- Khawaja Asif says ministry will move next appellate level for increase in punishment given to Geo
- Says ministry hasn’t received Geo News’ legal notice but is ready to defend charges against itself and ISI
In its first ever reaction over PEMRA’s decision to suspend Geo News for 15 days, the Ministry of Defence said Saturday that it is not satisfied with the penalty awarded after the private TV channel was declared guilty of misconduct.
In a formal complaint filed late April, the Defence Ministry had sought revocation of the private news channel’s licence and prosecution of its editorial and management teams under regulatory laws for electronic media for allegedly bringing premier spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) into disrepute and harming national interest.
On Friday, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) suspended the licence of Geo News for 15 days and fined it Rs 10 million to be paid before the expiry of the suspension period. It said the suspension period may be extended if the fine is not paid, and that proceedings for the revocation of Geo News’ licence shall be initiated in case the licensee persists in its violations. But the Defence Ministry appears to be seeking a harsher punishment for the private media group.
“We reserve the right to take it up the matter at the next appellate level for enhancement of punishment awarded to Geo,” Minister for Defence Khawaja Asif said in an official statement on Saturday.
Shortly after PEMRA’s statement, the channel was blocked by nearly all cable operators countrywide.
Hours before the penalty was announced, Geo said it was suing the ISI for defamation over accusations of being anti-state. Geo News, part of the privately-owned Jang Group, also gave the ISI 14 days to issue a public apology and pay $500 million in damages.
The lawsuit was announced in news articles published in the group’s daily newspapers, Jang and The News.
On the defamation lawsuit, the defence minister said: “We are ready and anxiously waiting to reply (to) the suit filed by Geo and (are) fully prepared to defend the charges levelled by Geo against the Ministry of Defence and ISI in the court of law.”
