&w=3840&q=100)
Pakistan's Provincial Minister Maryam Aurangzeb regrets ban on Aamir Khan starrer ‘Dangal': 'It was a film which was...'
Maryam Aurangzeb, who is now a senior minister in the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) in Punjab, said she had just become the information minister when Dangal was released. read more
A minister in Pakistan's Punjab province says she regrets not allowing Aamir Khan's 'Dangal' to release in the country in 2017.
Maryam Aurangzeb, who is now a senior minister in the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) in Punjab, said she had just become the information minister when 'Dangal' was released.
'Yes, if there is one regret that I have when I was the Federal Information Minister, it was banning the screening of 'Dangal' in Pakistan,' Aurangzeb said on a popular podcast.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
'It was my first meeting with the censor board representatives and information ministry people and they recommended a ban on screening of the film giving some reasons for this,' she added.
Aurangzeb said she approved the ban though she had not seen the film. In those days, the government allowed the release of Indian films in Pakistan.
'One and half year later, I got a chance to see the film and I realised my decision to approve the ban was wrong. It was a film which was inspirational for our girls and was close to home,' she said.
Though Indian films and actors remain hugely popular in Pakistan, the government has placed a ban on their screening in the country since 2019.
Indian films were screened in Pakistani cinemas between 2008 to 2019 and did excellent business. Since the ban, dozens of cinema houses have gone out of business and are struggling to survive on Hollywood movies as the production quality of Pakistani films remains very low.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
22 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Language row a distraction from core issues, says Prithviraj Chavan
Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan has alleged that a controversy over the 'imposition' of Hindi language in Maharashtra was being created to divert people's attention from core issues and underlined the need to improve the quality of education. Claiming a drastic cut in the budgetary allocation for education, the former Maharashtra chief minister said the focus should be on providing quality education to students and strengthening infrastructure in the educational sector. "The budgetary allocation on education should be increased. The controversies over English and the imposition of Hindi are irrelevant and being created to divert focus from the core issues," Chavan told reporters in Kolhapur on Friday. The former Union minister claimed 41 per cent of posts of teachers in IITs are lying vacant in Maharashtra. "Similarly, 70 per cent of vacancies in agriculture universities are not filled," he said. The language row erupted after the state government last week issued an amended order stating Hindi will "generally" be taught as the third language to students in Marathi and English medium schools from Classes 1 to 5. According to the order, if 20 students per grade in a school wish to study any other Indian language, they can opt out of Hindi. If such a demand arises, either a teacher will be appointed, or the language will be taught online. Opposition parties, however, dubbed the move a default imposition of Hindi as a third language. The controversy has united estranged cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray for the cause of the Marathi language. The Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS will take out a joint morcha in Mumbai on July 5. The Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) has extended its support to the protest march. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
22 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Pakistan rebuilds terror camps in PoK after Operation Sindoor: Report
Pakistan has initiated a fresh effort to reconstruct terror launchpads and training camps that were decimated during India's Operation Sindoor, NDTV reported. This rebuilding process is receiving full support from Pakistan's military, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and government authorities, the news report said. The renewed activity is concentrated in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and nearby areas, particularly along the Line of Control (LoC). Intelligence inputs suggest the creation of smaller, high-tech terror facilities concealed within dense forest regions to escape Indian surveillance. These new camps aim to replace the infrastructure lost during India's precision strikes in May, which targeted bases of terror outfits including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Hizbul Mujahideen and The Resistance Front (TRF), NDTV reported. ISI-led reorganisation of terror infrastructure The camps being reconstructed include those previously located in areas such as Luni, Putwal, Tipu Post, Jamil Post, Umranwali, Chaprar Forward, Chhota Chak and Janglora. Intelligence officials noted that the ISI is now pursuing a strategy to decentralise its terror training network. Instead of large, easily detectable facilities, the new plan involves multiple smaller camps, each hosting fewer than 200 operatives, reducing the chances of significant losses in the event of future airstrikes, the news report said. A critical meeting was recently held in Bahawalpur, southern Punjab — a known hub of Jaish-e-Mohammed. The meeting, intercepted by Indian agencies, involved top commanders of JeM, LeT, Hizbul Mujahideen and TRF, along with ISI operatives. Bahawalpur was a key target in Operation Sindoor — which was undertaken in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack — due to its strategic significance to terror groups, NDTV said. The agenda of the meeting included reorganising operational command, redistributing weapons and resources, and restarting recruitment efforts both within Pakistan and in Jammu and Kashmir. Pahalgam attack On 22 April, terrorists attacked a popular tourist location at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam, Kashmir, killing 26 people and injuring over a dozen others. The Resistance Front (TRF) initially claimed responsibility, attributing the act to resistance against non-local settlements, but later withdrew the statement. India responded with a range of diplomatic and strategic measures. The Centre suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, curtailing the river water flow to Pakistan. It also halted visa services for Pakistani nationals, revoked existing visas (barring diplomatic categories), and expelled Pakistani diplomats. The Attari land border post was shut down, and both diplomatic missions were scaled back. Additionally, India blocked access to Pakistan's official X handle and restricted digital content by banning 16 Pakistani YouTube channels, including media outlets Dawn News and Geo News. Operation Sindoor Operation Sindoor, carried out in the early hours of 7 May, saw the Indian armed forces executing precision strikes on nine terror camps deep within Pakistani territory. The targets primarily belonged to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). After India's strikes, Pakistan responded with artillery shelling along the Line of Control and launched attempted drone attacks. In retaliation, India intensified its countermeasures, targeting critical Pakistani military and air installations, including the Nur Khan Air Base in Rawalpindi and the Rahim Yar Khan airbase.
United News of India
25 minutes ago
- United News of India
Op Sindoor: Army felicitates 25 civilians for exemplary contribution in Rajouri
Jammu, June 28 (UNI) The Indian Army today felicitated 25 civilians for their exemplary contribution during Operation Sindoor in the bordering Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu-based defence spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Suneel Bartwal here said that the Ace of Spades Division of the Indian Army conducted a felicitation ceremony at Rajouri and honoured brave civilians who played a pivotal role during Op Sindoor in restoring normalcy. The locals of Rajouri, Poonch, Mendhar, Krishna Ghati, Manjakote and Naushera facilitated casualty evacuation, humanitarian and rescue operations under challenging conditions, he added. The event was presided over by Major General Kaushik Mukherji, General Officer Commanding (GOC) Ace of Spades Division. A video was screened at the beginning showcasing the joint effort and contribution of armed forces and locals in the success of Operation Sindoor, followed by two-minute silence paying homage to those who laid down their lives, including ADDC Rajouri, Raj Kumar Thapa. In his address, the general officer highlighted that Op Sindoor was not merely a military operation but a national assertion that India will safeguard its citizens and dismantle threats and acts with definite resolve and precision. He commended all civilians for their exemplary contribution during Op Sindoor, offering critical support when the country needed it most, thus ensuring that the fabric of society was not broken. Support through constructing civilian bunkers, dual-use shelters, casualty evacuation, stockpiling essentials and conducting civil defence drills witnessed across Rajouri and Poonch districts was indeed commendable, he added. The locals who attended the event during informal interaction thanked the armed forces for their efforts during the operation and ensured continuous support in future endeavours. The general officer assured the gathering that the Indian armed forces will always stand by its resolve to maintain sovereignty and territorial integrity and continue to uphold the age-old bonhomie that exists between the Indian Army and civil populace. The event concluded with a reaffirmation of mutual trust and cooperation between the Indian armed forces and the local population, underscoring the shared commitment towards peace, security and national integrity, said the spokesman. Operation Sindoor was a military operation launched by the Indian armed F\\\\forces on the night of May 6-7, 2025, in response to a barbaric terrorist attack on civilians in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, where individuals were targeted based on their religion with an aim to fracture peaceful coexistence. A total of 27 civilians, including a local pony rider, were brutally killed by terrorists. The Indian armed forces carried out a firm, focused, calibrated and non-retaliatory response against terror launch pads all along the western border. During the initial strike, nine terror camps were destroyed. In response, the Pakistan Army violated the ceasefire all along the front, and when they received a befitting reply from the armed forces, the Pakistan Army targeted innocent civilians in the Rajouri and Poonch districts, resulting in 17 fatal casualties and around 50 injured locals, also affecting civil infrastructure, livelihoods and husbandry. Continuing with their rich tradition of bravery and patriotism, as has been demonstrated in earlier wars of 1948, 1965 and 1971, and undeterred by personal losses, the civilians of Rajouri and Poonch joined hands and worked tirelessly along with the armed forces and emerged victorious. UNI VBH ARN PRS
