News Desk |
After the controversial statements, the cross-border veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah has now advised Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan to take care of his own country and not to worry about the minorities in India.
Earlier, addressing to people in a ceremony held in Lahore to mark the achievement of Pakistan Tehreel-I-Insaf in first 100-days, Prime Minister Imran Khan had expressed his resolve to safeguard the rights of religious minorities –since it is the cornerstone of the vision of the country’s founding father– and asserted that Pakistan would show the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi how to treat these groups.
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“We have to help our minorities and protect them as Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah laid emphasis on granting equal rights to minorities,” said PM Khan. “If justice is not given to the weak then this only leads to an uprising. The people of East Pakistan were not given their rights and this was the main reason behind the creation of Bangladesh,” he added.
Responding to his comments, Naseeruddin Shah said, “I think Mr. Khan should be walking the talk in his own country instead of commenting on issues that don’t concern him. We have been a democracy for 70 years and we know how to look after ourselves.”
Perhaps Shah capitalized the opportunity to wash off the accusations of ‘traitor’ and woo his critics with whom Shah has been at a hard angle after condemning the growing influence of the right-wing Hindu extremists in India. He in his recent interview had stated that religious freedom is stifling in India and he feared for his children’s safety. His comments evoked protests countrywide and infuriated mob threatened to harm him due to which he was barred from attending the Ajmer Literature Festival.
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Anupam Kher, Indian actor, and outright nationalist criticized Shah’s remarks and asked that how much more freedom did Mr. Shah expect in a country where “one can abuse the army and pelt stones at soldiers”.
Mr. Kher stated, “There’s so much freedom in the country that you can abuse the army, badmouth the air chief, and pelt stones at soldiers. How much more freedom do you need in a country? He (Mr. Shah) said what he felt like; it doesn’t mean it’s the truth.”