Pakistan theatres welcome back Bollywood cinemas

Islamabad : Pakistan theatres are set to welcome back Bollywood cinemas from today. They had banned screening of Indian cinemas nearly three months ago after they were suspended amid tensions on the disputed region of Kashmir, an association for cinema owners said.

Bollywood movies would be screened in all major cities from now on, said Aamir Haider, a member of the Pakistan Film Exhibitors Association.

"Cinemas in Pakistan will go bankrupt if they don't screen Indian stuff," said Haider, who runs a theatre inside a mall in the capital Islamabad, "people don't watch local stuff."

A fatal attack by militants on an Indian army base in Kashmir in September triggered deadly border clashes between the nuclear-armed South Asian rivals, bringing cultural ties to a halt.

New Delhi blamed the attack on a group allegedly based in Pakistan, but Islamabad denied the charge.

Around 100 people have been killed on both sides in clashes since September, but the hostilities have been decreasing in the past couple of weeks.

The Pakistan government imposed a blanket ban on Indian content in the media after Pakistani stars were barred from working in Bollywood by Hindu groups.

New Delhi said there is no official ban on Pakistani artists working in Bollywood.

Indian and Pakistani entertainment channels have in the recent past been showing television shows from their neighbouring country. The cross-border content has been extremely popular.