Mehwish Hayat has always been vocal about many socio-political issues including girl’s education, women’s right, women sports and what’s happening in the Indian-occupied Kashmir. She is also one of the few Pakistani celebrities who spoke about Indian cinema’s incessant targeting of Pakistan in films, at an international forum.
However, the actress came under fire after a snippet from one of her recent interviews went viral on social media. The video shows that Mehwish avoided responding to a question about Kashmir. “Nothing about Kashmir! I’ve been asked not to speak about Kashmir here,†she said to a reporter of a local news channel.
Soon after the video became public, the hashtag #RevokeMehwishHayatCivilAward started trending on social media as many called out the actress for her ‘selective activism’.
Read: Mehwish Hayat talks about ‘the problem with Priyanka Chopra’ in opinion piece for CNN
Mehwish was attending a charity event of Penny Appeal, of which she is an ambassador. Taken into account the severe backlash, the actress finally took to Twitter and presented her side of the story.
“The leaked video is being taken out of context. I’ve been the most vocal on the Kashmir issue globally and will continue to do so. I have big plans for the next steps. This was a charity event and I was requested by the PR not to be political and distract people from the orphans I was there to help,†she wrote.
The leaked video is being taken out of context. I’ve been the most vocal on #Kashmir issue globally & will continue to do so. I have big plans for next steps. This was a charity event & was requested by the PR not to be political ¬ distract from the orphans I was there to help
— Mehwish Hayat TI (@MehwishHayat) September 29, 2019
Many of her peers came out in her support and asked her not to give any clarifications.
The way you articulated the human rights violation in Kashmir and passionately promoted pakistan and the way it was reported in the international media, makes me a proud Pakistani. As Colleagues we are behind you. You don’t have to give clarifications for any leaked video https://t.co/gljW5ZDqJn
— Shehzad Roy (@ShehzadRoy) September 29, 2019
