Iffat Omar, a Pakistani actress, is against the veneration of Turkish and Ottoman heroes in Pakistan.
In a recent interview with Naumaan Ijaz, Omar emphasized the point that Turkish history is not Pakistani history, and asked the government to spend instead in developing out scientists, who are the real Pakistani heroes.
“They [Turks] invaded us. Understand this. We do not need fictional characters, we need stories about scientists. There’s not a single mathematician, a scientist in Pakistan that is known the world over,” asserted Omar.
Omar clarified that Salauddin Ayyubi is not a Pakistani hero when asked about the upcoming Pak-Turk collaboration on a new series about him.
“He [Salauddin Ayyubi] is not our hero,” she asserted. “This has been indoctrinated in Pakistanis since our country has been formed. We think of ourselves as superiors. Our history is of sub-continent, we need to endorse that. Our history isn’t of Turkey.”
