NEW DELHI: The fact that India and Pakistan share far from a cordial relation is a secret to none. But the latest war of words between the two over Bollwyood star Shah Rukh Khan has come as a shock to many.
This comes after the King Khan had in an article written: "I sometimes become the inadvertent object of political leaders who choose to make me a symbol of all that they think is wrong and unpatriotic about Muslims in India."
"There have been occasions when I have been accused of bearing allegiance to our neighbouring nation rather than my own country - this even though I am an Indian, whose father fought for the freedom of India. Rallies have been held where leaders have exhorted me to leave and return what they refer to my original homeland," added the 47-year-old star.
The article prompted Pakistan's minister Rehman Malik's to say that India should provide the actor security prompting a sharp rebuke from New Delhi that Islamabad should mind its own 'minorities'.
Malik said in Islamabad that the Indian government should provide security to Shah Rukh, in the thick of a controversy over his remarks on being a Muslim that led to Jamaat-ud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed saying the star could move to Pakistan.
Addressing reporters in Islamabad at a reception hosted by the Indian High Commissioner, Malik added that people of both Pakistan and India love Shah Rukh, reported Geo TV Tuesday.
India was quick to react.
Soon after Malik's remarks were reported in the media, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari and Home Secretary R.K. Singh said Pakistan should worry about the state of affairs in its own country.
Both Tewari and R.K. Singh spoke in near identical terms to decry Malik's statement.
"Instead of introspection of how minorities in India are being treated he (Malik) should contemplate how he can improve condition of minority in his country," Tewari told reporters.
He said it would be better for Pakistan if Malik paid attention to domestic matters of his own country rather than worrying about such things.
"Test of democracy is the way you treat your minority rather than majority. The UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government has strived to see every citizen in the same light and given equal right under the constitution," he said.
The home secretary spoke out too.
"We are quite capable of looking after security of our own citizens... let him (Malik) worry about security of his own," he said.
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