Pakistan: Former minister Fawad Chaudhry wants live telecast of Chandrayaan 3, had mocked India when Vikram Lander crashed in 2019

Fawad Hussain Chaudhry the former Minister of Information and Broadcasting in the Imran Khan government, has suggested that Pakistan’s media should broadcast the Chandrayaan-3 landing program. He congratulated the Indian scientists, the space community and the Indian people on the lunar mission.

All eyes on #Chandryaan3 Moon landing 5:40 PM, great day for Indian Science Community and Space scientists, Congratulations to people of India on this great achievement

— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) August 23, 2023

Furthermore, the politician took to X, formerly known as Twitter, and termed it a “historic moment for humankind.” He posted, “Pak media should show Chandrayaan moon landing live tomorrow at 6:15 pm,” on 22 August.

Pak media should show #Chandrayan moon landing live tomorrow at 6:15 PM… historic moment for Human kind specially for the people, scientists and Space community of India…. Many Congratulations

— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) August 22, 2023

The ex-federal minister praised the current mission last month and lauded India and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on the successful launch of the Chandrayaan-3.

Congratulations to Indian space and Science community on the launch of #Chandrayan3 wishing you all the best

— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) July 14, 2023

Notably, these compliments from the former senior member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, have drawn attention towards his old statements where he was seen mocking India’s previous moon mission, despite being the minister of sceinece and technology in the former administration. He took a dig at India and ISRO after it faced disappointment in its Chandrayaan-2 moon landing mission. He remarked, “Don’t try to attempt what you can’t do, dear Endia.”

His controversial post gained a lot of backlash and criticism to which he replied with another similar opinion. “Surprised on Indian trolls reaction. They are abusing me as if I was the one who failed their moon mission. I had already said that don’t invest 900 crores on these losers. Now, be patient and try to sleep.”

He then made more fun of the mission and wrote, “Endia only way you can reach the moon is through Bollywood. Another 100 crore and you guys will be on the moon.” He labelled the country as that of extremists and alleged, “On a serious note, extremists always fail and you failed when instead of scientists you relied on astrologers and delayed the mission.” Moreover, he told India to end the hatred against other communities.

Notably, a video of his also became popular on social media in which he expressed, “Our science and research team has a philosophy. We don’t need to do so much work. The moon is visible. We know its exact location. What would be its altitude in which territory is also known.” He was giving an interview with Pakistan’s ARY TV in 2019.

Pakistan’s Science and Technology minister @fawadchaudhry on moon mission 😂#Chandrayaan3#Chandrayan3 #ISRO pic.twitter.com/3qFNyW7aSD

— Dr. Radhika Chaudhary (@Radhika8057) July 14, 2023

All hopes on Chandrayaan-3

The Chandrayaan-3 Vikram lander is scheduled to make an attempt at a soft landing on the moon’s south pole at 6:04 pm today and India along with the rest of the world is anxiously awaiting the results.

Vikram lander, which is currently in orbit around the moon is set to start a gradual and methodical descent into the lunar surface later in the evening.

It would touch down at the lunar south pole if everything is according to the plan. Soon after, the lander will open its doors and lower Pragyaan, a coffee table-sized rover with six wheels to the moon’s surface. The suspense has been ratcheted up by the failure of the Russian moon mission Luna-25, which crashed on the moon’s surface on 20 August during landing.

A technical issue prevented the Chandrayaan-2 mission from successfully landing in the same region in 2019, which is full of craters and deep holes. The scientists have incorporated all the crucial lessons they learned during the mission and the space agency is confident that the landing would be carried out without a hitch.

India would become the very first country to land at the dangerous south pole and just the fourth in the world after the United States, Russia and China to operate a rover on the moon. A Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM-3) rocket bearing the Rs 600 crore rupee Chandrayaan-3 mission lifted off on 14 July.