Mumbai, Nov 26 (IANS) Today, as the nation remembers the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai, Salman Khan’s old controversial statements about the tragic event have resurfaced on social media.
Back in 2010, the actor made headlines when he spoke about the attacks in a manner that many found insensitive. In an interview with a Pakistani TV channel, Khan gave a clean shit to Pakistan, saying the Pakistani government had no role in the 26/11 Mumbai attack. In the video that is doing the rounds on social media, Salman could be heard saying, “Too much hype has been created around the 26/11 attacks because elite people were targeted. Attacks have happened in trains and small towns too, but no one talked about it so much.”
He added, “Everybody knows that the Pakistani government was not behind it and it was a terrorist attack. More than anything, our security had failed. We have had lot of attacks earlier, and all of them were not from Pakistan. They were from within. This time we because there was Taj, Oberoi were under attacked, everyone stood up. We had bomb blast earlier, there have been attacks in buses and trains.”
Today, on the 16th anniversary of the horrific 26/11 attacks, this old video of the actor has resurfaced with netizens trolling Salman over his controversial remarks.
The Sultan actor had later apologised for his remarks, clarifying that his words were “twisted” out of context. Salman also issued an apology on his X handle.
For the unversed, On November 26, 2008, 10 terrorists from the Lashkar-e-Taiba group carried out a series of coordinated terror attacks across several high-profile locations in Mumbai. The targets included the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Oberoi Trident Hotel, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Leopold Cafe, Mumbai Chabad House, Nariman House, Cama Hospital, and Metro Cinema.
The 26/11 Mumbai attacks claimed the lives of at least 166 people, including 20 security personnel and 26 foreign nationals, while leaving over 300 others injured.