The three-day Faiz Festival organized at the Alhamra Arts Council in Lahore in memory of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, a prominent writer, poet, journalist, and spirit of the progressive movement, concluded with its literary and cultural achievements.
In the various seats of the festival, personalities associated with different fields including literature, culture, politics, and journalism, arts expressed their views. On the last day of the festival, famous Indian poet Javed Akhtar along with Kishor Naheed, Iftikhar Arif, Anwar Shibat, and Khursheed Rizvi also entertained the audience by speaking in his unique style. Javed Akhtar came to Pakistan after more or less five years and I am saying with great certainty that he will have received many times more respect and love this time than last time.
Well! Now let’s come to the thing that forced me to pick up the pen. On the last day of the festival, during the conversation, Javed Akhtar said a sentence that as a proud and patriotic Pakistani I found very offensive, inappropriate, and full of Indian malice and enmity. He blamed this on Pakistan while speaking in his session.
“Pakistan sent its terrorists to our India, which led to the tragic incident of 26/11, and even today … still … the perpetrators of this heinous act are roaming freely in your country.”
After hearing and reading this phrase, what happened to us, but alas, alas! That all the intellectuals, attendees and audience were silent spectators, none of them showed their national pride.
I remembered the former army chief and former president of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf very strongly at that time. Pervez Musharraf was addressing the 15th edition of the India Today Conclave in India. During the discussion, when the question and answer session started, then someone made the same accusation against Pakistan, then a sentence of Pervez Musharraf (whose critics are also convinced of the present answer) locked the poisoned tongues of the entire gathering. He forced them to clap.
The former president boldly replied that “whatever Indian agency RAW is doing in Pakistan and has been doing, Pakistan’s ISI responds to it in the same way and as far as what is happening in India is concerned.” Of terrorist activities, not me but your own Indian Today says that most of these types of activities in India involve separatist movements in India and not Pakistan.
After this toothless answer, no one dared to make such an accusation again in this gathering of several hours. I wish! Any proud, courageous Pakistani would stand up here too, and show a mirror to Javed Akhtar. but alas!
It is the lack of national pride that we and our country have reached this point today. After listening to this biased and irresponsible talk of Javed Akhtar, Faiz Sahib’s poem comes to mind with that beautiful memory of Pervez Musharraf.
کر رہا تھا غمِ جہاں کا حساب
آج تم یاد بے حساب آئے
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