"I share the grief of the family members of the soldiers", Javed Akhtar said. (File)
After 40 CRPF soldiers were killed in a terror attack in Kashmir's Pulwama district, actor Shabana Azmi said today that she and her husband, lyricist-writer Javed Akhtar, have decided not to attend her father Kaifi Azmi's 100th birth anniversary celebrations in Karachi. The couple had been invited to Pakistan by the Karachi Arts Council for a two-day event.
"@Javedakhtarjadu and I were invited for a 2 day event and we were truly looking forward to it. I appreciate that our hosts--the Karachi Arts Council mutually agreed to cancel the event in the wake of Pulwama attack," she wrote on Twitter.
In one of the deadliest terror attacks on security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, a suicide terrorist from the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad exploded a car with 60 kg of explosives right next to a bus carrying the CRPF soldiers.
"Will there be no let to these heinous attacks, these mindless killings, this utter disregard for human lives? Extremely shocking news coming from Pulwama. I strongly condemn the worst terror attack on CRPF convoy," the actor wrote on Twitter.
Her husband Javed Akhtar, who had penned the CRPF anthem which was launched in 2014, also took to Twitter to pay tributes.
"I have a special relation with CRPF. I have written their anthem. I met a number of CRPF officers and whatever I learnt, my respect and admiration for them increased. Today I share the grief of their dear ones," he said.