Javed Akhtar Criticises Pakistan, Says India Always Took Initiative To Improve Ties

Veteran lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar sharply criticised Pakistan’s approach towards India, stating that India has consistently taken the initiative to improve relations with all its neighbours, including Pakistan, but the latter has failed to reciprocate.

Javed Akhtar Praises India For Taking Initiatives

Speaking at a book launch event in Andheri West alongside his wife Shabana Azmi, Akhtar said, “India has always made genuine efforts to better the relationship with Pakistan. We opened cultural channels with Pakistan and its artists. But you can’t clap with one hand. Pakistan never made any solid efforts to make things better.”

Akhtar highlighted India’s stance on the Kashmir issue, emphasising that despite its rightful claim, India has never shown aggression.

“There is such a big dispute in Kashmir. In spite of our claim, we have never been aggressive. In fact, many people complain, ‘Why are you not aggressive?’ We are not that. So the aggression has always been from that side. So this is not right,” he added.

Javed Akhtar Presents Historical Examples Of Pakistan’s Aggression

He cited Operation Gibraltar of 1965, where the Pakistan Army covertly crossed the Line of Control (LoC) to incite rebellion in Jammu and Kashmir, as a key example of Pakistan’s aggression.

Akhtar also referred to the Kargil War and recent terrorist attacks on civilians in Pahalgam, which Pakistan has sponsored.

Reflecting On Partition And Refugees

At the event, Javed and Shabana read excerpts from a book chronicling the pain of migration experienced by displaced families during Partition.

The author’s family had migrated to India amid the turmoil.

Javed emphasised the importance of dialogue between refugees from both countries, stating, “Governments of both the countries should have made an effort to make the refugees sit together and share their stories of separation. Only then would we have truly known what happened to whom and what kind of atrocities were faced by how many people. It would not have remained one-sided.”

Expressing a bleak view on the political future, Akhtar concluded, “Anyway, the situation in the near future, I do not think, will get much better politically.”

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