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Pak to counter Indian cultural aggression8217;

ISLAMABAD: The Nawaz Sharif government has plans to promote 8220;film culture8221; in Pakistan tobuild up its identity abroad and to counter what it calls culture aggression from India. Information Minister Mushahid Hussain told a National Film Conference in Lahore recently that Pakistan wants to counter India8217;s 8220;cultural aggression8221; and build up its identity abroad just as India has done through its films. For this reason, he said, a film culture will be promoted in the country. Pakistan8217;s film industry, particularly Urdu film production, has been on the downswing since 1973 when India began showing Hindi films on Amritsar television. Then Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had suggested that film makers depict Pakistani culture, and had tried to kick-start a debate on 8220;What is Pakistan8217;s culture?8221; Recently, film makers whose patriotic sentiments received a boost from the nuclear explosions last May vowed to make films portraying Pakistan8217;s 8220;new identity.8221;