Dawn Images

While Pakistani artists have been banned from working across the border, Indian designer Abhinav Mishra's work recently made its way to Lahore for a shoot with local models. Designer Maria B, who was shocked at the development, has taken to social media to protest against it, questioning how the authorities allowed this when the possibility of this happening in India was currently impossible.

“Umm, if this is happening in Pakistan, why aren’t we allowed to do this in India?” she asked, sharing a video of the shoot that initially went viral because of a dust storm blowing during filming.

She then said she believed Pakistan had a one-sided relationship with India, with our artists being outright disrespected but us welcoming them wholeheartedly.

“Shouldn’t we as an industry be reacting the same way as India is towards our designers and our creators in their country rather than a one-sided relationship? And what about our PM’s directives about Kashmir?” she asked. Prime Minister Imran Khan had said that a good relationship with Delhi would not come at the cost of lives being lost in Kashmir.

Mishra shot with local Pakistani models, some of which flew from Karachi to be a part of his catalogue.

The argument Maria B is making makes sense in that India isn't allowing our designers or artists to work there, so why should we allow them to work here. But the other side of the argument is that Pakistan's entertainment industry isn't as developed as India's and our models and actors don't all get big opportunities to work here. Are we as an industry then shooting ourselves in the foot by limiting who our artists can work with?