Pakistan bans broadcast of IPL matches

ISLAMABAD (Monitoring Desk): Pakistan on Tuesday banned the broadcast of Indian Premier League (IPL) matches in the country.

Following a Federal Cabinet meeting, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry told reporters that IPL matches in the country had been banned on a request from his ministry.

“The Indian broadcaster pulled out of the Pakistan Super League in the middle of the tournament. The Ministry of Information requested the Federal Cabinet to ban the IPL, as India tried to cause damage to our tournament in an organised way,” Chaudhry said.

Following the Pulwama attack in occupied Kashmir, Indian company IMG Reliance informed the Pakistan Cricket Board that it would no longer be the broadcast partner for PSL.

Chaudhry in his news conference said Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) would ensure that IPL matches would not be shown in Pakistan.

“We think that political differences should not interfere with sport and cultural activities. But we saw that limits were crossed when the Indian team played their match wearing army caps,” the information minister said in reference to India’s third ODI match against Australia.