The move is seen as part of Ukraine's efforts to reinforce its army as soldiers struggle to hold positions against Russia
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Jihad Ballout, official spokesperson of Al Arabia TV said "We are not aware about any registration rules set by Indian government. But, if that is the case and the Arabic channels went off the air in India, we as a responsible organisation respect the decision of the Indian government. We will look into the registration norms and if it is viable for us it would be great to expand our reach to India."
Ballout said he is not aware about any ban on Arabic channels imposed in India. However, he noted: “if the Arabic channels are banned in India following political pressure from Israel and US as the Arab News report suggests, we will appeal to the Indian government to re-consider their decision to allow freedom of expression. India is the largest democratic entity in the world and we have great respect for the country.”
While an Al Arabia official denied any suspected foul play by India in the Arab channels going off air, Al Jazeera, another other prominent channel airing anti-US and Israel reports on the Middle East conflict remained tight lipped about the issue. When contacted by the Al Jazeera in Doha, no officials were available for comment.
The recent controversy emerged following a report carried in a Saudi-based newspaper suggesting that the Arabic channels had disappeared from the television screens in India following a ban imposed by the Indian government. However, the Federal government in India has denied all the allegations branding the reports as ''malicious and misleading''.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Chandra Mohan Bhandari, Indian Ambassador to the UAE said: "India introduced a new rule in November last year in which all the foreign channels downlinking to India require a registration with the Indian government. The Indian government announced May 10 as the deadline for all the channels to register. It is the responsibility of the channels to know the rules if they wanted to air their programs to the country.''
The move is seen as part of Ukraine's efforts to reinforce its army as soldiers struggle to hold positions against Russia
The Jamaican currently holds world records in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m with times of 9.58s, 19.19s and 36.84s respectively
Total property income posted year-on-year growth of 10% to $74m, highest value ever
All official donation channels however remain open through the outlets announced by government agencies
The Starlight Park is a four-building freehold community in Meydan
The 22-time major champion admits his farewell tour hasn't been as enjoyable as he would have hoped
Eating out, poor hand hygiene and erratic weather may be among causes, say medics
The goal-scoring striker is suffering from a muscle injury sustained during the Champions League quarter-final loss to Real Madrid