In 2005, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority issued an order regarding the ban of several non-private channels because programming which should have been dubbed into Urdu or used Urdu subtitles instead used Hindi terms and references blended into the local scripts or the networks carried all-Hindi versions imported from India outright. In early 2010, PEMRA again issued a notice against children's networks and suspended the licenses of Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, disallowing them from broadcasting. In the meantime, the Pakistani government pushed unsuccessfully for PTV or another domestic broadcaster to launch a children's network to replace private broadcasters in order to assure PEMRA compliance with language standards. On 1 August 2011, the Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Firdous Ashiq Awan, announced the restoration of the Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network licenses, allowing their return to the air, though she expressed disappointment that a domestic Pakistani broadcaster would not step up to broadcast children's programming, nor PTV would launch one, and that PEMRA would accommodate the launch any such network.
2016 temporary network suspension and further difficulties
In the aftermath of the 2016 Uri attack, PEMRA again focused on Nickelodeon Pakistan as the network had begun to share programming with Nickelodeon India due to cost concerns, both within ARY and Viacom, and felt ARY was shirking off PEMRA's orders in order to economize against their orders; this also included the return of Hindi-blended and all-Hindi content to the Nickelodeon Pakistan schedule since their 2011 return to the air. The regulatory authority ordered a ban of the broadcasting of all Indian-originated media after 19 October, though PEMRA ruled that ARY Group had disregarded the order and continued to air imported programming with Hindi language content from Nickelodeon India during the restricted period. The network's license to broadcast was suspended on 31 October, with local providers pulling the network on PEMRA's orders. Shortly thereafter, on 10 November, a stay from the Sindh High Court effectively nullified the PEMRA order and allowed Nickelodeon's return to the air, stating the body had no authority for the suspension without a comprehensive explanation. ARY also stated that the ruling PML-N party had used the regulatory power of PEMRA to oppose its networks due to its differing political opinions from the PML-N. On 27 April 2017, the network carried an episode of Winx Club which featured a scene of what PEMRA alleged was an "indecently dressed" character, violating the body's 2015 Electronic MediaCode of Conduct. After a month of appeals, PEMRA issued ARY a fine of ₨500,000 and warned the network against any further violations.
