Dhaka, Jun 07 (V7N) – Former adviser to the interim government and noted playwright and filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki has said that had he lived during the 1971 Liberation War, he would have stood alongside the people, adding that he took a similar position during the student-public movement of July 2024.

Farooki made the remarks in a post published on his verified Facebook account on Sunday.

In the post, he reflected on his decision to join the interim government, saying he had accepted the responsibility despite knowing that public service often comes with criticism and personal costs.

“I took the risk of entering the government knowing that there is an atonement for every good deed. But I did not think that it would be this terrible,” he wrote.

The former adviser also expressed frustration over what he described as criticism and misinformation directed at him, saying he is frequently asked to respond to comments made by individuals whom he considered previously irrelevant to his professional life.

“With all due respect, these people were never in our syllabus in life. No one even mentioned their names in our conversations. Yet now journalists call and ask for my reaction to what they are saying,” he wrote.

Farooki further claimed that coordinated criticism and misinformation campaigns against him indicate that he is performing his responsibilities properly.

Concluding the post, he clarified his position regarding both the Liberation War and the July movement.

“If it had been during the Liberation War, I would have been on the side of the people. I was on the side of the people in July as well,” he wrote.

Mostofa Sarwar Farooki served as an adviser to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs in the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus. He assumed office on November 10, 2024, and remained in the role until the formation of a new government following the 13th National Parliamentary Election.

Farooki is widely known for his contributions to Bangladesh's film and television industry and has remained an active voice on social and political issues through both his creative work and public commentary.

END/SMA/AJ