A Pakistani court on Thursday restored the operations of an anti-government private news television channel, just days after it was suspended by the country’s top media regulatory body for airing a derogatory programme against the judiciary.
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regularity Authority (PEMRA) had suspended ARY News ’ license on Monday for a period of 15 days and imposed a fine of Rs. 10 million. The Sindh High Court in Karachi, where the main office of the channel is located, ordered PEMRA to lift the ban after hearing a petition by the owners which was filed against suspension on Tuesday.
“Following the court order, the channel has been restored and is running its normal transmission,” a PEMRA official said. The channel strongly supported anti-government protests by cricketer-turned politician and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan and cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri, who wanted to topple the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for allegedly rigging the 2013 elections.
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A special meeting of PEMRA had been called on Sunday to review the talk show anchored by Mubasher Lucman on the orders of the Lahore High Court (LHC). PEMRA officials found the show in contravention with the PEMRA act and its code of conduct. The regulatory authority had banned Mr. Lucman and the talk show on Saturday.
This was second instance of PEMRA using its powers to muzzle press freedom this year. In June, the popular Geo News TV was suspended after it criticised the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.
Pakistan has a vibrant news and entertainment media industry which has flourished after the liberalisation of media policy in 2002 that made setting up of private channels easier.
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A U.S.-based journalists’ rights group had urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to revoke the suspension of the channel. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) wrote to Mr. Sharif to revoke the suspension of ARY News .
Amnesty International had condemned the move as “politically motivated” and accused the government of silencing the media.