Pakistan leader jokes about ISRO’s Chandrayaan 3 mission

Former Minister of Science and Technology for Pakistan, Fawad Chaudhry, seems to be presenting inconsistent views on India’s recent successful lunar mission, Chandrayaan 3.

On one hand, Chaudhry took to Twitter to extend his congratulations to India and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for their successful launch of Chandrayaan-3. However, a contrasting image was presented in a video that recently surfaced online, showing Chaudhry apparently ridiculing the very same mission.

The video features Chaudhry responding to an inquiry about lunar observations and ISRO’s space venture. He is seen replying, “Itne papad belne ki zaroorat nahin hai,” which translates to, “There’s no need to go to such great lengths for lunar sightings,” delivering the comment with a playful smirk. Chaudhry’s remark is understood to be made during a televised discussion, and his reference to lunar sightings seems to pertain to those associated with the Muslim festival Eid-ul-Fitr.

ISRO, on July 14, carried out a successful launch of its third lunar exploration project, Chandrayaan-3, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andra Pradesh. The mission’s objective is to achieve a soft landing on the uncharted South Pole of the moon.

Previously, the Chandrayaan-1 mission was successfully launched in October 2008. Chandrayaan-2, with a more complex design, involved an orbiter, a lander (Vikram), and a rover (Pragyan) intended for the exploration of the moon’s South Pole. The mission, however, came to an abrupt halt when communication with the lander was lost before it could softly land on the lunar surface.

Interestingly, this isn’t Chaudhry’s first time making light of India’s space endeavours. Back in 2019, following the failure of Chandrayaan-2, he made several mocking tweets.

In a now-deleted tweet from 2019, he wrote, “Dear Endia; instead of wasting money on insane missions like Chandrayyan, concentrate on internal poverty. Your approach on #Kashmir will be another Chandrayyan, but with a much larger price tag.” He further added, “The only way for Endia to reach the moon now is through Bollywood. Invest another 100 crores, and you’ll be on the moon. Your mission failed because, instead of relying on scientists, you relied on astrologers and delayed the mission. Stop harbouring hatred for other communities.