Iqrar ul Hassan, throughout his career, has remained one of the most unproblematic celebrities in the industry but his recent tweet has created a havoc on social media!
Taking to twitter, Iqrar ul Hassan compared the electric trains in India to buses in Pakistan:
India VS Pakistan https://t.co/VNDy51JEy8 pic.twitter.com/RIkQG3H9BR
— Iqrar ul Hassan Syed (@iqrarulhassan) January 16, 2021
And the netizens stood divided, some furious and some in his favour. The tweet bought him so much backlash that at one point, the hashtag #IqrarQoumSeMaafiMaango was the top trend on Twitter:
People were not expecting this from him:
Really unpleasant tweet by him.
Was not expecting him to bring such strange comparisons during a difficult time like this.
Also Iqrar do mention why this is happening MOSTLY under your favourite #PPP gov ?#اقرار_قوم_سےمعافی_مانگو https://t.co/TwjBgHC8EB— Haad Akmal (@AkmalHaad) January 17, 2021
People wanted him to think wisely:
Trust Me! Allah has given us brain to make use of it. But I don’t know why are you hell bent on not utilising this blessing of Almighty! Not every public transport is like this in Pakistan 🇵🇰 Likewise not every coach is the same in India 🇮🇳!Use your brain to cultivate wisdom https://t.co/mNLNpzFtGS
— Sabeen_ (@TheWords_Speak) January 17, 2021
People were questioning his patriotism:
If you were a true Pakistani with a positive mind .
Bharat Vs Pakistan https://t.co/rsTYEKxDHL pic.twitter.com/YCsH8ymZk1— Truth with Mansoor (@sheikhufon) January 17, 2021
People were angry:
SHAME ON YOU. https://t.co/VWtifEw3q7 pic.twitter.com/HYTdUgBU5I
— چڑیل_اول✨ (@Churail_Awal) January 16, 2021
People were showing him the true face of India:
FYI this is the real face of India. https://t.co/Ocxdzux1D7 pic.twitter.com/xNhciieNJ0
— Eimaan (@Cynosure100) January 16, 2021
People found his tweet to be disrespectful:
So disrespectful
Lagta hai full brief case mila hai ? https://t.co/QcbUfhjTj3
— Urba Shah (@urbashah) January 17, 2021
People were disappointed:
what kind of this tweet? mulk se muhabbat krne wale kabhi esa mazak nahi krte.. sad to see this.. I really like you & you’re the one who’s my favorite tv anchor.. but now I’m sad & my heart is sinking. .
#اقرار_قوم_سےمعافی_مانگو https://t.co/YQp1sqwnrU— 💫 (@fly__hiGhh) January 18, 2021
People found the comparison to be petty:
Both countries have lovely areas and both countries have areas that need improving. We should encourage the desired behaviours we wish to see in society.
Petty competition with isolated images doesn’t do anyone any good.
Regional stability & peace with neighbors matters. ☮️ https://t.co/XnVPwdCenj
— Cynthia D. Ritchie (@CynthiaDRitchie) January 17, 2021
And while he was getting a ton of backlash, there were people who agreed with him and were out there to support him with the hashtag #WeSupportIqrar:
Ali Zafar came out to support Iqrar:
When a man who has risked his life many a times & worked tirelessly for his country & its people posts a picture that could be his wish to see a better transportation system, judge him for his intention with the same compassion & kindness he has always shown. #WeSupportIqrar
— Ali Zafar (@AliZafarsays) January 17, 2021
Shoaib Akhtar wanted people to concentrate on the context of the tweet:
Before bashing anyone, one must see the context of whats being said.
Love, devotion & dedication of @iqrarulhassan towards our beloved country Pakistan is not even debatable or questionable. #wesupportiqrar #WesupportIQRARULHASSAN— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) January 17, 2021
Kamran Akmal found nothing wrong:
We can’t judge his love & devotion towards his Country by a post it’s just his wish to see a better Transportation system for his own people & his own country nothing wrong in that.Stay strong @iqrarulhassan #WeSupportIqrar
— Kamran Akmal (@KamiAkmal23) January 17, 2021
Actor Imran Ashraf too vouched for Iqrar:
I know one thing about @iqrarulhassan whenever he writes something he completes it with the most precious word PAKISTAN ZINDABAD even his autograph is PAKISTAN ZINDABAD#wesupportiqrar
— Imran Ashraf 🇵🇰 (@IamImranAshraf) January 17, 2021
People weren’t happy with the hate he was getting:
We should all be thankful to @iqrarulhassan for exposing mafia in his programs, took risks & saved hundreds of lives, mostly girls. Instead, we are calling him XYZ agent & making trends against him. This isn’t acceptable. I stand with IQRAR UL HASSAN. #wesupportiqrar
— Ihtisham Ul Haq (@iihtishamm) January 17, 2021
People were sharing how it was wrong to disregard everything he’s done on the basis of one tweet:
We can’t judge his love & devotion towards his Country by a post it’s just his wish to see a better Transportation system for his own people & his own country nothing wrong in that.Stay strong @iqrarulhassan #WeSupportIqrar pic.twitter.com/YRGcHIeEYf
— Sanaullah Mahsood ✪ (@SanaullahMahsod) January 18, 2021
To further add context to his tweet, Iqrar quoted another tweet comparing the two countries where he shared that he only meant to highlight the stark difference so people can get more competent:
India vs Pakistan
(We are not even sure that we ordered the vaccine or not, banana to door ki baat). Muqabla kerna hai to taleem main kerain, science main kerain, khail main kerain, infrastructure main kerain, economy main kerain, technology main kerain…aur such ka samna kerain https://t.co/SYcCDmmOnS— Iqrar ul Hassan Syed (@iqrarulhassan) January 17, 2021
To prove his point further, he shared the currency difference between the two countries:
بدقسمتی سے ہمارا پاسپورٹ افغانستان اور صومالیہ کے درجے پر ہے، روپیہ بنگلہ دیشی “ٹکے” کے مقابلے ایک روپے نوے پیسے اور بھارتی روپیہ دو روپے بیس پیسے ہے، ہم محنت کرنے، مقابلہ کرنے کی بجائے خود کو پھنے خان سمجھتے ہیں۔ اللہ ہمیں پاکستان کو صحیح معنوں میں “زندہ باد” بنانے کی توفیق دے pic.twitter.com/uf9wvEknwk
— Iqrar ul Hassan Syed (@iqrarulhassan) January 17, 2021
He also urged Pakistanis to think of a solution rather than trending hashtags on Twitter:
ہر ذی شعور سیاسی کارکن اور سوشل میڈیا ورکر کی طرح تحریکِ انصاف کے کارکن بھی پاکستان کی ترقی چاہتے ہیں، دشمن بھی اگر کچھ اچھا کر رہا ہو تو ہمیں اس سے آگے نکلنا ہے اپنے لوگوں پر تنقید نہیں کرنی۔۔۔ ٹرینڈ ٹرینڈ کھیلنا ہے تو یہ لیں👇 ورنہ آئیں سب مل کر، مثبت ہو کر پاکستان کی خدمت کریں pic.twitter.com/U6UyMKF1yL
— Iqrar ul Hassan Syed (@iqrarulhassan) January 17, 2021
What do you think about this whole fiasco? Let us know in the comments below!