Pemra chief, employees being threatened

ISLAMABAD: Pemra Chairman Absar Alam on Monday urged the prime minister, the chief justice of Pakistan and the army chief to take notice of the threats being received by the media watchdog employees and that they be provided with security. 

“It’s becoming increasingly difficult for Pemra to continue performing its duties in these conditions. We have been cornered,” Absar maintained here at a news conference. 

“I request the prime minister, the chief justice of Pakistan and the army chief to take notice of this situation and ensure that my team members and I are provided with adequate security,” he pleaded. 

“I have a family. Pemra employees have families. While I can tolerate personal attacks, I cannot permit threats directed at my institution or its employees," he asserted.

Absar lamented that it was getting more and more difficult for them to operate and added that the situation was alarming. He also expressed deep concern over the hate speech and poisoning of minds by certain anchors and speakers.

The matter, he added, was being taken to the Supreme Court while they had no intention to lodge an FIR, as this could put the Pemra employee, who had received the threatening call after a channel went off air, in a difficult position.

He said they had received numerous threatening calls and had other evidence as well. The Pemra chairman noted that all the institutions were bound to assist and cooperate with the authority as and when required as per the Section 33-A of the regulations.

Absar also claimed that the authority’s powers had also been taken away and pointed out that action had been taken in 357 cases while 337 of these had been challenged in the courts.  He said through a letter, the chief justice had been requested for early disposal of the Pemra-related cases.    

The Pemra chairman said his organisation was receiving threatening phone calls: the audio recording of a threatening phone call, a Pemra employee had received after a TV news channel was taken off air, was also played during the news conference.

“There are many TV news channels and anchors poisoning the society with malignant content and this goes on and on whereas we are criticised by both the conservative and liberal segments when we take action. The courts also grant stay on cases we take up related to the code of conduct,” he contended.

Absar wondered where the things would lead to if this poisoning of minds by certain media houses was not halted and the code of conduct not strictly observed. 

He complained Pemra faced the wrath of liberals, if the regulatory body wanted to take action against the channels airing indecent content in the name of entertainment.         “Stays are being granted on the show-cause notices issued by the authority even with regard to the National Action Plan,” Absar continued. 

The Pemra chairman said the authority was committed to fulfilling its duty of blocking content which was against the spirit of the National Action Plan and the Operation Raddul Fassad. Alam contended that the NAP involved the role of Pemra as an important bulwark in curbing the hate speech and encouraging counter-narrative.

He complained that Pemra was being criticised even for playing the role of merely a post office while security clearance was not given by the ministry concerned to a particular channel.     “I have faced criticism despite the fact that I paid Rs8.2 million in income tax last year,” he said and slammed those who were engaged in heaping allegations on him and added his two brothers had given their lives during the Tahafuz Khatam-e-Nabuwwat movement.