Pakistan's Supreme Court has reimposed a ban on all Indian content on TV channels, overturning an earlier ruling by a lower court.
An official of Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) said Chief Justice Saqib Nisar on October 27 issued an order to "stop airing all Indian content" on terrestrial, satellite, and cable TV channels.
Pakistan newspaper Dawn reported that Nisar cited as justification the fact that India was constructing a dam in the country's north in territory claimed by Delhi and which was blocking rivers that flow into Pakistan.
“India is shrinking the flow of water into Pakistan," Nisar reportedly said. "Why shouldn't we close their channels?"
Indian movies are popular in Pakistan and throughout the region, and Bollywood employs many Pakistani musicians and actors.
Khalid Arain, chairman of Pakistan Cable Operators Association, confirmed the verdict, but said his group opposed the ruling.
"Ban on the all the Indian content is not the solution -- rather we should try to better the quality of Pakistani TV shows," he told the AFP news agency.
Pakistan has imposed bans on Indian films and TV content since the 1965 India-Pakistan war.
The ban has been periodically lifted, but all Indian radio and TV content was barred again after India cracked down on protests in the disputed region of Kashmir in 2016.
Bitter nuclear rivals India and Pakistan have had a long history of wars and disputes since independence they won independence from British colonial rule in 1947, mainly over Kashmir.
India has long accused Pakistan of supporting militants in Kashmir, a Himalayan territory divided between the two nuclear archrivals but claimed in full.
Kashmiris across Pakistan on October 27 observed what they call "Black Day" to protest India's activities in the disputed region.
With reporting AFP, Dawn, India TV, and the BBC
