KARACHI: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Saturday reinstated a ban on airing Indian content on TV channels in the country, overturning the Lahore High Court’s 2017 order.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar was hearing a case filed by the United Producers Association pertaining to the broadcast of foreign content on Pakistani television channels in the Supreme Court’s Karachi registry, Dawn news reported.
“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” before adding that the authorities should “only air appropriate content”, the report said.
In 2016, 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 Lahore High Court, noting that “the world has become a global village”, lifted the PEMRA-imposed ban, declaring it null and void as the federal government had no objections, the report added.