Karachi body flays Shabana, Javed for attacking Pakistan

Karachi: The Arts Council of Pakistan has criticized veteran Indian actress Shabana Azmi and her lyricist-writer husband Javed Akhtar for axing their visit to Karachi in the wake of the suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 49 troopers.
The couple was set to take part in centenary celebrations of Shabana’s poet-father Kaifi Azmi.
The Dawn newspaper on Sunday quoted Council President Ahmed Shah as saying that Shabana had “crossed the line” the way she attacked Pakistan in a manner not appropriate for a literary person.
“I feel sorry for Shabana Azmi that she has lost hope,” he said. “I don’t criticise her but we deeply feel saddened the way she had expressed disappointment after (the) Pulwama attack.
“We firmly believe that artists and people who are regarded for their literary and art contribution are the ones who give hope to people. They never disappoint them. But this time Shabana Azmi sounds extremely disappointed.” The Council is organising a conference to mark 100th birth anniversary of Kaifi Azmi on February 23-24. Many celebrated poets and literary personalities from Pakistan and other parts of the world have been invited for the event.