ISLAMABAD: With a petition against the suspension of ARY News’ licence already pending before the Sindh High Court (SHC), an identical petition was filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday.

The petition filed by the president of the ARY’s employees union, Jahangir Aslam Baloch, through his counsel Khawaja Azhar Rasheed said that the suspension of the licence had put employment of a number of the channel’s workers in jeopardy.

The petition said the Supreme Court had on June 19 suspended the IHC’s order banning ARY anchorman Mubasher Lucman.

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However, the acting chairman of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), Pervez Rathore, on June 20 while suspending ARY broadcasts for 15 days and imposing Rs10 million fine also banned Mr Lucman.

It may be mentioned that Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the IHC had on June 11 banned Mr Lucman from appearing in any programme and while hearing a petition filed by the Islamabad Bar Association had sought explanation from the Pemra chairman and secretary of information and broadcasting for their ‘inaction’ over airing of alleged contemptuous programmes against judiciary.

The Islamabad High Court’s judicial department raised certain objections on the petition filed on Monday and asked the lawyer to provide documents showing Mr Baloch as an elected representative of the employees union.

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Last week, the Sindh High Court took up the petition against the suspension of ARY News and after preliminary hearing issued notices to the

Pemra authorities and adjourned the matter till June 30.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2014