ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court has set aside the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority’s (Pemra) action against several television channels over the alleged broadcast of hate speech during the 2017 Faizabad sit-in, and ordered the regulator to decide the matter afresh after giving the channels a full right of hearing.
Justice Raja Inaam Ameen Minhas issued a 15-page written verdict on the appeals filed by the channels, accepting them and remanding the matter back to Pemra. The court directed that all the channels concerned be afforded a fresh hearing and that a new decision be taken strictly in accordance with the law after ensuring their right to be heard.
According to the ruling, Pemra had earlier imposed a fine of Rs1 million each on various TV channels for allegedly airing hate speech during the Faizabad sit-in. The channels challenged the penalty before the Islamabad High Court.
By accepting the appeals, the court set aside Pemra’s earlier decision and sent the matter back to the regulator for a fresh adjudication following a hearing of the parties. It is pertinent to note that the Faizabad sit-in was held in November 2017 at the junction of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The Supreme Court’s judgement on the matter had also issued directives concerning the media and Pemra.
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