Thakur was asked whether the ban on Pakistani artists will be lifted
At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Film Festival 2023, India’s Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur was asked whether the country will lift its ban on Pakistani artists.
In 2016, Pakistani artists were banned from working in India and people have wondered if the ban will be lifted.
Many Pakistani artists have made a name for themselves in India but unfortunately, they had to return to their nation after a ban was imposed.
The Indian government prohibited Pakistani artists from working in India.
Popular names like Fawad Khan, Atif Aslam, Ali Zafar and Mahira Khan have won hearts with their work in the Indian film industry.
Now for the first time since the ban, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur publicly acknowledged it.
In addition to other topics at the festival, Thakur was asked whether the ban on Pakistani artists will be lifted since the government invited Pakistan to the film festival.
However, Thakur dodged the question and asked to stick to the SCO festival only.
Pakistani representatives were invited to the film festival but it is reported that the government does not want to collaborate with them.
But nothing has been confirmed and there is no idea if the ban will be continued.
SCO is a multinational film festival and people around the world were invited including Pakistan. However, Pakistan refrained from participating.
Talking about Pakistan’s involvement Anurag Thakur said that they have included all those countries that are a part of the world whenever there is a multinational tournament.
Similarly, they had sent invitations to all the members of SCO from their side and opened gates for everyone but eventually, they decided to avoid or attend.
Pakistani artists were banned from working in India after the URI attack in 2016.
Seeing the tension between the two countries, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena of India imposed the said ban.
In November 2022, the cinema wing of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) issued an open threat to Bollywood filmmakers stating that they will face dire consequences if they hire actors and artists from Pakistan.
In 2019, the All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) once again announced a ban on Pakistani actors and artists in India in the wake of the Pulwama attack.
In 2021, India’s Raj Thackeray had issued a statement emphasising that no Pakistani artist will be allowed to work in India.
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