ISLAMABAD – The federal government in a notification issued Wednesday banned the nationwide screening of Ashir Azeem’s film Maalik. The Ministry of Information, Broadcasting, and National Heritage issued a notification declaring the Urdu feature film “uncertified” according to Section 9 of the Motion Pictures Ordinance, 1979. The film, released three weeks ago, had generated complaints regarding its depiction of the Taliban and parallels with the assassination of a prominent government official by his personal security guard. The culture ministry had drafted a notification ordering a ban on the movie for being ‘biased’ and inciting violence. However, before it was formally issued, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah intervened and asked the ministry not to issue it as it would be “against the freedom of expression”. The film team had assured the Sindh government objectionable scenes would be cut, but the film’s certification was revoked as it wasn’t done.