After 10 days of delay, Punjab greenlights 'Barbie' for release across province

Australian actress Margot Robbie poses on the pink carpet upon arrival for the European premiere of "Barbie" in central London on July 12, 2023. (AFP)
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Updated 01 August 2023
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After 10 days of delay, Punjab greenlights 'Barbie' for release across province

  • Punjab censor board clears Barbie for release after reviewing the Hollywood movie for a second time
  • Pakistani actor Sarmad Khoosat speaks out against multiple censor boards operating within the country

LAHORE: The censor board in Pakistan's Punjab province on Tuesday gave the green light for Hollywood movie 'Barbie' to be screened in cinemas across the country's most populous province, 10 days after its release was delayed on grounds it contained "objectionable content." 

Films in Pakistan need to be cleared by provincial boards that censor anything deemed a violation of the country’s social and cultural values. The fantasy-comedy film, which stars Margot Robbie as the famous doll and Ryan Gosling as her boyfriend Ken, is being screened in Pakistan's Sindh province and capital, Islamabad. 

Barbie was recalled by the Secretary Information and Culture Department (ICD) Ali Nawaz Malik, on July 21 for containing "objectionable content." The Punjab's censor board operates under the ICD. Interim Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi had directed provincial Secretaries of the Punjab Film Censor Board (PFCB) to carry out another review of Barbie, which was initially cleared for screening with a Universal rating, deeming it suitable for all ages. 

The decision to allow the film's release was taken after the PFCB's review meeting today, Tuesday. "During the film censor board's meeting, the film Barbie has been allowed to be screened in Punjab," a Twitter post by the Government of Punjab stated. 

https://twitter.com/GovtofPunjabPK/status/1686369971188727808

Arab News spoke to insiders privy to the censorship process, who spoke about persistent pressure on the ICD from groups that did not want the film to be screened in Punjab's provincial capital, Lahore.  

This is nothing new in Punjab. In November 2022, Pakistan’s Oscar entry for 2023, ‘Joyland’ was stopped from releasing in the country. The movie revolved around a married man's affair with a transgender woman. The federal and Sindh censor boards overturned the ban, but Punjab never did.

Muhammad Haseeb is a film inspector who has worked for the PFCB since its inception around 10 years ago and is also a liaison officer for industry experts—directors, actors, screenwriters—who assess and certify films. 

“There were a lot of complaints from certain parties reaching Information and Culture Department every day, which only got louder when the screenings were about to start,” Haseeb told Arab News.

He added that the confusion in certifying films in Pakistan is an accidental by-product of the 18th Amendment to Pakistan's constitution, which gives self-governing, legislative and financial autonomy to Pakistan's provinces. 

“After the amendment, censorship was transferred to provincial cultural departments. Now there are three certification boards making different decisions," Haseeb said. "Certification takes longer and the certifications aren’t necessarily the same. A movie rated for adults in Punjab could be rated PG-15 in Sindh.”

Haseeb said the PFCB doesn't have enough funds to hire more permanent staff members. "We still rely on a non-permanent member panel which changes every two years, ultimately that takes a lot of decision-making power from us,” he lamented.

Many non-permanent members on the review panel felt their role is purely ceremonial, and “utterly useless.” Arab News contacted many of them but none were willing to make an official statement, afraid that their acting careers could be jeopardized.

“But the politics are precisely the problem,” an actor, also a member of the panel, told Arab News on condition of anonymity. 

The decision to recall the movie wasn’t entirely effective either. Lahore's cantonment area falls under federal law and is not subject to provincial censorship rules. The Fortress Mall cinema, situated a bridge away from the rest of the city, kept showing the film despite it being banned in the rest of the province. 

“It’s all a muddled mess,” another member said.

Acclaimed Pakistani actor, director and producer, Sarmad Khoosat is no stranger to this "mess." He directed the film 'Zindagi Tamasha' and produced 'Joyland'. Both ran into problems with the censor board. 

“It’s bizarre that we have so many censor boards, we don’t make as many movies as there are censor boards," Khoosat told Arab News. "India, America just have one central authority."

Punjab has over 70 cinemas where films are screened, the largest in any province. When a movie gets banned in Punjab, it puts distributors and producers under significant financial pressure. The certification isn’t free either as to apply, you have to pay Rs. 30,000 ($104) for a local film and Rs.100,000 ($348) for an international film.

"This is killing creativity, artistry," he said. "Censor boards are meant to regulate not derail."


Pakistani delegation to visit US, Europe in diplomatic push following India standoff — minister

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Pakistani delegation to visit US, Europe in diplomatic push following India standoff — minister

  • PM announced last week he was setting up diplomatic team headed by Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
  • Team’s mandate is to highlight in world capitals “India’s disinformation campaign and attempts to destabilize regional peace”

ISLAMABAD: A high-level delegation set up by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to present Pakistan’s position and advocate for the country in world capitals following a recent military conflict with India will start with visits to the United States and Europe, a federal minister who is a member of the team said on Tuesday.

Sharif announced last week he was setting up the diplomatic team, which is headed by Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who is a former foreign minister. 

“Our team … will visit Europe and US to represent our stance,” Climate Minister Dr. Musadik Malik, who is a member of the delegation, told a local Pakistani news channel, saying it would visit Washington, London, France and Brussels first and also Moscow at a later date. 

“We are trying that with a small team, we visit the big areas of the world who are influencers in creating an opinion for the world and also forming policies. This team’s focus will be the US and Europe.”

Last week, state media reported that the team had been set up “to highlight India’s disinformation campaign and its attempts to destabilize regional peace” as well as put the spotlight on “Pakistan’s sincere efforts for peace and stability in the region.”

The United States played a major role in de-escalating the worst fighting in decades between the two nuclear-armed South Asian rivals, who fired missiles and drones onto each other’s territory and fought with gunfire on their de facto border following weeks of tensions after a deadly April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad. 

Pakistan denies involvement.


Pakistani deputy PM in Beijing in aftermath of worst standoff in years with India

Updated 45 min 2 sec ago
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Pakistani deputy PM in Beijing in aftermath of worst standoff in years with India

  • Dar’s visit comes as Pakistan Air Force has hailed the use of Chinese J-10Cs to shoot down six Indian fighter jets
  • India and China are competing regional giants and nuclear powers and widely seen as long-term strategic rivals

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar began meetings today, Tuesday, with Chinese officials during a three-day visit to Beijing to discuss “the evolving regional situation in South Asia and its implications for peace and stability,” the foreign office said.

The Beijing visit comes as the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has hailed the use of Chinese J-10Cs to shoot down six Indian fighter jets, including three French Rafales, during a flare-up in hostilities that saw the nuclear-armed neighbors pound each other with missiles, drones and artillery for four days until the United States brokered a ceasefire earlier this month. 

For China, Pakistan is a strategic and economic ally. It is investing over $60 billion to build infrastructure, energy and other projects in Pakistan as part of its China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. 

India and China, on the other hand, are competing regional giants and nuclear powers and widely seen as long-term strategic rivals, sharing a 3,800 Himalayan border that has been disputed since the 1950s and sparked a brief war in 1962. The most recent standoff — that started in 2020 — thawed in October as the two sides struck a patrolling agreement.

Starting a day of meetings on Tuesday, Dar, who is also the foreign minister of Pakistan, met with the Minister of International Department of the Communist Party of China (IDCPC), Liu Jianchao.

“The DPM/FM appreciated China’s firm support to Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and issues of its core interest,” the foreign office said in a statement. 

“Liu reiterated that as All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partner and ironclad friend, China would continue to prioritize its relations with Pakistan.”

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar (fouth from right) meets with the Minister of International Department of the Communist Party of China (IDCPC), Liu Jianchao, in Beijing on May 19, 2025. (Government of Pakistan)

In an earlier statement, the foreign office in Islamabad said Dar would discuss with Chinese leaders “the evolving regional situation in South Asia and its implications for peace and stability.”

“The two sides will also review the entire spectrum of Pakistan-China bilateral relations and exchange views on regional and global developments of mutual interest,” the statement added.

The conflict between India and Pakistan has offered the world a first real glimpse into how advanced Chinese military technology performs against proven Western hardware and Chinese defense stocks have already been surging as a result. 

A rising military superpower, China hasn’t fought a major war in more than four decades but has raced under President Xi Jinping to modernize its armed forces, pouring resources into developing sophisticated weaponry and cutting-edge technologies.

It has also extended that modernization drive to Pakistan, long hailed by Beijing as its “ironclad brother.”

Over the past five years, China has supplied 81 percent of Pakistan’s imported weapons, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Those exports include advanced fighter jets, missiles, radars and air-defense systems. Some Pakistan-made weapons have also been co-developed with Chinese firms or built with Chinese technology and expertise.


Pakistan regulator unveils new measures to strengthen Shariah-compliant market intermediaries

Updated 20 May 2025
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Pakistan regulator unveils new measures to strengthen Shariah-compliant market intermediaries

  • SECP has outlined phased approach encouraging institutional investors to engage with Shariah-compliant brokers
  • Islamic financial institutions being urged to channel takaful, investment activities through specialized intermediaries

KARACHI: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) is proposing new measures aimed at strengthening the presence and operations of Shariah-compliant intermediaries within the capital market, the regulator said in a statement this week.

Pakistan’s Federal Shariat Court (FSC) directed the government in April 2022 to eliminate interest and align the country’s entire banking system with Islamic principles by 2027. Following the order, the government and the State Bank have taken several measures ranging from changing laws to issuing sukuk bonds to replace interest-based treasury bills and investment bonds.

However, documents seen by Arab News earlier this year showed Pakistan’s government had failed to achieve a target set by the central bank to increase the share of Islamic banking deposits in the country by 50 percent by January this year.

“The paper proposes a phase-wise approach for Shariah-compliant institutional investors to route their business through Shariah-compliant brokers based on a plan to be prepared by their respective boards of directors,” the SECP said about the latest proposal. 

“The paper encourages Islamic financial institutions, including providers of Islamic window services, to utilize Shariah-compliant intermediaries for takaful and investment purposes in situations where they are not obligated to do so.”
 
Other proposed measures include creating a specific category for Shariah-compliant intermediaries for greater visibility on the Centralized Gateway Portal and a dedicated list of Shariah-compliant asset management companies on EMLAAK Financials, Pakistan’s first digital mutual fund aggregator. The platform brings together multiple Asset Management Companies (AMCs) and their mutual funds under one roof. It is a venture of ITMinds Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Central Depository Company of Pakistan (CDC).

In order to facilitate Roshan Digital Account (RDA) clients, creating a separate category of Shariah-compliant intermediaries on the websites and mobile apps of Islamic banks would also be explored in coordination with relevant stakeholders, the SECP said.


Pakistan navy thwarted Indian aircraft carrier threat during latest standoff — PM

Updated 20 May 2025
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Pakistan navy thwarted Indian aircraft carrier threat during latest standoff — PM

  • PM Shehbaz Sharif says Indian aircraft carrier Vikrant reached close to Pakistan by 400 nautical miles before retreating
  • During latest standoff, Indian navy had deployed at least 36 warships which included INS Vikrant-led Carrier Battle Group

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday an Indian aircraft carrier that had reached as close as 400 nautical miles to Pakistan retreated after realizing the country’s navy was prepared to “respond vigorously” during a military confrontation between the two nations earlier this month. 

The United States played a major role in de-escalating the worst fighting in decades between the two nuclear-armed South Asian rivals, who fired missiles and drones onto each other’s territory and fought with gunfire on their de facto border following weeks of tensions after a deadly April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad. Pakistan denies involvement.. 

On Monday, the Pakistani PM visited the Naval Dockyard in Karachi to pay tribute to the Pakistan navy for its role in Operation Bunyan-um Marsoos, the code-name given by the Pakistan army to what it calls a retaliatory strike launched in the early hours of May 10 after India attacked at least three of its air bases with missiles. 

“The Prime Minister particularly praised the Navy’s critical role in safeguarding sea lines of communication and ensuring the uninterrupted flow of maritime trade, while maintaining absolute maritime sovereignty through a layered and assured seaward defense,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.

In his address, Sharif said Indian aircraft carrier Vikrant had retreated after “sensing the preparedness” of the Pakistan Navy. 

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (center) being briefed by Commander Pakistan Fleet about Pakistan Navy’s strategic orientation, operational preparedness and contributions during the ongoing operation, on board PNS TAIMUR at Naval Dockyard in Karachi. 19 May 2025. (Government of Pakistan)

During the latest standoff, the Indian navy had deployed at least 36 warships which included an INS Vikrant-led Carrier Battle Group including 8 to 10 warships

“Indian Navy’s [aircraft carrier] Vikrant had reached close to Pakistan by 400 nautical miles, but after suffering immense losses inflicted by Paki­stan Air Force and Pakistan Army [in May 10 retaliatory strikes], Vikrant retreated, sensing the preparedness of the Pakistan Navy to respond vigorously,” Sharif said. 

India’s navy is believed to hold significant advantage over Pakistan’s, boasting a larger fleet and more diverse capabilities. India’s navy includes aircraft carriers, destroyers, and a substantial submarine fleet, allowing it to project power beyond regional waters, whereas Pakistan’s navy is primarily focused on coastal defense in the Arabian Sea. 

India’s navy comprises over 293 vessels, including two aircraft carriers, 13 destroyers, and 18 submarines, making it a “blue-water” navy with the ability to operate in global maritime zones. INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant give India the capability for air power projection and anti-ship operations. 

Pakistan’s navy operates 121 ships, with no aircraft carriers or destroyers. 


Pakistan cenbank launches ‘cashless’ Eid Al-Adha campaign to promote digital payments

Updated 20 May 2025
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Pakistan cenbank launches ‘cashless’ Eid Al-Adha campaign to promote digital payments

  • Campaign aims to streamline sale and purchase of sacrificial animals in 54 designated cattle markets
  • Campaign aims to streamline sale and purchase of sacrificial animals in 54 designated cattle markets

KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank this week announced it has launched a “Go Cashless” nationwide campaign aimed at promoting digital payments and reducing reliance on cash transactions within designated cattle markets in the days leading up to Eid Al-Adha.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has undertaken efforts recently to encourage digital transactions in line with Pakistan’s broader economic reforms, which are aimed at strengthening financial systems and increasing transparency in the country. 

Pakistan is a cash-dominated market where a significant portion of transactions, particularly in the informal sector, are conducted using cash. 

Millions of Pakistanis are expected to buy sacrificial animals this year at thousands of cattle markets across the country before the Eid Al-Adha festival in June. These cattle are bought mostly via cash each year. 

“The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has initiated a nationwide ‘Go Cashless’ campaign to promote digital payments and reduce reliance on cash transactions within cattle markets during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha,” the SBP said in a statement on Monday. 

It said the initiative is in line with the central bank’s goal of fostering digital financial inclusion throughout Pakistan, and will run from May 20 until June 6 or the night of Eid Al-Adha.

“In partnership with the banking industry, the campaign aims to streamline the sale and purchase of sacrificial animals in 54 designated cattle markets across the country,” the statement said. 

The central bank said within these cattle markets, digital payment solutions can be utilized for various transactions, including the purchase of sacrificial animals, payment for necessities such as water and feed, and settlement of parking fees. 

The SBP said to support buyers and merchants, it has temporarily raised transaction limits effective from May 19 to June 15, 2025 for the following accounts:

For branchless banking level-1 accounts, Asaan Account/Asaan Digital Account and Merchant Accounts, the SBP said it has eliminated daily transaction limits and increased the per-month limit to Rs5,000,000 [$17,694].

“The public is strongly encouraged to take advantage of these convenient and secure digital financial services during the Eid-ul-Azha period,” the central bank said.

Pakistan has witnessed significant growth in digital transactions in recent years. The SBP said in a statement last month that its instant payment system, Raast, processed over 892 million transactions amounting to Rs20 trillion ($72 billion) since its launch in 2021. 

In the second quarter of fiscal year 2025 alone, Raast handled 795.7 million transactions worth Rs6.4 trillion ($23.04 billion)., it added.