Shoaib Akhtar, Rehman Malik lend support to Salman Khan

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PakistanToday
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ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar and former Interior Minister Rehman Malik both are upset with the recent controversy surrounding Salman Khan.

On Thursday, Khan was sentenced to five years in prison by a Jodhpur Court for killing two blackbucks in 1998, which is a protected species in India.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Dev Kumar Khatri, while pronouncing the verdict in the case of killing the protected antelopes, called the 52-year-old actor a “habitual offender” under the wildlife protection laws of the country.

However, Pakistani celebs and politicians have extended their support to the actor, who is currently at the Jodhpur Central Jail.

Salman Khan at Jodhpur Central Jail

Akhtar, who is rumoured to be good friends with the star said that he is upset that his “friend” Salman Khan has been sentenced to five years in prison in a case of poaching blackbucks adding that he finds the punishment to be harsh.

“Really sad to see my friend Salman Khan sentenced for five years, but the law must take its course and we got to respect the decision of honourable court of India. But I still think the punishment is too harsh, but my heart goes to his family and fans. I am sure he will be out soon,” Akhtar tweeted.

Similarly, Pakistan’s former Interior Minister Rehman Malik in a series of tweets on Friday said that “Salman Khan had been made an escape goat to demonstrate the so-called rule of law in India,” and has called for the actor’s release.

The former interior minister was also critical of India’s failure to act against Hindu nationalist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) over the atrocities they were committing against minorities.

“India is trying to prove to the world as a champion of rule of law by convicting Bollywood star SALMAN KHAN for 5 years in jail for hunting a deer whereas criminally ignoring butchering of thousands of innocent Kashmiris/Muslim from Gujrat by RSS lead by PM Modi,” he wrote.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif has also been critical of the jail term.

“Salman Khan has been sentenced because he’s a minority,” the foreign minister said while speaking on a talk show.

“To sentence him in a case that is twenty years old goes on to show that lives of those who are Muslims, ‘untouchables’ or Christians are not valued in India,” he said.

Asif added, “Maybe if he belonged to the religion of the ruling party of India he would not have been given such a harsh sentence and the court might have been lenient with him.”

Shehzad Roy was also amongst those who felt bad for the ‘animal lover’ Salman.  In a Twitter post, he wrote, “I really feel bad for Salman Khan . I know that he is an animal lover. I hope he gets bail and gets back to his family soon.”

Humaima Malick also expressed her sentiments by sharing a picture of herself with Khan on Instagram.

She wrote, “I have witnessed the religion that he belongs to which is called humanity. Today is a sad day Salman Khan you are a bigger person than all of us. Respects for you always and forever. Salute.”

A post shared by HUMAIMA MALICK (@humaimamalick) on Apr 5, 2018 at 11:59am PDT

Mawra also expressed her support and wrote on Twitter, “In a world with no “NO” human rights, a great human being is being punished for killing an animal umpteen years ago under animal rights. Bash me all you want, but there’s something completely wrong about it.. mind you such human beings are our saving grace!”

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