Pakistan suspends Nickelodeon's licence for airing cartoons dubbed in Hindi

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 announced on Monday that the licence was suspended over violation of Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) directives, the Dawn reported along with a copy of the statement.

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

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The statement issued by PEMRA on Monday said 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 artistes, 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).

--PTI