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Too Early to Judge Panipat: Afghan Film
Officials in the Afghan Film, a state-owned institution, said Wednesday that it is too early to have a judgement about Panipat.
Panipat is an upcoming 2019 Indian historical film that portrays the “Third Battle of Panipat” fought between Indian Army and forces of King Ahmad Shah Abdali, who is regarded as founder of modern state of Afghanistan.
Renowned Indian actor Sanjay Dutt plays the role of King Abdali.
The film, which is directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, is scheduled to release on 6 December 2019.
The film’s official trailer was made available on 5 November 2019.
Following the release of the trailer, Afghans widely expressed their concerns about how the film may portray King Abdali; especially if whether the film adheres to historical facts or wanders into fiction.
“Historically, the Indian cinema has been extremely instrumental in strengthening the Indo-Afghan ties – I very much hope that the film “Panipat” has kept that fact in mind while dealing with this important episode of our shared history!” Shaida Abdali, the former Afghan Ambassador to India wrote on Twitter.
Afghan filmmakers believe that the film might have portrayed the heroism of Indian historical characters rather than an Afghan invader.
“Afghanistan national identity, history and historical facts are the most important matters in this film. I think the Ministry of Information and Culture will propose the ban of this film in the country,” said Engineer Latif Ahmadi, an Afghan film director.
Roya Sadat, another Afghan film producer and director said Indian directors are working based on rules in India, but they are expected to have paid attention to the sensitivities of Afghan society.
“You can’t censor a foreign film producer to produce what we want. I think we should have our own substitutes to compete with the [Panipat] film,” Ms. Roya added.
“We can’t tell a foreign country, a company, an Indian production, a film director or producer how they should portray their history,” said Sahraa Karimi, the director of Afghan Film.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan announced on Tuesday the release of American citizen Dennis Coyle from prison.
According to the ministry, Coyle’s mother had written to the leader of the Islamic Emirate demanding amnesty and the release of her son on the occasion of Eid. The Supreme Court considered time served sufficient and decided to release him.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that this action was carried out on the basis of humanitarianism and good faith, and it believes that such measures can strengthen trust between countries. The ministry also expressed hope that both countries, in the future, can find solutions to remaining issues through mutual understanding and constructive dialogue.
The Islamic Emirate also expressed appreciation for the cooperation of the United Arab Emirates in this matter.
Separately, for Coyle’s release, an American delegation, including Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan, met on Tuesday with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate.
The meeting was also attended by Saif Mohammed Al-Ketbi, Ambassador of the UAE in Kabul, and a member of the prisoner’s family.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Muttaqi stated that the Islamic Emirate has not detained any citizen of any country to achieve political objectives; rather, detentions were the result of legal violations, and individuals were released after completing judicial procedures.
At the meeting, Khalilzad praised the action of the Islamic Emirate and emphasized the importance of continuing discussions on all issues between the two countries, expressing hope for further progress in the future.
Muttaqi also stressed that Kabul and the UAE should provide standard consular services to their citizens, and that the Afghan government is fully prepared in this regard.
He thanked Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, for their constructive role in facilitating the release of the prisoner and referred to the UAE as a close friend of Afghanistan.
Earlier, Muttaqi had also praised the role of the State of Qatar in facilitating information exchange between the Islamic Emirate and the prisoner’s family.
Additionally, the UAE ambassador expressed his country’s readiness to play a role in humanitarian institutions and called such developments beneficial for everyone.
The United Kingdom has announced an additional £3 million (AFN 257 million) in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, aimed at supporting people affected by natural disasters and other shocks.
Richard Lindsay, in a post on X, said the funding will be used to provide essential nutrition supplies and related support to vulnerable populations.
The new allocation brings the UK’s total bilateral assistance to Afghanistan for the current financial year to £154 million (AFN 13.18 billion).
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