Council of Islamic Ideology stopped from reviewing Zindagi Tamasha

Senate panel to decide fate of Sarmad Sultan’s film in meeting on March 16

ISLAMABAD: A Senate panel on Wednesday stopped the country’s Islamic advisory body – the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) – from screening a movie as it resolved to decide fate of the film after reviewing it in its next meeting on March 16.

The Senate Function Committee on Human Rights took this decision after an in-camera session held to discuss film director Sarmad Sultan Khoosat’s Zindagi Tamasha. The panel, chaired by PPP Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, got briefing from officials of the central and provincial censor boards.

Speaking to media after the meeting, Khokhar said the committee has barred the CII from reviewing the film and directed the Central Board of Film Censors to provide a copy of the film for screening.

“A screening of the film will be arranged on March 16. The panel will decide if the movie needs to be sent to the CII for approval. If we do not find the film objectionable, orders will be given for the film’s immediate release,” Khokhar said.

Fate of ‘Zindagi Tamasha’ more precarious than ever

Khokhar said only parliament has the authority to refer matters to the CII and no ministry can consult the advisory body on its own. “The law defines this in clear terms,” he said. “Going by the details provided in the in-camera briefing, there appears to be nothing objectionable in the movie.

The government in January announced it will send Zindagi Tamasha to the CII for a review after the Tahreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) – a politico-religious party – threatened to hold protests against the film’s release despite the fact that it had been twice cleared by censor boards.

Amid the controversy, Khoosat addressed an open letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan a few days before the movie's scheduled release, claiming that there had been attempts to stop the film.

Some days later, he posted another open letter addressed to "Pakistan and Pakistanis", questioning whether he should withdraw the film or not. He had claimed that the film does not contain any objectionable content and has already been cleared by the censor boards.