Director Mehreen Jabbar is not happy with the government’s decision to ban Indian streaming platforms, including the ZEE5 video-on-demand service, in Pakistan. She thinks the ban will only hurt the entertainment industry.
“They might have made it more difficult to access ZEE5 in Pakistan at the moment but hope we find a way out of it because the only thing that will be hurt because of this ban is our own industry,” she wrote on Instagram.
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday directed all banks to no longer accept online payment for Indian streaming platforms including the popular Zee5. Five original Pakistani series were to be broadcast on Zee5, which the audience in Pakistan won’t be able to watch anymore. The notice that issued this order specifically mentioned Zee5 which premiered the show ‘Churails’ which was criticised by some quarters for ‘indecent’ content.
The notice read:
“We are in receipt of a letter from the Cabinet Division, Government of Pakistan; whereby, they’ve instructed to stop different modes of payments, such as credit cards for subscribing Indian content in Pakistan, including Zee5 video-on-demand service. In this regard, it is advised to ensure meticulous compliance of aforementioned instructions of the government of Pakistan and submit compliance status to PSD, SBP by November 13.”
The SBP has directed banks, electronic money institutions, payment system operators and payment system providers to block payments for subscribing Indian content in Pakistan, including Zee5 video-on-demand service, reads the SBP statement.
