Pemra | Pakistan

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has written to the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) seeking “guidance” on whether Geo News’ response to the recent suspension is adequate or requires further action, it emerged on Thursday. On June 28, Pemra suspended with “immediate effect” Geo News’ licence for 15 days over airing a special transmission that the body said was “liable to hurt the religious sentiments of viewers”. Geo News has acknowledged its mistake in airing the transmission broadcast on Muharram 10 and has also taken action against two employees. The letter, dated July 1, and addressed to the CII chairman, Pemra requested guidance on the matter, with Council of Complaints (CoC) Chairperson Lubna Zaheer stating, “The CII is requested to guide whether the suspension order already passed and the public apology as well as actions so far rendered by Geo News constitute an adequate response and if not, to what extent any further action may be warranted in light of Islamic teachings and...

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) on Saturday suspended with “immediate effect” Geo News’ licence for 15 days over airing a special transmission that the body said was “liable to hurt the religious sentiments of viewers”. In an order addressed to the chief executive officer of Independent Media Corporation (IMC) on June 28, Pemra said the licence issued to IMC for “Geo News was suspended for a period of 15 days with immediate effect from the issuance.” Issued under Section 30 of the Pemra Ordinance 2002, the order citing the authority’s monitoring wing said that the broadcast of Geo News’ special transmission “constitutes a serious regulatory concern” due to religious, cultural and social sensitivities. Pemra noted in its order that the aired content was inconsistent with the obligations of a licensee under sections 20(b), (c), (d) and (f) of the Pemra Ordinance. Section 20(b) mandates a licensee to ensure the preservation of “national, cultural, social and religious values and the pr...

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has suspended the licence of Geo News for 15 days over what it called an "unacceptable religious depiction" in its Muharram programme Safar-e-Ishq.

ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday issued notices to respondents in a petition challenging the appointment of Am-breen Jan as Chairperson of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA).

ISLAMABAD: Even though the country’s electronic media regulator has been without a chairperson since October, a summary for the appointment of Ambreen Jan as head of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has been pending with the Prime Minister’s Office for over a month. Ms Jan, a former federal secretary for information, was selected by the parliamentary panel as Pemra chairperson. If her appointment is approved, she will be the first woman to head the authority. According to a reliable source, Ambreen Jan’s confirmation has been held up due to “objections regarding security clearance”. Ms Jan is a former Grade-22 officer and has served as information secretary, the director general of Radio Pakistan and as managing director of PTV. She also served as press counsellor in Bangladesh from 2011 to 2018, when Islamabad-Dhaka ties were under strain. She was among the five shortlisted candidates considered for the Pemra job, along with retired Brigadier Anwar Ahmed, journalist Mateen Haider, I...

Ambreen Jan, former information secretary, was selected on Friday as the new chairperson of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), which will make her the first female head of the electronic media regulator once her appointment is confirmed. The previous head of the regulator, Mohammad Saleem Baig, was appointed in 2018 and retired last year, leaving the post vacant. A meeting of a parliamentary committee, chaired by Shehbaz Babar, selected Jan after it was convened to appoint the next head of the influential media regulatory authority. Following the committee’s unanimous approval, Jan’s name was forwarded to President Asif Ali Zardari for final confirmation. A former Grade 22 officer, Jan has also previously served as the managing director of the state broadcaster PTV, the director general of Radio Pakistan and press counsellor to Bangladesh while relations were strained from 2011 to 2018. She was among five shortlisted candidates considered for the post, including Brigadier (retd.) Anwa...

A joint parliamentary committee comprising members from the Senate and the National Assembly has shortlisted two candidates for the post of chairman of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA).