Bollywood's T-Series Restores Pakistani Singers Despite India-Pakistan Rift

Several Indian music companies, including T-Series, resorted to boycotting Pakistani artists after tensions at the border escalated owing to the killing of more than 40 Indian soldiers by an alleged Pakistan-trained terrorist in Pulwama in disputed Kashmir last month.
Sputnik

New Delhi (Sputnik): With the Indian public demanding a restoration of songs sung by Pakistani singers on Indian music charts, Indian music companies, such as Bollywood-run T-Series, have brought back tracks of Atif Aslam and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan to their online channels. The two Pakistani singers have many recent chart-busters to their credit. 

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The Indian film company had boycotted Pakistani artists and asked for a blanket ban on Pakistani actors and singers following the Pulwama terror attack. India biggest music label, T-Series, had removed Atif Aslam and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's songs from its online platforms, like YouTube.

Netizens had different takes on the step taken by the music labels. 

T-Series, which is currently fighting against PewDiePie to top the most popular channel list on YouTube recently lost a significant number of Pakistani followers and the phenomenon was attributed to the boycott of Pakistani singers by the label. 

Today in Lahore,Pakistan 😂😂 #SubscribetoPewdiepie@pewdiepie@TSeries#tseriesvspewdiepiepic.twitter.com/VC9sdS441u

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Other than the boycott of Pakistani singers by Indian music labels, Indian artists like actress Shabana Azmi and lyricist Javed Akhtar cancelled their trips to Pakistan. Popular Indian film producer and actor Salman Khan also dropped Atif Aslam's song from his film Notebook. 

😂 but T series bring back rahat and atif aslam songs 😂 did you stop using pakistani salt? Air india facing lose of Bn $ cuz pakistani airspace is closed and flight from india to afganhistan is increased 400%? But you dumb people crying over IPL why you indians are so dumb?

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated last month, after the Pakistani military shot down two Indian warplanes in the disputed region of Kashmir, responding to an earlier airstrike by Indian aircraft against what New Delhi said was a camp of Jaish-e-Mohammad group, considered terrorists by India and located on the Pakistani soil across the so-called Line of Control, separating India- and Pakistan- controlled areas of Kashmir.

The Indian airstrike came after a deadly February 14 attack by Jaish-e-Mohammad on the Indian paramilitary police force in Kashmir in mid-February. While India has accused Pakistan of supporting the militants and having a "direct hand" in the incident, Pakistan, in turn, has rejected the allegations.

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