SC slaps blanket ban on airing of Indian content

KARACHI: Hearing a case pertaining to broadcast of foreign content on the Pakistani television channels, the Supreme Court (SC) Saturday imposed a blanket ban on transmission of Indian content and set aside an earlier verdict by the Lahore High Court (LHC).

The Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar was hearing a case at the Karachi Registry.

The case was filed by the United Producers Association against the broadcast of foreign content on Pakistani television channels. “They are trying to (obstruct the construction) of our dam and we cannot even ban their channels,” the top judge fumed as he ordered the broadcast of Indian shows to be shut down.

He directed the authorities to only air appropriate content. In 2016, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) imposed a complete ban on airing Indian content on local television and FM radio channels. The decision was largely seen as a tit for tat move after similar actions were taken by some channels and the entertainment industry in India against Pakistani content and artists. In 2017, the LHC had lifted a ban imposed by Pemra declaring it null and void as the federal government had no objection to the same.