Film distributors in Pakistan are hoping to release Hrithik Roshan-starrer Kaabil on Saturday in cinema halls in the country. Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Raees is also expected to be screened soon.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had constituted a committee last week, headed by Minister of State for Information Maryum Aurangzeb, to look into a request made by film distributors. The committee includes the Secretary of Commerce, Adviser to the Prime Minister on National History and Literary Heritage and an ISI representative.
Nadeem Mandivalla, a leading theatre owner in the country, said, “We have been told by the government that a no-objection certificate for Kaabil will be issued on Friday and the censor board will pass the film on the same day. This means Kaabil will be released in Pakistan on Saturday.”
Indian films are in the list of banned items in Pakistan. But the Commerce Ministry, under para-19 of the import policy order, had issued no-objection certificates at the request of the Information Ministry for import of Indian films since 2006. The Information Ministry, in consultation with the Commerce Ministry, follows a procedure to allow the import of films.
The screening of Bollywood films in Pakistani cinema halls was suspended in October last year after a self-imposed ban by theatre owners following escalation of tensions along the Line of Control.
