PESHAWAR, Aug 25: The NWFP Cable Operators Association has decided to go on a strike in protest against the ban imposed on Indian channels.

This was announced by the cable operators association here on Sunday. The association said cable operators in Peshawar City, Gulbahar, Sheikhabad, Hussainabad, Hayatabad and even in Mardan had stopped showing channels approved by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority.

Talking to Dawn, a Pemra official said about 52 channels had been approved by the regulatory authority and a list of these channels had also been forwarded to every licensed cable operator. They can only show these channels, he said.

He said for any channel to be included in the list registration with Pemra was necessary, without which its distribution or relaying would be illegal. The list did not include PTV channels, which are mandatory under the Pemra rules, he added.

Cable operators all over the province have protested against the imposition of a ban on Indian channels. There are around 1,000 cable networks in the country and about 70 cable operators are working in the NWFP at the moment.

NWFP Cable Operators Association General Secretary Mujahid Saleem said all cable operators in the NWFP had decided to go on a strike from Sunday night and joined the countrywide strike against the ban on Indian entertainment channels.

The cable operators have even stopped showing channels approved by Pemra in protest.

“Cable operators have been granted licences by Pemra so they have to comply with its rules and regulations. Those who do not comply with its rules will have to pay the penalty and can also be fined,” a local Pemra official observed.

The Pemra official said ban on Indian channels was imposed almost a year ago when tension between Pakistan and India was high. The slackness of the regulatory authority prompted the cable operators to resume the relaying of banned channels.

“Cable operators pay Rs10 per subscriber to Pemra and Rs25,000 to Rs50,000 per annum as license fee, besides filing income tax returns,” Mujahid Saleem said.

“We appealed to the government on various occasions to provide a relief to the cable operators and allow the screening of entertainment channels which were banned. There should be a survey to find out which channels are popular among the masses,” Mr Saleem said.

The cable operators association complained that Pemra made changes in the rules and regulations without consulting them, adding ban on entertainment channels was not the solution to regulate the electronic media.

Cable networks were doing a roaring business when Indian channels were allowed. There was a great public demand for the Indian entertainment channels here, an employee of Cable World said.

“The ban on Indian channels will give rise to the VCR and minicinema culture. There is a need to improve standard of Pakistani channels and the best way is to compete with foreign channels instead of imposing a ban on them,” Zeeshan, a cable subscriber in Gulbahar area, said.

The approved entertainment channels include CCTV3 (Chinese), CCTV4 (Chinese), Bangladesh TV, Turkish TV and TCM film channel (UAE), whereas 12 entertainment channels are in English language.