Atif Aslam's concert in India cancelled after Shiv Sena threat

Published April 22, 2015
Atif Aslam has cancelled a concert scheduled for April 25 in Pune, India after having received threats from extremist outfit Shiv Sena. ─ File
Atif Aslam has cancelled a concert scheduled for April 25 in Pune, India after having received threats from extremist outfit Shiv Sena. ─ File

Atif Aslam has cancelled a concert scheduled for April 25 in Pune, India after having received threats from extremist outfit Shiv Sena, reported NDTV.

According to NDTV, Shiv Sena had threatened to disrupt the event if it happened and opposed the idea of Atif Aslam's concert in the city.

More than a thousand tickets for Atif’s concert had been sold, which will now have to be refunded, said the report.

Atif Aslam has acquired a huge fan following in India, where he has lent his voice to a number of popular Bollywood tracks over the years. He has performed at concerts in India on several occasions and has also been a judge on Indian reality television shows.

Shiv Sena, a hardline outfit founded by the late Bal Thackeray, has in the past threatened Pakistani athletes to deter them from engaging in competitive sports in India.

Thackeray often referred to Indian Muslims as “anti-nationals” and called for Hindu suicide squads to counter what he saw as a rise in ‘Islamic terrorism’.

Examine: Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray dies at 86.

In January 2013, the outfit had protested against Pakistani players joining Indian hockey league franchises. Around 100 workers of the right-wing Shiv Sena party protested at a stadium where the Mumbai Magicians team, which had four Pakistani players in its squad, was practising.

Shiv Sena has always opposed the performance of Pakistani artists in India, citing Pakistan’s ‘ceasefire violations along the Line of Control’.

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