The idea to limit or completely stop the import of foreign media content would have worked
LAHORE: It’s been little less than a decade that Pakistani media channels started broadcasting foreign, particularly Turkish dramas. The content was well received to the extent that a few dramas were amongst the top-listed ones of the period.
The idea to limit or completely stop the import of foreign media content would have worked in the initial days these dramas were broadcast, not when Pakistanis have already watched over a dozen of them via their local media channels. And even more when restricting such content would serve no purpose given its availability on the internet.
Further, if non-local media content is deemed against the local culture and values, the same should apply for Indian and English movies too, that have a much bigger local market compared to Turkish or any other dramas.
At a time when almost every sort of information is just a few clicks away the idea to filter content in a bid to protect cultural values is ironical and purposeless.
Lubna Riaz Ahmad
Published in The Express Tribune, June 8th, 2018.
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