ISLAMABAD – Justice Shaukat Siddiqui of Islamabad High court visibly hinted at banning reality shows aired during Ramazan transmissions, stating that he would not allow any sort of ‘circus’ during the sacred month.
Hearing a case regarding morning shows and Ramazan transmission, Justice Siddiqui expressed that the ‘circus’ culture was introduced by anchor Amir Liaquat, adding that his followers Sahir Lodhi, Fahad Mustafa and Waseem Badami must refrain from doing such acts on national media.
There should be PhD scholar to talk about religious affairs, not an actor or cricketer, he added.
The judge ordered TV channels to broadcast salawat (Darood Sharif) before the Azan of Maghrib prayer, adding that there should be no advertisements during this time.
Moreover, justice Shaukat questioned that if remarks about specific departments could be censored then why not censor wrong religious thoughts as well.
During the hearing, the PEMRA official informed the court that only three TV channels were broadcasting Azan and they were taking actions against others.
The judge remarked that there was no bigger breaking news than the Azaan itself.
“No channel broadcasts the Azaan, and in fact show dance numbers and advertisements during that time,” Justice Siddiqui observed and pointed out that even PTV had stopped broadcasting the call for prayer.
After listening to the arguments of both sides, the hearing was adjourned for Wednesday (today).
