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After coming under fire for throwing plastic waste into a river and apologising, Resham is here to prove that she doesn’t just talk the talk. The actor went on a cleaning drive and wrote that the last few days have been a steep learning curve for her and to demonstrate her condemnation of littering, she took part in a “litter cleaning initiative”.

On Monday, the actor took to Instagram and shared a clip of herself and a helper cleaning the roadside. In the post she wrote, “The last few days have been a steep learning curve for me and I want to thank everyone, especially my well wishers, who sought to guide me and correct me, using kindness and love, instead of condemnation for the sake of personal clout.”

She added that Pakistan is our home and that we must keep it clean. She found that there’s no better way to demonstrate that other than by setting an example and picking up garbage. She hoped that this practice would sooth any hurt she may have “inadvertently caused” with her actions. “Let’s make Pakistan cleaner and kinder. Sending you all my warmest wishes. This is a new beginning for me and for us all,” she wrote.

Armeena Khan, who defended her against Shaniera Akram, also dropped in the comment section and lauded the actor. “Good on you,” she wrote. Actor Ahsan Khan shared Resham’s video to his Instagram stories and wrote, “Great gesture by Resham. Must appreciate her reaction and now the action. Yaad rahe ye kachra Resham ne nahi phainka [remember, Resham didn’t dispose off this trash].”

Where it all started

Last week, a video clip started doing the rounds online featured the actor stepping out of her car on a highway to throw bread and meat into a river as an act of sadqa. What irked people was that as Resham stood by the edge of the flyover and recorded herself throwing the food into the river, she also threw the plastic containers and bags the food came in.

Prior to her apology video Resham had given an interview to The Friday Times where she said there are more pressing issues to worry about. “I am in Charsadda as we speak. I have been been quietly helping thousands affected in the calamity-hit district. But, of course, people are only interested in trolling me. I do a lot of good too,” she had reasoned.

Two days later, on September 14, Resham took to Instagram and shared a clip of herself apologising to not only her followers but the entire nation. “First of all, please accept my apology because what happened shouldn’t have had happened. It happened out of carelessness and was not done intentionally and for that I apologise to the entire nation. I personally am against littering and to keep our country clean is our duty. I’m also a human and every human makes mistakes, so did I,” she had said.

She called it the “biggest mistake” of her career and said that she’ll try to make sure it never happens again. She ended her video with an apology from the “bottom of her heart”.

The following day she was criticised by Akram who said, “Without really knowing it, she single handedly produced a nation wide campaign on ‘what not to do with your rubbish’. Not even a company spending thousands on a clean Pakistan campaign could get the publicity she did.” Later, however, she expressed her appreciation of Resham’s apology.