Amnesty International condemns PEMRA move against ARY News
- By Anees Hanif -
- Oct 21, 2014
A message posted on the Amnesty website reads, “A politically motivated ban imposed on a Pakistani TV channel critical of the government constitutes a violation of the right to freedom of expression”
Mustafa Qadri, Pakistan researcher at Amnesty International has been quoted as saying “ARY TV must be immediately allowed back on air. There is simply no justification for the Pakistani authorities to silence sections of the media solely because of their political leanings,”
“The ban on ARY is a sobering reminder of the threat of criminal prosecution on the basis of overly broad contempt of court or anti-state provisions. Journalists in Pakistan are under attack from all sides, facing harassment, even abduction and killings for carrying out their work.”, said Qadri
It must be noted that PEMRA authority held a meeting on Monday with an intention to teach a lesson to ARY News, for bringing facts before the people. The meeting decided to suspend the license of ARY News for 15 days, in which the controversial PEMRA Chief, Pervez Rathore played a key role.
Qadri’s Tweet
Condemn in strongest terms PEMRA ban of @mubasherlucman & @ARYNEWSOFFICIAL an unjustified violation of the right to freedom of expression
— Mustafa Qadri (@Mustafa_Qadri) October 20, 2014