Pakistan has banned the Bollywood film Neerja for showing the country in poor light, reported PTI. The film is based on the hijacking of the Pan Am flight 73 at the Karachi airport in 1986. Actor Sonam Kapoor plays Neerja Bhanot, a cabin crew member on board the Mumbai-New York flight, who was shot dead by terrorists during the hijacking.

The film was banned without being submitted to the censor board of Pakistan. Mobasher Hasan, who heads the Central Board of Film Censors, said that the decision was taken by the information and commerce ministry of the country. The ministry had initially given a No Objection Certificate for the import of the film, but later revoked it.