaining about Pakistan’s duplicitous ‘good Taliban, bad Taliban’ policy. Unable to run away from both, it is far easier to paint everyone as namak haraams. If only crucifying Javed Akhtar would make all this go away.
The author is a freelance journalist from Pakistan. She tweets @nailainayat. Views are personal.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)