Pakistani artistes not terrorists: Salman Khan

New Delhi, September 30

Bollywood actor Salman Khan criticised calls for ban on Pakistani artistes in India and said “art should not be mixed with terrorism”.

"Pakistani artistes are just artistes and not terrorists. Terrorism and art are two different subjects," Salman said, when asked about his take on banning the actors from Pakistan.

He praised the army’s surgical strikes on Thursday.

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"Ideal situation should have been that of peace. But, now a reaction to an action has happened. It was a proper action as they were terrorists. But still in this day and age, I think if we lived in peace an harmony it would have been better for everyone and especially for common people," he said while speaking at the launch of his jewellery range for Being Human.

MNS chief Raj Thackeray critcised Khan’s statement.

"Is there a dearth of talent in India that we need to borrow artistes from Pakistan? These people are only concerned about their movies doing well in Pakistan... The bullets that our soldiers face are real, they are not filmy," Thackeray told a TV channel.

Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi however welcomed Bollywood actor Salman Khan's remarks on Pakistani artistes.

"Our fight is against Pakistan and we are proud of our soldiers for going into Pakistan-occupied territory and killing the terrorists. But, when we are talking about those who are here on valid visas for either work purpose or medical treatment, it is our duty to welcome them with open arms."

"When we give these Pakistanis a good treatment, they will go back to their country and condemn the atrocities perpetrated by them on our soil. When Pakistanis say good things about our country, it will be that country which will be embarrassed on the global front," he told reporters said.

Maharashtra Industries Minister Subhash Desai, a senior leader of the Shiv Sena, advised Salman to "take lessons" on national pride from his father and noted scriptwriter Salim Khan.

"Pakistan is our enemy and has killed our jawans by crossing the Line of Control (LoC) at Uri. The Sena has always opposed cricketing ties with Pakistan," he said. Desai said Sena believed that there should be no cultural ties between the two countries when people's reaction was "strong" over the terror attacks "from Pakistan".

The Indian Motion Picture Producers Association passed a resolution on Thursday to ban Pakistani artistes from the Indian industry, after the Indian Army announced they had conducted military strikes on seven terrorist launch pads in Pakistan.

The neighbour has denied claims of the strikes, instead calling it shelling on the border, but has admitted it lost two soldiers. 

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena last week gave Pakistani artistes and actors, among them — actors Fawad Khan, who is part of one of the productions under Khan’s banner, and actor Ali Zafar — to leave India by September 25.

Recently, concerts of Pakistani singers Shafqat Amanat Ali and Atif Aslam, scheduled in Bengaluru and Gurgaon, respectively, were also cancelled. — PTI