Journalists demand restoration of ARY News transmission

ISLAMABAD: Journalists and people belonging to various walks of society on Tuesday strongly condemned the suspension of ARY News’ transmission across the country.

The transmission of ARY News was taken down in parts of Pakistan following the orders of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to the cable operators.

The journalists’ bodies in Sukkur, Hyderabad, Gujranwala, Malakand, Okara, Mohammand, Samundari, Rahim Yar Khan, Muzaffarabad and other cities of the country.

The leaders of the journalists’ bodies strongly condemned the suspension of ARY News’ transmission for highlighting truth and demanded of the government to immediately restore the transmission.

Following the shutdown of ARY News on Monday, several Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders including Shireen Mazari, Shahbaz Gill, and others took to Twitter and condemned PEMRA’s illegal act.

‘Strategic media cell’

The suspension of ARY News transmission is a clear violation of Islamabad High Court (IHC) orders which barred PEMRA from closure and relegation of ARY News to lower numbers on TV channels sequence.

The suspension of transmission comes hours after ARY News aired a report that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) has reportedly activated its strategic media cell to malign Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its chairman Imran Khan besides building a narrative to prove the rival as an anti-armed forces power.

The report aired by ARY News on June 27 regarding the activation of the ruling PML-N’s strategic media cell proved to be true. It emerged that the PML-N activated its strategic media cell to run a malicious campaign against Imran Khan and PTI to prove it was an anti-military or anti-armed forces party.