An Indian hardliner political party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has said that they will not allow Mahira Khan or any other Pakistani artist to work in their country.

The statement has come out in a response to Mahira’s interview with Film Companion where she talked about the ban on Pakistani artist in Bollywood.

“We will not allow Mahira Khan or any other Pakistani artists to work here, be it Maharashtra or any other part of the country,” said MNS, according to India media.

According to the reports, Mahira Khan and some Pakistani artists are working on a project with Zee Theatre of India. Titled as Yaar Julahay, it is a series of dramatic readings of the works of legendary Urdu writers.

In her interview a couple of days ago, Mahira has said that since Pakistani artists had been banned to work in India, she had hesitated to take on new projects. She received various offers for digital projects, but she turned them down out of fear. However, she has decided to start working in India now and doesn’t want to let politics get in the way.

She said that she had felt sad when she knew about the ban on Pakistani artists. She said, “I feel like a great opportunity for the entire subcontinent to come together and collaborate was lost. I think it might happen again. Who knows?'

She has recently worked on an Indian web project. The actress while opening up on the same confessed that she was scared to take up the Indian web shows.

She said: “A lot of the other series were offered to me and at that time but I was scared. I was genuinely just scared. It wasn’t about what people say, I was just like, I don’t know if I want to go there. And there was some content that was amazing, and I didn’t want to miss out on it. But I was scared and I have no shame in admitting it.”

This is not the first time such a statement has been made. Earlier, Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) had issued a warning for Indian celebrities to stop collaborating with Pakistani artists.

After the 2019 Pulwama attack, a complete ban on Pakistani actors and technicians was announced by the All Indian Cine Workers Association.