Central Board of Film Censors (CBFC) has banned Qavi Khan starrer “I’ll Meet You There” a week ahead of its scheduled theatrical release in Pakistan, as reported by Variety on Wednesday.

The CBFC refused to give the film a censorship certificate as it “does not reflect true Pakistani culture.” According to the statement issued by the censor body, “I’ll Meet You There” is unsuitable for public exhibition on the grounds that it portrays a negative image of Muslims and is against the social and cultural values of Pakistan.

Written and directed by Pakistani- American filmmaker Iram Pareveen Bilal, the film tells the story of a Pakistani-American family living in Chicago. It follows Majeed, a Chicago policeman and his teenage daughter Dua, who is a ballerina and his long-estranged father who unexpectedly visit them from Pakistan.

Starring veteran actor Qavi Khan, Iron Man’s Faran Tahir and actor Nikita Tewani, “I’ll Meet You There” was released internationally in 2021.

In a statement to Variety, the award-winning filmmaker Bilal said, “My latest film, “I’ll Meet You There” was banned by the Pakistan federal censor board; a week ahead of our intended premiere. No cuts suggested, no dialogue with the filmmaking team, just straight up…banned. This is a film that has already had a tumultuous journey in the wake of the lockdown-induced cancellation of its SXSW 2020 competition premiere. And then, this. Another highly anticipated premiere was cancelled within a week of its due date. But this one feels more personal and painful in a deeper way.”

“I’ll Meet You There” was nominated for the Narrative Feature Grand Jury Award at the South by Southwest Film Festival in 2020. The awards were delayed due to the pandemic.

The writer said that the film was created to combat Islamophobia and to create a positive portrayal of Muslims. ““I’ve been mulling over the decision by the Central Board of Film Censors, calling our film ‘I’ll Meet You There’ a ‘negative image of Muslims.’ A film that was made with blood, sweat and tears by a Muslim, financed by Muslims and made in the face of a post 9/11 world and a Trump presidency; a film whose very purpose was to combat Islamophobia and to create a positive portrayal of Muslims. A film already released abroad and celebrated widely by the Muslim Pakistani diaspora and seen as a needed and humanised representation of our people. How could that intention be reframed so oppositely and so negatively?” she said.

Bilal disagreed on there being just “one notion” of what Pakistan and Pakistani values are. “When we ask the diaspora to contribute and donate, when we even care to enable them to vote in elections, then we should also include their troubles, identity struggles and issues as ‘Pakistani',” she said.

Weighing in on the matter, actor Tahir said, "It is disheartening, disappointing and shameful that issues that Pakistani ex-pats face in their lives are trivialised and labeled as ‘not reflecting true Pakistani culture.’ We, Pakistanis, represent our country with love and pride every day while living in foreign lands. We do this to support our families and loved ones. We do this to support our country financially and in every other way. We do this with nothing but love for our country and yet to be cast aside by our very own is deeply hurtful.”