ISLAMABAD: A statement issued by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on Friday carried a warning for all TV channels against airing unverified news or analyses themed around Pakistan Army or its relationship with the civilian government.
PEMRA, in its latest statement, made it clear that all news and current affairs TV channels, including its employees, panellists and anchorpersons, shall not divulge in discussing unverified news or analyses pertaining to the country’s civil-military relations without confirmation from the institutions concerned.
The content, PEMRA maintains, would be especially problematic if it accuses the military of something, tarnishes its ‘image’ or if it encourages anyone to take extra-constitutional measures. “Those found in violation of the new PEMRA guidelines would be charged under Section 27 of the PEMRA Ordinance 2002,” the press release stated.
Earlier in January, a Bol News show conducted by Dr Shahid Masood was served a notice by PEMRA for ‘carelessly and recklessly’ discussing civil-military ties.
The contents of the programme, which were reproduced in PEMRA’s show-cause notice, said Dr Masood stated in his programme that two ministers, one whose name starts with ‘K’ and the other’s with ‘D’, were called to the army headquarters (GHQ). Dr Masood had identified one of them as ‘dealing with the treasury’ and the other as ‘related to defence’.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar then served a defamation notice of Rs1 billion to the management of Bol News and Dr Masood over his claim that the minister had held a meeting with army personnel at the GHQ. The latest warning came a day after the federal government and army took notice of threats made to PEMRA Chairman Absar Alam and employees, assuring him of full support. The civilian and military leadership promised that strict action will be taken against those who were creating hurdles in establishing the writ of the regulatory authority. Alam had shared the information during the Regional General Managers (RGM) conference held at the PEMRA headquarters on Thursday. “This is a welcome step and investigations are already underway,” he had told the meeting.
