Pakistan government on Friday banned screening of a documentary on a mosque that has already become a safe harbour of Islamic militancy.

The documentary, Among the Believers, directed by Mohammad Ali Naqvi, was scheduled for screening in a local film festival on 29 April, reports Dawn.com.

Pakistan government on Thursday banned another feature film: Maalik.

Among the Believers has been screened in 20 countries and has already bagged 12 awards.

The documentary is based on Islamabad’s central mosque Lal Masjid, activities of the mosque’s former head cleric Maulana Mohammad Abdul Aziz and the people who stood up against extremist ideology.

The reason the Central Board of Film Censors has given in its notification for the ban is that Among the Believers ‘projects the negative image of Pakistan in the context of ongoing fight against extremism terrorism’, the Dawn reported.

Talking to Dawn, director Naqvi said, ‘The documentary premiered last year at the Tribeca Film Festival. It took us six years to make it. It focuses on two children studying at the Red Mosque who in a way signify the microcosmic representation of the ideological divide that we have.

‘The film was to be premiered in Pakistan at a festival in Islamabad on April 29. The festival organisers needed to seek clearance from the authorities which they did not get. When one of our representatives asked them, they said it’s banned in the whole country.

‘It is deeply distressing for me, because the film has been screened in 20 countries, and I wanted to screen it in my home country,’ said Naqvi.