Veteran poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar has never shied away from speaking his mind, and this time he has stirred a storm online. The award-winning wordsmith expressed deep disappointment over the grand reception given to Afghan Foreign Minister and senior Taliban figure, Amir Khan Muttaqi, during his visit to the historic Darul Uloom Deoband in Uttar Pradesh.

On X (formerly Twitter), Akhtar didn’t hold back. “I hang my head in shame seeing the kind of respect given to a representative of the world’s worst terrorist group,” he wrote. He added a pointed critique of Deoband’s decision to honor Muttaqi, calling it a shock to those who have long condemned terrorism. “Shame on Deoband too for welcoming their ‘Islamic Hero,’ who has banned girls’ education. My Indian brothers and sisters, what i

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