Pak bans online payments for Indian electronic media content

Karachi, Nov 13: Pakistan goverment has asked Pakistani banks to immediately ban online payments from this country for the subscription of electronic media content from India, according to a media report on Friday.
The decision was taken by the Cabinet on November 9, Dawn newspaper reported, adding that the banking authorities have also been asked to submit a compliance report to the State Bank of Pakistan, the central bank of the country, by November 13.
“We are in receipt of a letter from the cabinet division, Government of Pakistan, whereby they have instructed us to stop different modes of payments, including credit cards, for subscribing (to) Indian Content in Pakistan, including Zee5 video-on-demand service,” according to the circular.
“It is advised to ensure meticulous compliance of aforementioned instructions of the Government of Pakistan and submit compliance status to the State Bank of Pakistan by November 13, 2020,” the circular added.
When contacted, former chairman of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Absar Alam said that Indian content has already been banned in Pakistan, so the new circular could hit online payments for Direct to Home (DTH) service.
Absar Alam said those who have Direct to Home facilities are mostly using Indian content and they make online payments. (PTI)