Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) MPA Malik Taimoor Masood on Wednesday submitted a resolution in the Punjab Assembly seeking a ban on the use of word talaaq (divorce) in television dramas.

MPA Malik Taimoor Masood. Courtesy:pap.gov.pk

The resolution submitted by the MPA from Rawalpindi states that the use of the word affects the society negatively and is viewed with detestation in Islam. It, therefore, urges the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) to ban the word from being used in dramas.

The resolution, however, does not suggest what alternative word should be used in its place if a storyline so requires, and neither does it specify the demerits of the usage of the word.

In 2016, the same lawmaker had submitted a resolution seeking ban on popular Japanese manga and anime series Doraemon.

"Cartoon channels on 24 hours are having a negative impact on the educational and physical well-being of children," read the previous resolution. "The language that is used in the cartoons is destroying our societal norms."

The move had stirred a debate on social media and otherwise with arguments ranging from cultural invasion of children’s innocence to PTI’s choice of selecting a problem from amongst the host of issues plaguing the nation being discussed.