Calling anyone infidel, traitor, blasphemer is violation of law, Constitution

Pemra bans anchor, his programme

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) on Thursday banned anchor Amir Liaquat's programme on a private TV channel with immediate effect and barred him from appearing in any manner on the channel.

He has been under severe criticism, particularly on the social media, after charging the 'disappeared' civil society activists and bloggers with blasphemy during his programme. In its statement, the Pemra said it had received hundreds of complaints with regard to 'hate speech' by the anchor. 

Following these complaints, the authority banned the anchor from hosting any programme or appearing on the said channel in any manner, including as a guest, analyst, reporter, actor, or in audio, video beepers, promos or advertisement of his programme.

The authority made it clear that if the channel failed to comply with the directions, the authority will suspend its licence.  Moreover, the Pemra said, "the anchor is prohibited to deliver, on all other channels, any hate speech, declaring anyone as Kafir or Ghaddar (infidel or traitor), as under the Constitution of Pakistan it is the exclusive jurisdiction of Parliament or the honorable Superior Judiciary."

Repeatedly dubbing others as infidel or traitor is violation of the law and constitution. Also, the Pemra statement made it clear that if the anchor continued to abuse the freedom of speech and violated the Pemra Code of Conduct 2015, Pemra Ordinance 2002, and Rules and Regulations on any other TV channel(s), the authority shall invoke Section 27 of Pemra Ordinance 2002 against the channel.

The authority pointed out that the decision was taken after it was found that the anchor had violated several clauses of the Pemra Ordinance and the relevant rules in his programme, which the authority had been monitoring for several weeks.

Complaints received by Pemra will be forwarded to the Councils of Complaints in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad for further action. The prohibition order will remain in effect until the Council of Complaints submits its recommendations about the complaints received by Pemra and the subsequent decision of the authority on the Council's recommendations.

It may be recalled that last week, the Ministry of Interior had to issue a statement asserting that there was no truth in reports appearing in the media that any case had been filed against the online activists that accused them of blasphemy, describing such claims as ‘ridiculous.

Likewise, the ministry’s statement also decried the ‘negative propaganda’, particularly on social media against the missing men, and alluded to the perils inherent in the allegations against them.  “Perhaps [these elements] do not realise that this act of theirs is further increasing difficulties for the affected families,” it maintained.