Javed Akhtar opens up on Pakistani's reaction to his 26/11 attack comment: "They agreed with me"

Javed Akhtar recently commented on the 26/11 Mumbai terrorists walking freely in Pakistan while he was in Pakistan for a literary festival in Lahore. Social media users posted a video of the lyricist-writer making the remark during the festival honouring the late Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz, and actress Kangana Ranaut responded by complimenting him. Javed has now disclosed how the audience reacted to his comment at the Pakistan event.

Javed Akhtar claimed that his remarks about the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai were positively welcomed in Pakistan in a recent interview. Many Pakistanis, he continued, admire India, and they want their two neighbours to have a relationship. Javed continued by claiming that"the Pakistan Army, the Pakistani people, and the Pakistani establishment are not on the same page.

Javed said in an interview to NDTV, 

"They all clapped. They agreed with me. There are many people who admire India and want to have a relationship with us. We tend to think of countries as monolith. That is not the case. How do we connect with millions of people who want to connect with India."

Javed was also questioned on if now was the appropriate time for India and Pakistan to hold talks and whether finding common ground was necessary. He stated that he is not of that caliber to respond to this query.  Those who are in positions of power and authority are aware of what is going on and know how to approach the problem. The Pakistani Army, the Pakistani populace, and the Pakistani bureaucracy do not agree. Government officials should know better. His knowledge is limited. We in India know virtually little about the people of Pakistan. The same applies to them, he concluded.