ISLAMABAD, Aug 23: Cable television operators are preparing for a countrywide strike on Sunday if a ban on showing Indian programmes is not lifted by the Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), an official said.

“We will block all national channels, including the BBC and the CNN, if not allowed to broadcast popular (Indian) channels,” All Pakistan Cable Operators Welfare Association General Secretary Chaudhry Imran told AFP.

The ban had seriously affected business as viewers were discontinuing cable subscriptions when they did not get any popular entertainment in their language, he said.

“Over 98 per cent of viewers on our cable system want to watch popular Urdu channels,” he said.

The operators were not demanding Indian channels, but foreign channels which aired Urdu entertainment programmes, he said.

The association was negotiating with Pemra for an end to the ban, he said.

A Pemra spokesman has urged the association members “to join hands for promotion and strengthening of domestic television industry.”

Cable operators suspect that the has been reinforced to the Pakistan Television.