After the recent terror attack in Indian occupied Kashmir’s district Pulwama, Indian officials and media bigwigs are blaming Pakistan. While Indian politicians are using the situation to their advantage, celebrities and veteran stars have stepped forward to blatantly accuse Pakistan of what transpired. Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi retracted from their upcoming visit to Karachi while Kangana Ranaut hurled baseless accusations. Amidst all the hate, Indian Punjab Cabinet Minister and also former Indian cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu has come under hot waters for refusing to blame Pakistan for the terror attack.
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Sidhu received severe backlash when he attended Prime Minister Imran Khan’s oath-taking ceremony last year in Pakistan. He has always demanded that peace prevails between the two neighbouring countries.
Last year Imran Khan laid the stone for the historical Kartarpur Corridor which connects holy sites for Sikhs in Pakistan to India. At a recent press meet, Navjot Singh was questioned how the Kartarpur Corridor will be affected post the terror attack in Pulwama. Sidhu in reply didn’t hold Pakistan responsible.
“What has the bloodshed got to do with Kartarpur? When a person becomes a pilgrim out of devotion, he becomes a different person. What I feel is that we should deliberate over the problem of terrorism, and find out the root cause of the problem and uproot it,” Hindustan Times quoted him as saying.
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Sidhu condemned the act of terror, however, refused to blame Pakistan for what happened. “It is a cowardly act and I condemn it firmly. Violence is always condemnable and those who did it must be punished. For a handful of people, can you blame the entire nation and can you blame an individual?” the Press Trust of India [PTI]Â reported.
Sidhu’s comments backfired soon after which, netizens demanded Sidhu’s removal from the popular comedy show, The Kapil Sharma Show. The former cricketer has been sacked and replaced by Archana Singh.
We welcome Archana Puran Singh on #TheKapilSharmaShow, next Sunday! @apshaha @KapilSharmaK9 @kikusharda @Krushna_KAS @bharti_lalli @sumona24 @RochelleMRao @trulyedward @haanjichandan @Banijayasia pic.twitter.com/NWFDxp9VcT
— sonytv (@SonyTV) February 17, 2019
To make matters worse, an old clip of Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar’s comment on terrorism associated with Pakistan has resurfaced. When questioned by a reporter, Akshay had said, “no, that’s not true at all. Terrorism is not in a country, there are certain elements. Terrorism exists in India, America, Australia, Paris and Peshawar. There are certain people who spread terrorism, not a country.”
Previously Pakistani actors faced an informal ban on working in India, now T-Series has also ended its contract with Pakistani singer Atif Aslam and removed his Valentine’s Day release Baarishein from YouTube. It is yet to be confirmed if future Bollywood films will be released in Pakistan.
