Pakistan bans Indian films from its theatres amid Article 370 abrogation in Kashmir, claim news reports

Pakistan said on 8 August (Thursday) it would ban the screening of Indian films in the country’s cinemas, as tensions between the two countries rise over the contested Kashmir region. “No Indian cinema will be screened in any Pakistani cinema. Drama, films and Indian content of this kind will be completely banned in Pakistan,” Firdous Ashiq Awan , an adviser to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted from an unverified Twitter handle. Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) wrote that Awan claimed this move was in retaliation to India’s abrogation of the Constitution’s Article 370, which gave a special status to Jammu & Kashmir. The state was allowed its own constitution, flag and autonomy over internal administration.

IANS further writes Firdous claimed while interacting with media outside Parliament that the Pakistani government was taking various steps to make the Kashmir situation an international issue. Pakistan has previously banned Bollywood films like Raazi, Aiyyari and Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran, owing to politically objectionable content. Rishi Kapoor’s courtroom drama Mulk was also banned as the country’s censor board felt the portrayal of Muslims in India was incorrect. Other films that have been barred from being screened include Padman, Veere Di Wedding and Pari. The Pakistan government had also called for a ban on Indian content after the Indian Air Force (IAF) destroyed a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) training camp in Balakot . In the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, the makers of films such as Total Dhamaal, Luka Chuppi, Arjun Patiala, Notebook and Kabir Singh had announced that they will not screen their movies in the neighbouring country. (With inputs from agencies)