SHC rejects PEMRA's plea against stay order on show-cause to ARY NEWS

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday rejected a plea from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to annul a stay order on a show-cause notice issued by the authority to ARY NEWS, ARY NEWS reported.

During the hearing before the Sindh High Court (SHC) regarding suspension of ARY NEWS transmission, the court asked why channel is being off-aired on cable.

The PEMRA’s counsel blamed the cable operators for it, prompting the court to ask what measures it has taken as a regulatory body to restore the channel.

Barrister Abid Suleri during the hearing said the channel was still off-aired and the PEMRA is yet to take any action against the operators. “The matter lies with cable operators. We have issued no-objection for the transmission,” the PEMRA’s counsel said.

Barrister Abid Suleri, however, said that no practical steps have been seen from PEMRA to implement its orders.

The court after hearing arguments from both sides adjourned the hearing for August 23 as ARY NEWS also submitted its response to the PEMRA’s plea of overturning the stay order on a show-cause notice issued to the news channel.

During the last hearing, the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday issued the written order regarding the restoration of the ARY News transmission and sought a compliance report from the parties within two days.

The Sindh High Court (SHC) stated in its four-page written order that the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has the power to take disciplinary action against those creating hurdles in the transmission of the television channels.

The court directed that the non-compliance of action against the responsible cable orders will be considered a constitutional violation.

The SHC issued the written order following the contempt of court petition against the non-compliance of the court order regarding the restoration of ARY News transmission.