Senate human rights panel green-lights Zindagi Tamasha's release

Published July 14, 2020
Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar says the committee "found nothing wrong" with Zindagi Tamasha. — Twitter/File
Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar says the committee "found nothing wrong" with Zindagi Tamasha. — Twitter/File

The Senate Committee for Human Rights on Tuesday approved the movie Zindagi Tamasha for screening, dismissing all objections raised against the film.

PPP Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, who chairs the panel, said in a tweet that the committee "found nothing wrong" with the film, adding that the censor board "has our go ahead to release post-Covid".

Zindagi Tamasha, which has been premiered at the Busan International Film Festival, faced controversy after Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan called for protests against its scheduled release on January 24, alleging it was “blasphemous”.

In January, the group had called for protests against the film's release in the country, but cancelled its plans after the government said the movie will be sent to the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) for review even after it was twice cleared by censor boards.

Later, in March, the Senate panel for human rights decided to take the matter in its hands and barred the CII from reviewing the film. The panel directed the Central Board of Film Censors to provide the committee a copy of the movie for screening, so the members could decide if its content was objectionable.

At the time, Khokhar had said that if the committee members found something objectionable in the movie, it would be forwarded to the CII.

He further said that the committee will "not come under anyone's pressure" and that the "parliament will exercise its authority".

"We should not come under pressure of those parties who held Islamabad hostage twice," he said while referring to the TLP, who had raised objections over the movie.

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