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Lahore, January 12 (PTI) — Pakistan’s electronic media regulator on Thursday launched a crackdown on cable operators for broadcasting Indian content on the country’s TV channels.
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) field staff conducted raids on four cable operators “because they broadcast illegal Indian channels and Indian content”, the regulator said in a statement.
It identified cable operators in Karachi as M/s Sharjah Cable Network, M/s Karachi Cable Services, M/s New Satellite Communication and M/s Star Digital Cable Network. During the raids, the regulator seized the illegal equipment and issued a justification notice to the violators, the statement said.
PEMRA said it had launched action in the country based on reports that cable operators were willfully violating the Supreme Court order.
It warned all cable TV operators in the country to “immediately stop” broadcasting Indian channels/content that are illegal or banned by the authorities.
“No channel other than a PEMRA licensee will be allowed to be distributed on the cable network and any operator found to be in disobedience will be dealt with strictly in accordance with PEMRA law,” it warned.
In 2016, PEMRA imposed a blanket ban on Indian content on local TV and FM radio channels.
However, the Lahore High Court lifted the ban in 2017, declaring it invalid as the Pakistani government had no objection to it.
In 2018, Pakistan’s Supreme Court reinstated a ban on Indian content on the country’s TV channels, overturning an order by the Lahore High Court.
The decision was largely seen as a tit-for-tat move after some channels and the entertainment industry in India took similar action against Pakistani content and artists.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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