KARACHI: India assured Pakistan that it would consider reversing the ban on Pakistani TV channels in the country.

During meetings last week, Pakistani Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani had proposed his Indian counterpart Ranjan Mathai review the banning decision and allow transmission of not just government owned Pakistan Television (PTV) but also private TV channels, including both news and entertainment.

Making his point, he added that the Pakistani government has not imposed any restrictions and has allowed open transmission of all Indian channels in Pakistan.

Jilani reinforced that if India wants to improve people-to-people relations between the two nations, it must allow Pakistani channels into Indian homes.

The Indian delegation assured consideration over the proposal, but added the Information and Broadcasting Ministries from both countries have to first meet and address India’s concerns over PTV’s ‘anti India’ campaign.

The delegations emphasized the importance of friendly relationships between Pakistan and India. They agreed that promotion and cooperation in various fields is in the greater interest of both nuclear-armed nations. Both countries are considering signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote arts and culture.