Pakistan cinemas to resume screening Indian movies

Lahore [Pakistan], Feb. 1 (ANI): The Ministry of Information announced that the Government has decided to continue the existing policy to display all international films, including Indian films, in Pakistani cinemas. "Federal government is pleased to continue the existing open policy to display all international movies (including Indian films) in Pakistani cinemas and is pleased to take the following decisions for revival of the Pakistani film industry," said the notification. Following the approval by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the federal government announced conditions for the import of Indian films, the Dawn reports. According to the approved conditions, an importer will have to submit a request to the Information and Broadcasting Division for the import of an Indian cinema, including the name and cast of the film. The division will retain a copy and forward the request to the Ministry of Commerce for issuance of an import license under Import Policy 2016. "For the import of an Indian film on DCP/Digital drive/CD, the importer will submit a request (including name and cast of the film) to the Information and Broadcasting Division," said the notification. The importers of Indian movies will also have to seek clearance from relevant censor boards through the existing official procedure. Earlier, ties between New Delhi and Islamabad came to an all-time low after Pakistani cinemas suspended the screening of Bollywood movies. The managements of Pakistani cinemas on September 30 announced indefinite suspension of screening of all Bollywood movies as a protest against the ban of Pakistani artists in India. Pakistani artists were banned in India following an attack on an Army base in Uri town of Jammu and Kashmir. At least 19 soldiers were killed in the attack. (ANI)