All satellite TV channels have been prohibited from broadcasting the speeches of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA).
The ban is effective immediately and applies to both live and recorded speeches. According to PEMRA, the ban was imposed due to “provocative statements against state institutions and officers.”
This ban was imposed after Imran Khan delivered a hard-hitting speech outside his residence in Lahore. According to PEMRA, the PTI leader had made several allegations against state institutions that were unfounded and incendiary.
The media watchdog issued a warning that such statements might incite animosity towards public institutions and their employees, possibly leading to a breakdown in law and order across the nation.
Imran Khan’s speeches are currently prohibited, but this is not PEMRA’s first regulatory move in recent weeks. The media watchdog had ordered television networks to stop covering terror attacks on February 21. According to the 2015 PEMRA Electronic Media Code of Conduct, these instructions were given.
The ban has been referred to as the government’s “nefarious attempt to silence Imran Khan’s voice,” according to PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry. He urged the media to support the party’s legal challenge of the ban after announcing that the party would do so.
In the meantime, the decision to prohibit Imran Khan’s speeches has been condemned by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). The HRCP demanded that the ban be immediately lifted in a statement and reaffirmed its commitment to free speech.
In another development, PEMRA has, in accordance with Section 30(3) of the PEMRA Ordinance, suspended the licence of a private TV channel. The channel has been charged with willfully breaking the restriction against airing Imran Khan’s speeches by the regulatory body.
The suspension of the channel’s licence is anticipated to have significant effects on Pakistan’s media environment.
