On the occasion of Pakistan’s Independence Day, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari said such a thing about the minorities there that Javed Akhtar got angry.
Indian screenwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar has criticized Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari. In fact, Asif Ali Zardari said that the Muslims of Pakistan are tolerating the Hindu minorities here. In such a situation, Javed Akhtar got enraged and gave a sharp reaction on social media. He also referred to the Pakistani President’s long-standing nickname ‘Mr Ten Percent’.
Asif Ali Zardari’s full statement
During Pakistan’s Independence Day celebrations, Asif Ali Zardari talked about the condition of Pakistani Hindus and compared them with Hindus living in India. According to a clip shown on CNN-News18, Asif Ali Zardari said, ‘Indians have a different perspective. He has his own agenda in mind. They believe in united India. But there are many things in between which they have forgotten. We are Muslims. They are not. But we are like-minded Muslims who tolerate 3-4 percent Hindu population in Pakistan. They are as free and happy as they could be anywhere else. They would rather live with us than with them.
Javed Akhtar’s answer
Javed Akhtar wrote on social media, ‘Pakistan’s Mr. Zardari, who came into limelight after marrying Benazir Bhutto, says that he tolerates 3-4 percent Hindu population in his country. I think Mr. Zardari, you have always been insensitive towards all those people whose population is less than 10 percent.
Why was Asif Ali Zardari named ‘Mr Ten Percent’?
Actually, Asif Ali Zardari got the nickname ‘Mr Ten Percent’ in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This name was given after allegations that they demanded 10 percent commission in exchange for government projects and business deals. Although Asif Ali Zardari denied these allegations, his surname became famous.
President Ghulam Ishaq Khan had accused
The nickname became more popular after Benazir Bhutto’s government was dismissed by then President Ghulam Ishaq Khan in 1990. At that time, acting Prime Minister Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi had made serious allegations against Asif Ali Zardari. Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi had told ‘Time’ magazine in 1990, ‘To get permission to start any project, one had to pay 10 percent commission. One had to pay commission even to take a bank loan… Whatever happened, Zardari was involved in it. He was the main architect of this.
