Lyricist Javed Akhtar denied visa to Pakistan

Mumbai, June 23 (UNI) Reacting to the denial of visa by the Pakistan Government, noted lyricist Javed Akhtar said the premiere, which he was supposed to attend, was not a commercial function and supposed to be a positive gesture.

''It was to be a positive gesture, not a commercial function at all. Late afternoon yesterday, out of the 22 people of the delegation, I was informed that I was the only one who was denied the visa. Akbar Asif, son of late K Asif was very disturbed when he spoke to me,'' Mr Akhtar told UNI.

The Pakistan Government today denied visa to Javed Akhtar who was to attend the premiere of K Asif's 'Mughal-e-Azam' in Karachi tomorrow, leading to the postponement of the event.

The filmmaker also said that Mr Akbar has informed Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and the External Affairs Ministry that if he (Javed) does not get the visa, no one else will go. So, none of the other members of the delegation are going.

''Among our scheduled programmes was a telethon on TV for the earthquake victims of Pakistan. The other actors who were supposed to go were Shabana Azmi, Urmila Matondkar, Saif Ali Khan, Sridevi, Zeenat Aman and others,'' Mr Akthar added.

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