Lahore High Court lifts ban on airing of Indian content on television

Lahore (Pakistan): A ban on telecast of Indian teleplays, imposed by Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), was lifted by the Lahore Court on Tuesday.

Granting the permission to private television channels to screen Indian teleplays, the Lahore declared PEMRA's ban as null and void given that the federal government had no objections regarding the same.

A notification was issued by PEMRA imposing a blanket ban on all Indian content on October 19, 2016 after relations between Islamabad and New Delhi deteriorated following cross border terror attacks by Pakistan based terrorists on Indian soil.

The petition, filed by Leo Communication, challenged the PEMRA notification as being beyond the powers of the regulatory body and the Constitution and sought to overturn the ban as it had not been imposed by the Government of Pakistan.

The plea claimed that the government was indulging in 'selective patriotism,' as though Indian movies were allowed to be screened all over the country, they could not be aired on television, the Dawn reported.

According to the report, PEMRA's ban on the airing of Indian films was lifted in February 2017 but permission to air tele-soaps or television dramas was not granted.

The petitioner's counsel Asma Jehangir claimed that the ban had been imposed since India had imposed similar restrictions on all Pakistani content.

The court questioned as to why PEMRA was making the airing of Indian content an issue when the federal government had no objections to it.

LHC Chief Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said that Indian content, which are objectionable or anti-Pakistan, could be censored but there is no need for a complete ban.