Shiv Sena growing into a monster: Pakistani daily

Islamabad, Oct 20: It is obvious the Shiv Sena terror is getting out of hand, a Pakistani daily has said, describing the party as a "monster" and calling upon India to act against it.

An editorial "Shiv Sena madness" in The News International 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."

In the latest incident, award winning umpire Aleem Dar has been threatened by the Shiv Sena and asked to leave India. He is in the country to officiate for the ongoing home series being played by India against visiting South Africa.

The threats came soon after the Shiv Sena barged into office of the the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) president Shashank Manohar in Mumbai to warn against the meeting between the visiting Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan and Manohar. The meeting in Mumbai has now been cancelled and will take place in New Delhi.

Jammu and Kashmir legislator Engineer Rashid has "again been attacked - this time with ink - over his stance on the beef ban issue. On October 7 he had been beaten up by BJP members in the assembly a day after he had reportedly hosted a 'beef party'," the daily said.

The editorial said t is obvious "the Shiv Sena terror is getting out of hand".

"There have been repeated incidents over the past few months. Yes, the party has existed in the past and raised its ugly threats from time to time, but never with such force and venom. The fact that it is allied to the ruling BJP is of course a huge factor in the lack of government response to its extremist acts," it added.

The daily went on to say that for the sake of India, "its image and the region, New Delhi needs to act. Already, we see a huge gap opening up as far as relations between Pakistan and India go. It is hard to see how these will be patched over at any time in the near future".

"Relations are now more fragile than has been the case for years and through the actions of the Shiv Sena, we see how much hatred exists for Pakistan in a country that has always held high its secular and democratic values."

"What is even more disconcerting is that there has been little or muted reaction from international human rights organisations. We hope to hear more international concern in a situation that seems to be only becoming worse," it added.

IANS