Ban on Indian channels in Pak on anvil

Islamabad, Jan 13:Cable operators in Pakistan may soon have to black out airing Indian channels as the Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting has recommended a ban on all Indian channels being telecast by the cable operators across the country, The Daily Times reported.

PML-Q leader Tariq Azeem has asked the government to immediately ban the Indian TV channels from being aired in Pakistan, amidst rising tension between both the countries.

Azeem said that the Indian government has banned the books of Pakistani authors from being sold in India, so Pakistan should also give a reply to the Indian stance by slapping a ban on the T.V. channels.

The committee members also recommended that screening of Bollywood movies by the cable operators, and in theaters, should be stopped immediately. "The government should immediately ban the Indian channels till normalization of relations between the two countries. It should direct the cable operators to stop screening Indian movies too," said a committee member, Liaquat Bangulzai.

Awami National Party (ANP) leader Haji Adeel, however, had a different opinion on the issue.

"The ban should be on the Indian entertainment channels only, and not on the news channels so that Pakistanis could know what actually they (India) are propagating against Pakistan," said Adeel.

ANI