ISLAMABAD, July 29: Acting Chief Election Commissioner Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar on Thursday issued instructions to the state-owned electronic media to ensure a balanced coverage of the August 18 by-elections in Attock and Tharparkar.

A special directive of the acting CEC said: "PTV and PBC will ensure that coverage of the election campaign in the by-elections is fair, balanced and unbiased in favour of any political party, its candidate or a leader."

The directive was issued under Article 219 (b), 220 of the Constitution read with section 108 of the Representation of the People Act 1976. Both PTV and PBC have been instructed to follow the directive in letter and spirit.

There should be no coverage of any election speech or other related material that must incite violence and hatred among different sections of the society, the directive said.

Balance does not mean necessarily that each candidate or party should get exactly the same air time, rather it implies that it should not appear to any reasonable person that one political party or candidate is being projected to the exclusion of others, the directive said.