Pak Singer Ghulam Ali’s Concert Cancelled, Pak says Indian artists don’t face such opposition in Pak

Janjivan Bureau
Mumbai/ New Delhi: Pakistan High Commissioner to India, Abdul Basit, sharply react on cancellation of renowned Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali’s concert in Mumbai after objections raised by the Shiv Sena, which co-governs Maharashtra with the BJP.Basit condemned the opposition made by Shiv Sena on the musical concert of Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali, saying that Indian artists do not face such opposition when they visit Pakistan.
“Our position is very clear. We do encourage people to people contacts, we encourage our artists to visit both sides, visit each other and perform. Our policy is very constructive, very positive. Indian artists when they go to Pakistan, they do not face such opposition,” Basit told the media here.
The concert was cancelled after the organisers met Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray today. The event was supposed to be a tribute to Indian singer Jagjit Singh.
“We can’t have cultural ties with Pakistan when they kill our soldiers,” the Shiv Sena had said earlier today, demanding that the concert be cancelled.
Ally BJP however had distanced itself from the demand. Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi of the BJP told NDTV: “What the Sena is doing with Ghulam Ali is absolutely wrong. People like him must be kept above and beyond borders.”
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had also said the Ghulam Ali is welcome to perform in Mumbai. “The Maharashtra government is ready to give full protection to the singer. It is wrong to involve Ghulam Ali in Indo-Pak politics,” he said.
Ghulam Ali was scheduled to perform on Friday at Mumbai’s Shanmukhanand Hall, a venue for several Shiv Sena functions.
Members of the Sena’s film wing, the Chitrapat Sena, met officials at the venue today and urged them to cancel the event.
A Shiv Sena leader reportedly told officials that at a time when “Pakistan has targeted Indian soldiers, decapitated them and returned their headless bodies, India should not be enjoying cultural relations with them.”
Ghulam Ali, 74, who has also sung for a number of Indian films, held a concert earlier this year at the famous Sankat Mochan in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency.