With nearly empty theatres causing huge financial strain to cinema hall owners in Pakistan owing to country’s ban on Hindi films, the Islamabad government may soon resume the screening of Bollywood films.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has formed a special committee headed by Minister of State for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb for the clearance of Indian movies to be screened in Pakistan.
The move by the Pakistani government comes as a result of demands of local theatre owners who are bleeding financially after banning of Hindi films.
According to a report in The Hindu, distributors in Pakistan are hoping to get the permission before the release of Raees, starring Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and Pakistani actress Mahira Khan, on January 25.
The committee formed by PM Nawaz Sharif is headed by Maryum Aurangzeb and also includes Advisor to the Prime Minister Irfan Siddiqui, Film Censor Board Chairman Mubashir Hasan and a representative from an intelligence agency.
While the terms of reference of the four-member panel were not mentioned in the notification issued on Monday, but according to the amended law, PM Sharif can allow import of films.
Pakistan had included the Indian movies in the list of banned items in the last decade under its import policy order. As per procedures adopted over the years, the commerce ministry issued no-objection certificates (NOCs) at the request of the information ministry for import of Indian films.
According to a Times of India report, the ministry has prepared a plan for allowing import of two to three Indian films a month through NOCs for screening in Pakistani cinemas.
Nadeem Mandiwalla, owner of Atrium Cinema in Karachi, had earlier said that 70 per cent of their business comes from Bollywood and Hollywood.
“We can survive a temporary suspension. But, if it continues, cinema owners might have to shut shop,” Mandiwalla was quoted by Times of India as saying.
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