The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal have sent a joint letter to the Bengaluru police demanding that Pakistani singer Shafqat Amanat Ali should not be allowed to perform at his concert in the city on Friday, September 30.
The letter was submitted to the police on Tuesday, September 27, and is part of a series of threats that many political parties have made against Pakistani artists working in India. These threats are in retaliation to the Uri attacks on September 18, which resulted in the death of 18 Indian soldiers. India has alleged that the attacks were devised by Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad.
On September 23, Raj Thackrey-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena had asked all Pakistan artists to leave India within 48 hours, following which many actors left the country. Despite many members of the film fraternity requesting to keep arts out of their protests, the MSN said that it cannot "separate nation and art".
Following these demands, Pakistani actor and star of Karan Johar's upcoming Ae Dil Hai Mushkil Fawad Khan has returned to Pakistan. Now, the VHP and the Bajrang Dal are demanding to cancel Ali's concert via a letter to the police, which they have shared on Twitter:
Scroll translated the letter thus:
On September 18, Pakistani military supported terrorists inhumanly killed Indian soldiers. While Pakistan is a terrorist state feeding terrorism, Forum Mall organising this Pakistani singer's programme is an insult to patriotism and the sacrifices of the soldiers and their families.
We are asking for this treasonous (desdroha) programme to be stopped at once and to heed the cry of patriots (deshbhakts).
Please consider this issue seriously. If this programme is not banned, there will be a fierce protest.
In September 2015, similar threats from the Shiv Sena had forced ghazal singer Ghulam Ali to cancel his performance in Mumbai.
