Pakistan suspends Nickelodeon's licence for airing Indian content

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's media regulatory authority has suspended the licence of US-based Nickelodeon channel for airing cartoons dubbed in Hindi, days after it decided to enforce a complete ban on Indian TV and radio contents amid Indo-Pak tensions.

The electronic media watchdog yesterday announced that the licence was suspended over violation of Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority ( PEMRA) directives, the Dawn newspaper reported along with a copy of the statement.

The authority had announced on October 19 that any satellite channel or those with landing rights would face bans over screening of Indian content, in order to enforce a complete ban on Indian TV and radio contents.

The statement issued by PEMRA yesterday said that all distribution networks have been informed about the suspension of Nickelodeon channels. The decision will come into effect immediately, the report said.

ARY Communications is the channel's landing rights holder in Pakistan.

The move is largely seen as a tit-for-tat move after a similar action by some channels and the entertainment industry in India against Pakistani content and artists, it said.

Tensions are also running high between the two countries following the Uri terror attack and India's retaliatory surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC).