In a controversial but not entirely surprising move, Pakistan Supreme Court reinstated an outright ban on Indian content being broadcast on Pakistani TV channels. While pronouncing the verdict, the Chief Justice of Pakistan also said that he won’t allow the broadcast of Indian content as it ‘damages’ Pakistan’s culture.
As reported by Pakistani media portal Dawn, the Pakistani Electronic Media Regulatory Authority [PEMRA] had filed an appeal in the Pakistani Supreme Court against the decision of the Supreme Court to ban the broadcast of Indian content, especially the television one, on TV channels. Saleem Baig, chairman of PEMRA also reported before the court that 65 per cent of the content on the Filmazia channel is foreign, and the number goes as high as 50 per cent.
However, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Saqib Nisar would not have any of that. He declared outright, “We will not allow Indian content to be aired on (Pakistani) channels.” When the counsel for PEMRA, Zafar Iqbal Kalanauri replied to the judge that the Filmazia channel is not a news channel but an entertainment channel and that it does not do any propaganda, Saqib shot back with “It is however, damaging our culture.”
For those unaware, PEMRA had banned the broadcast of Indian content on TV channels in a bid to counter attack the Indian action following the dastardly attack on Indian soldiers at Uri in 2016. Within a year, the ban was declared null and void by the Lahore High Court, since the then federal government had no objections. However, within a year, the Supreme Court overturned the verdict and has now declared their intentions outright with the current verdict on the same.
While this is a dictatorial move nonetheless, the verdict also serves as a tight slap to our Aman ki Asha brigade, who are hell-bent on establishing ‘peaceful relations with Pakistan’, even at the cost of the nation’s self-respect. Even after repeated incidents of cross border terrorism and the religious hatred that most of the Pakistanis have for our nation, our ‘Aman ki Asha brigade’, often denounce every action taken against the terrorists as ‘fascist’ or ‘war-mongering’.
We don’t need to exercise our grey matter to remember the immense love that some of our beloved comrades from Bollywood showered on Pakistan. The way the crew of ‘Veere Di Wedding’ and ‘Mulk’ painted the entire Sanatan community as ‘corrupt and rapist’ in order to earn some brownie points in Pakistan, especially when the incumbent PM Imran Khan was touted to win the elections, is hidden from none. It is another matter altogether that both the films did not even receive a release in their beloved Pakistan altogether.
Moreover, this ban also exposes the true nature of Imran Khan, who claimed to teach India ‘how to treat their minorities’. Not only has the Pakistani establishment mistreated the Indian officials before the Kartarpur corridor opened, but they have also increased their cross border attacks on the Indian armed forces. As such, this ban only exposes the intense hatred that Pakistan as a nation has for us.