Extremist party gives Pakistani actors 48 hours to leave India

An extremist party Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has given a 48-hour deadline to Pakistani artists to leave India.

According to reports in the Indian media, the extremist group said if Pakistani artists failed to leave they would be ‘pushed out’ from the country.

The MNS will also block the release of movies starring Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan in Maharashtra. 

Pakistani actress Saba Qamar who is in India for the shooting of a movie Hindi Medium with Irrfan Khan in lead role spoke to Geo News on the phone. "I am safe in India. I only came to know about the threats through the media. I have received a lot of love in this country," she said.

"Only a few people on both sides of the border want to spread hate. The public wants peace," she added.

Saba added that she will complete the shooting of her movie and had no plans of rushing back home.

READ: MNS TO BLOCK RELEASE OF FAWAD, MAHIRA MOVIES 

This threat by the extremist group follows that from an Indian blogger Soumyadipta Banerjee who in a post told Pakistani actor Fawad Khan to leave the country.

In the past, Pakistani artists have received threats from Indian extremists groups. Pakistani singer Ghullam Ali was forced to cancel his performance in Mumbai because of Shiv Sena.

In 2015, Indian extremist party Shiv Sena had threatened Pakistani actors Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan from promoting their movies in Maharashtra.

The deadline comes as tensions between Pakistan and India have escalated. Pakistan has shed light on Indian human rights violations in Occupied Kashmir and this issue was raised by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the United Nations. Over 115 Kashmiris have been martyred and thousands injured as a result of Indian atrocities in Occupied Kashmir. India without any proof has blamed Pakistan for an attack on an army base in Uri.