Musharraf says 'No Entry' to Feroz

Actor-filmmaker is punished for criticising Pakistan in an inebriated fit.

LAHORE: Feroz Khan, who disparaged Pakistan during his recent visit to the country, has been put on the blacklist by Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf.

A source in the foreign office in Islamabad said Pakistan's high commission in India and the foreign and interior ministries have been directed to deny Khan a visa in the future.

Khan had visited Pakistan to attend the premiere of Taj Mahal - An Eternal Love Story, a film directed by his brother Akbar Khan.

The source said an intelligence report submitted to General Musharraf described how the actor abused Pakistani singer and anchor Fakhr-e-Alam. The report dryly quoted from Feroz Khan's speech, a bravura under-the-influence performance: "I am a proud Indian. India is a secular country. The Muslims there are making lot of progress unlike in Pakistan. Our President is a Muslim and our Prime Minister a Sikh. Pakistan was made in the name of Islam, but look how the Muslims are killing Muslims here."

Khan said that he had not come to Pakistan on his own but had been invited. The report acknowledged that Khan's brother Akbar and son Fardeen tried to defuse the situation. But Khan apparently lost control and had to be escorted away by Shatrughan Sinha, MP.

Khan has since denied making inflammatory remarks and asserted his respect for the people of Pakistan. He has thanked Pakistanis for enthusiastically receiving Taj Mahal. Defending himself, he had claimed that he was standing up for actor Manisha Koirala who, he said, was being hectored by Alam.