Islamabad: Pakistan’s top court has reinstated a ban on the broadcast of Indian TV content on Saturday following a petition from local producers.
Pakistan’s Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar announced the verdict, overturning a lower court ruling last year that had lifted the 2016 ban on airing Indian content on TV or FM radio. The regulatory body for electronic media says the court’s order was implemented immediately.
"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", a Dawn News report said.
Earlier this year, India banned performances by Pakistani artists, and some Indian stations have stopped airing Pakistani content. Indian producers have called for a comprehensive ban on Pakistani content, and Hindu extremists have threatened to attack cinemas showing films featuring Pakistani artists.
The two nations are nuclear-armed rivals and have fought three wars since gaining independence from British rule in 1947.
With agency inputs