Time India lifted ban on Pakistani artists, says Shafqat Amanat Ali

Music maestro Shafqat Amanat Ali has said that it is high time that India lifted the ban on Pakistani artists.

Speaking to IANS Ali said, “Art and entertainment industry is a soft target. They know that they can't fight back, so just ban it. It is very easy. Otherwise, there is lot of trade that is happening between India and Pakistan."

After the Uri attacks in 2016, the Indian Motion Pictures Production Association in a resolution barred Pakistani artists from across the border from carrying their activities in the backdrop of escalating tensions between the two countries.

"If you go to the Attari-Wagah border, one can see trucks bringing goods and exchanging goods from both the sides. That import and export business is running full-fledged. People are waiting with their trucks and are off-loading," he said.

Ali, who has sung numerous hit tracks such as Mitwa, Tere Naina, Allah Waariyan, Bin Tere and Dildaara for Bollywood films, said, "If we stop that, it would lead to chaos. But they know that they if they put a ban on artists or actors or people who are related to art, they will express themselves through media or social media platforms. Nothing else."

The singer further said there "is a lot of other stuff which we can do positively and we are not doing that." 

When asked if he misses performing in India, Ali said he does. “Of course, I do. If you talk to people who visited Pakistan to support their team in the last India-Pakistan match, (they will say) they went back after a very emotionally charged trip. They were given so much love. And we also received a lot of love, respect and appreciation for our work in India. I miss performing in India and it is high time that they lift the ban," he added.