Pemra chief non-appointment: LHC seeks replies in contempt of court case

LAHORE: While taking up a contempt of court application filed over non-compliance of the court orders regarding appointment of chairman Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), the Lahore High Court (LHC) Tuesday issued notices to the authorities concerned.

The secretary information and secretary Pemra have been directed to submit their replies till March 15.

Petitioner-lawyer Azhar Siddique informed the court in his application that the LHC declared the appointment of Absar Alam as Pemra chairman illegal and void and ordered for appointing the new chairman of the Authority on merit by fulfilling all legal requirements in one month’s time.

However, the authorities concerned did not make the new appointment, which was a violation of the court order and tantamount to the contempt of court.

The applicant said that due to non-appointment of a chairman, Pemra had become non-functional, creating problems for people. He requested the court to initiate contempt of court proceedings against secretary information and secretary Pemra for not implementing the court orders.