The State Bank of Pakistan has ordered banks to ban, with immediate effect, online payments for electronic media content from India.
“We are in receipt of a letter from the cabinet division, Government of Pakistan, whereby they have instructed to stop different modes of payments, including credit cards, for subscribing (to) Indian Content in Pakistan, including Zee5 video-on-demand service,” said the circular issued on Nov 9.
“In this regard, it is advised to ensure meticulous compliance of aforementioned instructions of Government of Pakistan and submit compliance status to SBP (by) Nov 13, 2020,” the circular added.
When contacted, Absar Alam, former chairman of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), said that Indian content in Pakistan has already been banned, so that online payments for the Direct to Home (DTH) service could be hit by the new circular.
Those with DTH facilities mostly use Indian content and make online payments, he added.
“Now the subscriber cannot pay directly from Pakistan, but the Indian provider can get payments from other countries like the United Arab Emirates,” said Mr Alam.
In India, the DTH broadcasting service refers to the distribution of multi-channel TV programmes directly to the subscribers’ premises through the use of a satellite system and the provision of TV signals. There is no available information as to how many Pakistanis use this alternative to subscribe to Indian content.
Bankers said that they only have to ensure that no payment for Indian content from Pakistan is made.
In response to a question, an official from one of the larger local channels said that only some content from India is subscribed to by the organisation and all payments are made via Dubai, so no online payment from Pakistan is required.
Sources in the entertainment circles said they were certain that against the background of a drama serial broadcast by Indian channel Zee5, the prohibition was imposed.
The BBC reported on Nov 2 a Pakistani web series named “Churails” had triggered a furor in the country for its bold subject matter and oversensitive portrayal of its female leads.
The 10-episode serial features a group of women from diverse backgrounds who get together to start a secret detective agency called “Churails” — the Urdu word for “witches”.
The electronic media regulator ordered the Indian video-on-demand platform Zee5, which streamed the show, to take down the serial for Pakistani audiences, according to the BBC. Initially, the platform just complied with the instructions to restore it later.
When Pemra banned it in Pakistan after a backlash over a clip that went viral on social media, the show ran into controversy.
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