Indian teleplays will now be broadcast on Pakistani television as the Lahore High Court, on Tuesday lifted a nine-month ban on airing of Indian teleplays  terming it ‘null and void.’

 Shortly after the relations between India and Pakistan got strained following the terrorist attack on Indian military base in Uri in Jammu & Kashmir, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), an independent body that regulates content of print and electronic media, had laid a blanket ban on all Indian content on October 19, 2016.

Chief justice Mansoor Ali Shah said that the ban was meaningless and unlawful as the federal government had no qualms in telecasting Indian content in Pakistan. Indian movies were already being shown throughout the country. He granted permission to private Pakistani channels to telecast Indian teleplays.

Justice Shah exhorted the regulatory body to review its policies. He said that the world has become a global village and such restrictions are unreasonable.

He, however, clarified that any Indian content with objectionable or anti-Pakistan content could be censored but a total ban was uncalled for.

The court passed the orders in response to a petition filed by Leo Communications, a local telecommunication company which stated that the government was indulging in 'selective patriotism' as the screening of Indian movies was allowed all over Pakistan.