PEMRA suspends ARY News license for airing Imran Khan’s speeches despite ban

ISLAMABAD – The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on Monday suspended ARY News' license for broadcasting speeches of defiant Pakistani leader Imran Khan.

The order was issued under Section 10 of the country’s media watchdog Ordinance.

“Reference is invited to Prohibition Order dated 05-03-2023 wherein all the licensees were directed to refrain from airing/broadcasting/rebroadcasting of speech(s)/press talks (recorded or live) of Mr. Imran Khan on their respective TV channels with immediate effect,” the notification reads.

PEMRA maintained that ARY Communications Ltd. (ARY News) on March O5, 2023, in its news bulletin at 9:00 pm aired clips of Imran Khan's speech delivered at Zaman Park, Lahore. The news channel aired referred to content in willful defiance of the Prohibition Order.

The development comes as PEMRA banned broadcasting live or recorded speeches of former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan on all satellite TV channels.

The development comes as PTI chairman addressed party workers outside his Zaman Park residence in Lahore and said that he had never “bowed before any man or institution, and will never let you do so as well”.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and other activists denounced PEMRA's ban on Imran Khan's speeches on electronic media. "We have always opposed measures to curb voices in the past - whether under the previous government or earlier - and we stand by our commitment to freedom of speech," the commission said on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/HRCP87/status/1632413274351472641

More to follow...