March 03, 2007	Saturday	Safar 13, 1428

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KARACHI, March 2: The Sindh High Court issued notices to two officers of the Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Friday in a contempt application moved by the Pakistan Herald Publications Limited in its petition for grant of licence/uplinking facility for its television channel.

The petitioner company submitted through Advocate Muneer A. Malik that the high court passed an order with the consent of Pemra and the ministry on January 18 requiring them to issue uplinking permit for the proposed channel by February 28. Being assured of the permit, the company made all arrangements necessary for launching its TV channel. The content to be aired was ready and the workforce was geared for the launch.

However, the Pemra director-general (technical) created a new hurdle by asking the petitioner to obtain a ‘formal no-objection certificate or recommendation’ from the information ministry under Rule 29 of the Pemra Rules, 2002. Though the rule cast no legal obligation on the petitioner, it made an application to the ministry. There was no response from the ministry and the petitioner again wrote to the Pemra DG and the director-general of the ministry’s external publicity wing.

While the ministry kept mum, the Pemra DG again wrote back that the application for uplinking permit could not be processed in the absence of a formal recommendation or NoC issued by the ministry.

The petitioner submitted that the Pemra’s refusal and the ministry’s failure to issue it an uplinking permit in compliance with the consent order of January 18 constituted a wilful breach of a solemn undertaking given to the high court. The petitioner said there could be no doubt about its bonafides and credentials. It brings out a newspaper founded by the founder of the country. Each day’s delay in grant of permit, the company said, involves financial loss.

Granting the petitioner’s plea for urgent hearing on Friday, a division bench comprising Justices Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Ali Sain Dino Metlo issued notices to DGs Abdul Jabbar (Pemra) and Mansoor Sohail (information ministry) for March 8.