Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, was arrested by the country’s security forces under corruption charges on Tuesday, May 9. Since then, the country has seen several violent protests as Imran Khan’s supporters clash with the army and the ruling establishment.
In order to motivate Imran Khan’s supporters to continue to fight against the ruling establishment, his Instagram handle ended up using the soundtrack of ‘The Kashmir Files’, a film by Vivek Agnihotri on the Hindu genocide in Kashmir valley, carried out by Pakistan-sponsored Islamists.
Pointing out the use of his copyrighted song, Vivek Agnihotri highlighted the irony of it all since his film was attacked by Pakistanis.
IRONY OF PAKISTAN:
— Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) May 11, 2023
See the power of Indic cinema. The official account of @ImranKhanPTI is using the official song of #TheKashmirFiles illegally in his official video on Instagram. pic.twitter.com/ZyJPpKTXNa
While the poem was originally written by Faiz Ahmed Faiz, the version used by Imran Khan is straight from Agnihotri’s film. Highlighting the fact, Agnihotri further tweeted, “We bought the rights from Faiz House. There are many versions. This is our legal copyright version.”
For the ill informed, this is written by Faiz Ahmad Faiz. We bought the rights from Faiz House. There are many versions. This is our legal copyright version. pic.twitter.com/bGOFjNksNb
— Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) May 11, 2023
The problematic poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz
During the anti-CAA protests in India towards the end of 2019, Faiz’s hum dekhenge poem created quite a controversy over its use in the protests. Many people protested over the line sab but uthwaye jayenge (all idols will be removed) for the anti-idolatry tone of the words.
While the poem was used in context in the Kashmir Files film to highlight the anti-Hindu nature of some liberals, Imran Khan and his supporters used it unironically in their political fight against the Shehbaz Sharif government.
Imran Khan arrested
Former Pakistan Prime Minister and PTI chief Imran Khan was arrested from outside the Islamabad High Court (IHC) by Pakistani Rangers on May 9, Tuesday. Imran Khan had reportedly gone to the Islamabad HC to seek bail in multiple FIRs registered against him.
The PTI chief reportedly has been arrested in the Al-Qadir Trust case of the National Accountability Bureau as well as the Toshakhana case.
The arrest has led to widespread unrest and clashes across the country with several PTI supporters getting killed in the aftermath of the arrest.
