Pakistan’s Supreme Court bars private channels from airing Indian films, TV shows

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Tuesday banned the transmission of Indian films and television shows on local television channels. The development comes amid rising tensions between the two nuclear powered nations following the Pulwama terror attack. "The top court has barred private channels from airing Indian material," state-run Radio Pakistan reported.    

A three-member bench, headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmad, passed the judgement while hearing a case regarding transmission of foreign content on local television channels. The hearing of the case has been adjourned for an indefinite period.

The move came a week after Pakistan's Information and Broadcasting Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said Pakistan film exhibitors association will be boycotting the Indian films following Indian air strikes on a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province last month.

Hussain also said that he has instructed the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to crack down on "made-in-India advertisements". The top court last instated a ban on Indian material in October 2018.