Mumbai: Union Information and Broadcasting Secretary Asha Swarup today said that she hopes the democratically elected new government in Pakistan would remove all restrictions on screening of Indian movies in the country.

Addressing the inaugural session of the three-day FICCI-FRAMES, annual convention on the business of Indian entertainment and media (EM) industry here, Swarup said that such a cordial step of Pakistan would open a new chapter in its bilateral relations with India.

A Pakistani film Khuda ke liye was successfully released in India recently and Indian film Taare Zameen Par is likely to be screened soon in Pakistan, she said.

Earlier, the veteran film-maker and FICCI's Entertainment Committee Chairman, Yash Chopra had also expressed his hope for the same and had said, " By lifting the ban on Indian films release in Pakistan, the new government in our neighboring country would not only strengthen bilateral cultural relations but add a new dimension to the film industry in the Indian sub-continent."

Chopra, who had made a film Veer-Zara based on a love story between two citizens of the neighboring countries three years ago, lamented that in recent past only two Indian films, Mughal-e-Azam and Taj Mahal were officially released in Pakistan.

Source : UNI