Pakistani daily dubs Shiv Sena a monster, says India must worry about its image

After Shiv Sena activists disrupted a meeting between chiefs of Indian and Pakistan cricket boards, the Pakistan media has labelled the Hindu extremist party party as a ‘monster.’ The News International, in an editorial piece on Tuesday, said the threat posed by “the hard-line right-wing Shiv Sena group seems to be growing into a monster that may prove very hard to control”. “The main thrust of the attack appears to be directed against anyone opposed to their extremist Hindu ideology; Pakistan and Pakistanis seem to be the main targets,” the editorial added. In the latest incident, award-winning umpire Aleem Dar has been threatened by the Shiv Sena and withdrawn from officiating in the ongoing India-South Africa series by the ICC. [caption id=“attachment_2475574” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representative image. AFP[/caption] The threats came soon after the Shiv Sena barged into the office of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Shashank Manohar in Mumbai to warn him against meeting visiting Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan. The meeting with Mahohar in Mumbai was cancelled and a meeting with IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla took place in New Delhi instead. Shiv Sena is opposed to any engagement with Pakistan as it blames the country for inciting militant attacks in India. The party has been in news for all the wrong reasons. On 13 October,  Shiv Sena activists smeared Sudheendra Kulkarni's face with black ink because Kulkarni, chairman of Observer Research Foundation Mumbai, had organised the book launch of former Pakistani minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri in Mumbai. The News International editorial pointed out that Jammu and Kashmir legislator Engineer Rashid had ‘again’ been attacked over his position on the beef ban in the state. Previously, on 7 October, he had been beaten up by BJP members on the floor of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly the day after he reportedly hosted a beef party. The editorial said it is obvious “the Shiv Sena terror is getting out of hand”. According to The News International, there have been incidents where Shiv Sena has “raised its ugly threats from time to time.” The fact that Shiv Sena has allied with the BJP to form a government in Maharashtra, the newspaper feels, that could be a reason why the BJP-led government at the Centre has not reacted to the ’extremist acts.’ The Pakistani daily told the Modi-led government to act for the sake of India’s image as there already is a huge gap ‘as far as relations between Pakistan and India go’. Unfortunately, the piece adds that it is hard to see a resolution, particularly given the acts of intolerance across the country. With IANS inputs