As tensions escalate between India and Pakistan, celebrities in both countries have hit Twitter to show support for their armies, although many famous faces are also calling urgently for peace.
Pakistani actress Mahira Khan said there was “nothing uglier,” and “nothing more ignorant” than cheering for war. Meanwhile, Mawra Hocane tweeted a Christopher Holliday quote saying there can be “NO winners in war,” and called on the media to “stop being provocative.”
Fahad Mustafa, a Pakistani actor, echoed their push for peace, saying “war does not determine who is right...only who is left.”
Not everyone was calling for peace, however. Pakistani actor Hamza Ali Abbasi tweeted: “Well done India. Much improvement from the fake ‘Surgical Strike’ claim,” before calling on Pakistan’s forces to retaliate.
Indian actor and director Ajay Devgn showed his support for the Indian army, with a strongly-worded tweet, saying: “Mess with the best, die like the rest. Salute #IndianAirForce.”
Responding to a tweet by MP Rahul Gandhi saluting pilots of the Indian Air Force, actor and former chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India Anupam Kher said: “Today will be a good day to start saluting Prime Minister Narendra Modi too.”
Celebrities like actor Mohanlal Viswanathan and ordinary Indians alike are tweeting a play on a popular phrase from a recent Bollywood movie, Uri: The Surgical Strike, “How’s the josh?” Instead of ‘josh’ they are asking, “How’s the Jaish?” referring to India’s strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). They then answer their own question with the quip: “Dead sir.”
Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated since 40 Indian troops were killed in a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide attack in the contested region of Kashmir on February 14. India responded with an attack on a training camp, entering Pakistani airspace in the process. Two Indian aircraft reportedly entered Pakistan’s airspace on Wednesday, resulting in Pakistan shooting down two planes and capturing a soldier. India says it shot down a Pakistan fighter jet.
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