Pakistan to allow screening of Indian films

Raees and Kaabil may become the first Indian movies to be screened in Pakistan after the government lifts the four-month-long ban on the screening of Bollywood movies in the country, following India-Pakistan tensions.

The suspension of the screenings of Indian films came after several Bollywood producers banned casting Pakistani artists in Indian movies in the wake of Uri terror attack and ‘surgical strikes’ conducted by the Indian Army on terror launch pads along the LoC in Kashmir.

Though, it became evident that Pakistani cinema owners might not be able to sustain losses as local film industry was still in the nascent stage and unable to create revenue.

The cinema owners started lobbying the government to go soft on Indian films, prompting the prime minister Nawaz Sharif to set up a committee last week to consult all stakeholders.

According to sources in the information ministry, the committee led by minister of state for information Maryam Aurangzeb and Sharif’s advisor Irfan Siddiqui has made the recommendations to the prime minister’s secretariat to lift the ban.

The committee urged the government to revert the ban and allow the screening of Indian films, they said.

Once formally allowed by the prime minister, the information ministry will issue a letter allowing the import of Indian films.

It is believed that Raees’ and ‘Kaabil are likely to be the first films to be screened after the lifting of ban.

Shah Rukh Khan starer Raees also feature Pakistani artist Mahira Khan, while Hrithik Roshan plays the lead in Kaabil.