Pakistan to block Indian broadcast content
Pakistan will ban all Indian content on TV and radio channels from Friday, its media regulator said, stepping up media tit- for- tat bans that followed a spike in tension between the nuclear- armed neighbors.
Tension between the arch- rivals has been high since an Indian security force crackdown on protests in Indian- controlled Kashmir began in July, following the killing of a young Muslim separatist leader.
Relations worsened in September, when militants attacked an army base in Kashmir and killed 18 soldiers, a raid New Delhi blamed on Pakistan.
Islamabad denied involvement but the diplomatic fallout, and New Delhi’s efforts to isolate Pakistan internationally, prompted calls in India for a ban on Pakistani actors and actresses in the country’s giant Bollywood film industry.
Pakistani cinemas responded by banning Bollywood films and as the rhetoric against Pakistani actors in Bollywood surged, Islamabad has responded by enforcing bans on Indian channels in Pakistan.
The complete ban will start on Friday at 3 pm, said Muhammad Tahir, the spokesperson of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority.
The measure goes further than the regulator’s crackdown on Indian media announced this month, when it vowed to enforce an existing law that allows channels to air Indian content for just 86 minutes each day.
The law was often flouted by entertainment channels and cable operators airing Indian films and soap operas wildly popular in Pakistan. The sale of Indian direct- to- home service is also forbidden in Pakistan.