Ban on Indian content

In a move said to have been prompted by a similar decision in India, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) announced on October 4 that Pakistani TV channels are no longer to make Indian content a part of their transmissions.

Previously, Pakistani channels were allowed to give 6% airtime to Indian content in a 24-hour transmission cycle. Given the popularity of Indian films, music and television shows, Pakistani channels utilised this permitted airtime to its fullest extent. However, in light of the hate campaign against Pakistani artists and media content in India, this decision by Pemra has been largely supported by the viewing public. It is in large part a retaliatory gesture which could have been avoided had the Indian government and media not chosen to drag Pakistani artists in the mud or blocked Pakistani content. This petty gesture did nothing but build up further acrimonious feelings on both sides.

The conflict between Pakistan and India is largely confined to a certain area and incidents, which due to unnecessary hype, vindictive gestures and comments have ballooned far beyond the initial cause. During the past several weeks, social media, mainstream press and famous individuals have taken it upon themselves to target Pakistani artists working in India. Despite their previous popularity or perhaps because of it, they were dragged into a fight which they are not answerable for either in their personal or professional capacity.

This tendency of handling conflicts emotionally and ignoring hard evidence in favour of jingoistic rhetoric has landed the South Asian region in trouble several times in the past. It has led to the building up of false historical narratives, prompted discrimination against minorities in both Pakistan and India and caused wars to erupt. Journalistic exactitude is given up to indulge in conspiracy theories while ordinary civilians and businesses, including the entertainment industry, are targeted unnecessarily. While Pemra’s decision to respond in kind to India’s banning of Pakistani content is correct, in future the people of both countries should consider the merits of a more measured and appropriate response when regional tensions flare up.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6^th, 2016.

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