SHC dismisses plea against ‘unannounced media ban’ on Imran

The Sindh High Court on Friday dismissed a petition against “an unannounced ban” on telecasting the political activities and speeches of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan by the electronic media after it was withdrawn by the petitioner’s counsel.

Petitioner Mohammad Tehamas Ali Khan, a PTI office-bearer, had challenged directives of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) to TV channels to remain vigilant and not to promote any hatemongers, perpetrators and their facilitators inadvertently.

A high court division bench, headed by Justice Adnan Iqbal Chaudhry, questioned the maintainability of the petition and asked how the petitioner was aggrieved by the Pemra order. It observed that the petition was not maintainable as the petitioner was not directly aggrieved by the order. After the counsel said he did not want to press the petition, the court dismissed it.