Published in The Nation on June 09th, 2021,
ISLAMABAD – The federal cabinet on Tuesday rejected the offer of Pakistan Television Corporation to coordinate with an Indian company to live broadcast the upcoming Pakistan-England cricket series.
Addressing a press conference after the cabinet meeting, Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry said that the cabinet was requested to approve the partnership with Indian broadcasters (Star and Asia) who have the rights to air the match, which would enable Pakistan Television (PTV) to broadcast the cricket series between Pakistan and England which was scheduled to start from July 8.
“The proposal has been rejected. Pakistan cannot undertake a partnership with any Indian company and our ties with the neighbouring country are subject to India reverting its August 5, 2019 decision [to restore Kashmir’s previous status]. “Indian companies hold the rights to broadcast matches in South Asia …. And we cannot conduct business with any Indian company,” he said and added: “Normalization of ties with India is subject to it taking back the August 5 decision.”
He said that Pakistan would try to explore different options, including approaching the ‘England Cricket Board’ and other foreign companies to secure broadcasting rights, but ‘regrettably’ the rights have been reserved by Indian companies in South Asia. The minister highlighted that due to this decision, the PTV and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) would bear financial losses.