Lahore, Aug 7 (ANI): Cine lovers in one of Pakistan's oldest cities, Kasur, feel that screening of Indian movies in cinemas can help in reviving movie halls in the country.

The city near Lahore had four cinema halls-- Majestic Cinema, Habib Mahal Cinema, Noor Mehal Cinema and Naz Cinema-- at the time of partition. But today, there is no cinema in this old city, as movie buffs stopped coming there due to high prices of ticket and lack of quality films.

Now, they want the government to encourage parties with sound financial conditions, including foreign investors, to invest in cinema business so that good quality movies, particularly from India, can be screened.

However, this has been opposed by people from religious parties.

The Dawn quoted Dr Usman Ghani of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam as saying, that the Indian films would damage the Pakistan's culture. He said the statement of an Indian statesman that "we have conquered Pakistan not through wars but through our culture" was spit on the faces of Pakistanis. According to Naz Cinema's owner Sheikh Allaha Wasaya, besides waiving taxes, the government should minimise the interference of its employees in cinematic business to revive the cinemas.

He said that cinema owners have to pay a heavy price to run the business, but the turnout is not as much as it should be.

Wasaya said cinema owners could not afford selling tickets at cheap rates while the cine buffs were mostly labourers, who want tickets at cheap rates. (ANI)