IHC issues contempt notice to PEMRA chairman

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday issued a contempt of court notice to Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) chairman on a petition over the non-implementation of court’s May 25 order to restore ARY News to its original number, ARY News reported.

The IHC bench heard the contempt petition filed by ARY Communications against PEMRA over the closure and relegation of ARY News to lower numbers on TV channels sequence.

A single bench of IHC comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the case and issued notice to PEMRA chief in contempt case.

During today’s hearing, ARY Communications counsel Shoaib Razzak told the court that Pemra’s illegal activities against ARY News continue despite clear orders from IHC to restore the news channel to its original number and barred authority from suspending the transmission.

SUSPENSION OF ARY NEWS: SENATE SEEKS DETAILS ON POSITION OF TV CHANNELS

The court adjourned the further proceedings of the case till June 16 and directed the Pemra chief to submit a reply in the next hearing.

Senate seeks details on position of TV channels

The Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting on June 1 sought details from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on the positions of TV Channels on the issue raised by ARY News regarding the blockage of its transmission.

Senate committee chairman Faisal Javed Khan chaired the meeting – which was attended by Secretary of Information and Broadcasting, PEMRA officials and journalists.

The meeting was also apprised of the actions taken against senior journalists and anchors while the committee sought details from the watchdog on the position of TV channels.

Meanwhile, Chairman PEMRA told Faisal Javed to call Khalid Arain and ask him if the regulatory authority asked him to close the channel. To which, the Senator responded, “If you can open the channel, you can close it too.”