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Pakistan denies lifting of ban on Indian films

B. Muralidhar Reddy

The only exception was Moghul-e-Azam

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has denied a report that the ban on screening of Indian films in the cinema halls of the country has been lifted.

Pakistan Information and Broadcasting Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told The Hindu on Monday that there was no truth in the report. "I have no knowledge of any such decision," he said when pressed if Gen. Musharraf has amended the relevant rules on screening of Indian films.

The ban has been in force since the 1965 war. The Film Producers Association (FPA) and the Cinema Owners Association (CAO) have been repeatedly urging the government to lift the ban to give a boost to the local film industry.

The film industry of Pakistan is passing through a bad phase with the number of cinema halls down from 1,500 in the 70s to below 270 now. The total number of films produced in Pakistan in 2005 was below 40. However the government has declined to consider the request on Indian films on the plea that time was not ripe for such an action.The only exception on the ban was for the release of the popular film, Moghul-e-Azam.

Though the government announced some time ago that it has given the green light for screening of the epic, it is yet to hit the Pakistani screens.

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