News Desk |
Singer Atif Aslam has opened up about the removal of his songs from YouTube by India’s music company T-Series post-Pulwama attack. Atif Aslam expressed his cluelessness why his songs were removed from YouTube and restored later on. Singer Atif Aslam, however, stated that he has a large number of the fans following him on both sides of the border and hence he did not understand why he was attacked.
In his latest interview, he stated, “It happens. I don’t know. I think I’m really loved over there (India) by fans. Border-ban has appeared often but I personally don’t know the reason for this – why I was taken off and was back on YouTube. The fan following in Pakistan and India is huge, which is perhaps gauged by the numbers.
I feel it is the response of the fans.”He further stated: “Trolling is not something new – I had to face it 15 years ago when I began my career.” Pakistani singers are currently banned – imposed by Indian entertainment fraternity – from working in Bollywood. India banned Pakistani artists performing in India after the 2016 Uri attack which consequently led to the cancellation of Shafqat Amanat Ali’s concert in 2016.
Read more: Atif Aslam reveals the reason of split of Jal band
The political tensions then also triggered Pakistan banning the screening of Indian movies. Over time, Pakistan, however, relaxed its stance and the screening of Indian movies resumed in cinemas across the country. The situation has worsened once more after the Pulwama attack on Indian Forces in Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistani singer Shafqat Amanat Ali urged India and Pakistan to resume their cultural ties. “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 a lot of trade that is happening between India and Pakistan,” says Shafqat. He expanded, “If you go to the Attari-Wagah border, one can see trucks bringing goods and exchanging goods from both sides.
That import and export business is running full-fledged. People are waiting with their trucks and are off-loading.””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.”