A Pakistani cable television operator unplugs a cable channel connection following a ban on Indian channels imposed by the Pakistani government in Karachi, 2 August 2003. (AFP)
A Pakistani court on Tuesday lifted a ban on TV channels airing Indian shows, which had been imposed by media regulators, lawyers said.
The state-run media authority imposed the ban on radio and television networks airing Indian content last October amid heightened tensions between the two countries.
Lahore High Court chief justice Mansoor Ali Shah set aside the ban, calling it “unreasonable restrictions,” Asma Jehangir, a lawyer who challenged the ban, told AFP.
Violation of rules
Jehangir, acting for petitioner Leo Communication, the parent organization of TV channel Filmazia, had requested the court to set aside the ban as in violation of the rules and beyond the powers of the regulatory authority.
An official from the regulatory authority confirmed to AFP that the court “set aside the ban” and allowed the channels to air Indian TV shows.
In a series of tit-for-tat moves in the entertainment industry, Pakistan last year suspended screening of all Indian movies until tensions calmed, while Hindu nationalists in India have threatened violence at cinemas showing films with Pakistani actors.
