The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has banned the use of various methods, including credit cards, for the subscription of Indian content in the country, effective November 13.
In this regard, a notification issued by the State Bank of Pakistan said that a letter issued by the Cabinet Division has directed to stop various forms of payment, including credit cards, for subscribing to Indian content in Pakistan.
Read More:Contacted Zee Five after receiving complaints about Churails, PTA
The notification also includes the name of Indian video on demand platform ‘Zee 5’.
Here we go. Zee5 subscription to get blocked in Pak. pic.twitter.com/CvaETT1UAA
— Hasan Zaidi (@hyzaidi) November 12, 2020
The SBP has directed all banks to comply with the directive issued in this notification which will come into effect from November 13.
In this regard, SBP spokesperson Abid Qamar confirmed to Dawn News that the notification was issued following the letter of the Cabinet Division.
The SBP notification was issued on November 9, but it started circulating on social media today, which is also being criticized by consumers.
Journalist Hassan Zaidi tweeted that Zee 5 subscription was banned in Pakistan.
Ban Etrugrul which is actually harming our industry. Zee 5 was promoting it! https://t.co/pkbcWuNJmU
— Omair Alavi (@omair78) November 12, 2020
Showbiz critic Umair Alvi while sharing the notification wrote that ban Ertugrul which is harming our industry, Zee Five is promoting it.
Umair Qureshi tweeted that the State Bank of Pakistan is following the Prime Minister’s vision of a digital Pakistan.
One user asked what about Indian content on Netflix, Amazon and YouTube? Will everyone be banned?
However, some people called the ban a good move.
Read More:Web series Churails’ re-released in Pakistan
Note that Zee Five is an Indian video on demand service with content in 12 different languages, but this online service became popular in Pakistan when it started broadcasting Pakistani content.
State Bank of Pakistan diligently implementing Prime Minister’s Vision for Digital Pakistan pic.twitter.com/yYQSOyrOx6
— omar r quraishi (@omar_quraishi) November 12, 2020
* Promo photo
Pakistan’s first original web series ‘Sparrows’ was released on Zee Five in August and was followed by ‘A False Love Story’ web series on October 30 this year.
#Pakistan‘s State Bank on orders of Cabinet division BANS payments to #Zee5 video-on-demand service, writes to all banks seeking to stop subscription to any Indian content including payments via creditcards.
— Anas Mallick (@AnasMallick) November 12, 2020
The two web series made a splash as soon as they were released, but the witches also faced criticism for their content.
#Pakistan‘s State Bank on orders of Cabinet division BANS payments to #Zee5 video-on-demand service, writes to all banks seeking to stop subscription to any Indian content including payments via creditcards.
— Anas Mallick (@AnasMallick) November 12, 2020
A total of 5 Pakistani web series are to be released on Zee Five, but now due to the ban on subscriptions, Pakistani people will not be able to watch these series on Zee 5 app.