Pakistan imposes blanket ban on Indian content

A complete ban on airing of Indian content in the country has been approved by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on Wednesday with effect from October 21, said a statement released by the regulatory authority.

The authority took this decision in their 120th meeting held today here, reports the Dawn.

Earlier, the Pakistan Government had suggested banning the airing of Indian content in a tit-for-tat, following a ban by India on airing Pakistani content.

A statement issued from the regulatory authority said, "The ban will come into effect at 3pm on October 21, and the radio and television stations which violate the ban will have their licences suspended without a prior show-cause notice,".

The ban extends to all Indian content on cable and radio being aired in the country.

The PEMRA statement said, "PEMRA, with the authority vested by the federal government, today announces the cancellation of the one-sided rights given to India by the Pervez Musharraf government."

Earlier in October, the power to revoke or suspend licences of companies airing Indian content without providing prior notice was granted to Absar Alam by the authority.

On Aug 31, it had announced to take a strict action would against the channels airing foreign content more than the prescribed limit and traders selling illegal DTH sets.