Afghan Regulators Ban Five Indian Soap Operas

KABUL, April 22: The
Afghani government has called on the country’s broadcasters to stop airing five
soap operas from India, arguing that they are not in keeping with local religion
and culture.

According to wire reports,
the Minister of Information and Culture, Abdul Karim Khurram, has called on
broadcasters to pull the Hindi-language serials, which are said to be very
popular in the war-ravaged country. The country’s influential religious clerics
have deemed the Indian soaps “un-Islamic.”

The four privately owned
networks in the country airing the titles in question initially refused to
comply with the ban, reports indicate, seeking the support of President Hamid
Karzai. According to the AFP, Karzai told reporters that while he supports
freedom of the media, “we want our television broadcasting to be in line with
our culture, based on our society moral standards.”

The network Ariana has
already yanked Kumkum from its
airwaves. It is not yet clear what actions the other networks will take.

—By Mansha Daswani