PTI wants Japanese cartoon series 'Doraemon' banned

LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf on Wednesday submitted a resolution in the Punjab Assembly calling for a ban on popular Japanese manga and anime series Doraemon.

The resolution urges Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) to ban cartoon channels in general, and Doraemon in particular. Submitted by PTI lawmaker Malik Taimoor, the resolution also suggests limiting the hours of cartoon channels.

It is not clear from the resolution what PTI's issue with Doraemon is, but it said channels exclusive to cartoons were having a "harmful impact on children".

"Cartoon channels on 24 hours are having a negative impact on the educational and physical well-being of children," read the resolution, which is likely to be discussed in the next assembly session.

Without giving any details, the resolution said: "The language that is used in the cartoons is destroying our societal norms."

However, talking to Dawn.com a PTI spokesman said the decision to submit the resolution is Taimoor's own initiative.

“It is not party policy, Malik Taimoor from PTI Rawalpindi initiated it,” said PTI office bearer Mian Mahmood while talking to Dawn.com

Mahmood added that Malik is under the impression the cartoons air throughout the day, and have been “dubbed in the Indian language”.

“There should be specific timings. Foreign culture and Indian language are having a great impact on young children who are impressionable,” said Mahmood.

“We do not want a ban, just controlled timings,” clarified Mahmood.

Soon after the passing of the resolution, #PTIvsDoraemon became the top trend on Twitter in Pakistan.

Doraemon's plot revolves around a robotic cat named Doraemon, who travels back in time from the 22nd century to aid a pre-teen boy named Nobita.