The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) warned a private news channel on Saturday night for one of its officials using “inappropriate and threatening language” against the media watchdog, a few days after it was barred from airing an interview of former Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan.
“In a letter addressed to the PEMRA chairman, one Executive Director of M/s. Independent Media Corporation, has used highly inappropriate language, with a threatening tone quoting unnamed lawyers and casting aspersions against a state institution,” the media watchdog said in a statement.
“PEMRA would take an appropriate action after consulting its legal department on the first working day,” it added.
The authority noted that “under Section 30A, only a high court has the first right of appeal against PEMRA’s decision. In the absence of any intervening order by any high court, the violation of the authority’s order would be illegal”.
— Report PEMRA (@reportpemra) April 29, 2017
PEMRA further said it was determined to establish its writ and any violation of its lawful order would be taken as a willfully considered defiance and dealt with in accordance with the law.
On April 26, The Pakistan Army had released a confessional video of Ehsan, who gave a rare insight into the working of terrorist groups, including the TTP’s connections with Indian and Afghan intelligence agencies. Soon after, advertisements for the ex-commander’s interview ran on the private TV channel.
A day later, the regulatory authority reminded Geo TV that inviting a representative of an outlawed organisation involved in killing hundreds of innocent people would hurt the sentiments of the victims of terrorism.
According to the authority, only the interview released by the Pakistan Army could be shown on TV in which Ehsan had confessed to having misused religion and taken help from hostile agencies.