New Delhi: Amid heightening tension between India and Pakistan in the wake of the recent Uri terror attack, Hindu fundamentalist party Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Friday set a 48-hour deadline for all Pakistani cine- and tele-artists in India to leave the country.

The Mumbai police promptly responded, saying foreign artistes holding valid documents need not worry.

“We are giving a 48-hour deadline to all Pakistani actors and artists to leave India, failing which Maharashtra Navnirman Sena will physically push them out,” MNS Chitrapat Sena (MNS Art Wing) leader Amey Khopak told Gulf News.

Khopak said that there was “an anti-Pakistan” wave across India after the September 18 Uri terror attack, which left 18 Indian soldiers dead in Jammu and Kashmir.

He threatened to beat up Pakistani artists and those who cast them in their productions.

“Pakistani kalakaar toh maar khaayenge hi, saath mein jo yahan producer/director hain unko bhi peetenge [Pakistani artists will be beaten up and so will the producers and directors who side with them],” he said.

He also warned they would not permit the release of any Bollywood films featuring Pakistani actors, including the upcoming Raees, starring superstar Shah Rukh Khan and Pakistani actress Mahira Khan.

Actors such as Mahira Khan and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil star Fawad Khan are hijacking the opportunities of Indian artistes, MNS Vice-President Shalini Thackeray, said.

Thackeray said wherever films or teleserials were being shot with Pakistani actors, her party’s activists would go and stop them after the 48-hour deadline lapses.

“This is not a veiled threat. This is a direct challenge to producers like Karan Johar who promote Pakistani artistes. We are writing to all production houses asking them not to give work to Pakistani artistes,” Thackeray said.

Meanwhile, fundamentalist Hindu party Shiv Sena’s senior leader Sanjay Raut asked the central and Maharashtra state governments not to have any relations with Pakistan.

“Pakistan is not a nation but a haven of terrorists and, hence, India should not have any ties with the neighbouring country. The Pakistani artists and cricketers should not be allowed to work in India. We are talking about banning them globally. Why we are continuing talks with them? Why are we indulging in diplomacy? As a nation, we should snap all ties with Pakistan immediately,” Raut told Gulf News.

However, Mumbai police assured the actors that they need not worry as they will be given protection.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Ashwini Sanap, Mumbai Police, told Gulf News, “The Mumbai Police has ordered ‘bandobast’ (protection) for all foreign nationals (living in the city) with valid documents granted by the Government of India. They will be provided ‘bandobast’ as and when required.”

Asked if there was any way the MNS would be stopped from attacking any Pakistani artiste living in any part of Mumbai, she said the protective measure was meant for all foreign nationals. “We have informed all police stations in the city to keep a watch and ensure protection as and when needed,” said the police officer.

Among the Pakistani actors and singers known to be visiting or based in Mumbai are Fawad Khan, Ali Zafar, Atif Aslam, Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Salman Ahmad, Mahira Khan and Ali Azmat.

Recently, noted ghazal singer Ghulam Ali had to cancel his performance in Mumbai after Shiv Sena vowed to oppose the function. Earlier, MNS and Shiv Sena had threatened to disrupt a T20 cricket match between India and Pakistan in Mumbai.

The development comes at a time when India and Pakistan are engaged in aggressive diplomatic posturing after the Uri terror attack on September 18 when four terrorists snuck into a military base, threw grenades and opened fire, causing the most number of deaths that the Indian army has seen in years.

The militants, said to be from terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad, whose chief Masood Azhar is based in Pakistan, were killed in an intense three-hour gun battle.

— With inputs from Pamela Raghunath, Correspondent