New Delhi: Bigg Boss 17 fame Ayesha Khan is facing extensive backlash to “like” a controversial Instagram post about Kashmir after a cruel terrorist attack in Pahgam. The Post advocated “Freedom of Kashmir” and announced that Indians are not welcome in the valley and “its occupation has been normalized.”
There is an uproar in Pahgam in view of a terrible terrorist attack on 22 April, where at least 26 tourists were killed after the terrorists set fire.
The post was shared by the Kashmiri writer Jales Hyder, who wrote: “I always mourn the loss of civil life, always. But it does not confuse that the grief with the disintegration of reality. Kashmir is not to avoid your beauty, or your Instagramable heaven is not a deer. Monitoring, the continuous disappearance and the continuous dancing.”
Hyder criticized the Indian tourists going to Kashmir and said that they cannot romantic the pain of the local people or not reduce it in “imagination of tourism”.
“No, as an Indian, you do not welcome to normalize its occupation in Kashmir, to romantic our pain, or to convert our motherland into a tourist imagination. Every picture you show that pretends to this land is heaven on earth without accepting the brutal reality on the ground, which is a form of violence.”
“We are not hostile to visitors; we are hostile to colonists, for enabbers, for those who look at our trauma and call it visible. We will welcome the world with open arms after Kashmir’s independence.”
Ayesha Khan’s clear support of this post raised a strong criticism from social media users.
Ayesha Khan liked a post where it is said that …. “as an Andean, you do not welcome Kashmir.” pic.twitter.com/uxkoqwehe6– incognito (@incnito_qfs) 26 April, 2025
One user wrote: “Ayesha Khan liked a post stating ‘As an Indian, you do not welcome Kashmir.”
Another tagged the Mumbai Police, asking: “@Mumbaipolis Why is this Indian citizen liking a post where India is criticized? Is it not an Indian?”
A third user urged manufacturer Ravi Dubey and Sargun Mehta to remove Khan from their web series: “@_ravidubey @sargun_mehta she is working with you … When are you leaving her from your YouTube series?”
Others criticized the story in the original post: “They complain that it is a heavy military area, but why they never discuss. They never self-confident.”
Among the criticism, some users defended Ayesha: “What are your logical arguments to combat it?”
So far, Ayesha Khan has not officially responded to the dispute.
