Geo morning show draws sharp reaction, Pemra notice

E-Paper | July 27, 2026

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has served a show-cause notice on Geo Entertainment network for airing objectionable content in its morning show `Utho Jago Pakistan’ and sought immediate explanation from the channel.

The channel aired the programme on Wednesday morning and repeated it in the night.

According to Pemra, the show-cause notice was served as the channel had violated clauses (a), (i) & (p) of the Code of Conduct for TV networks contained in Schedule A of Pemra Rules 2009.

Clause `p’ says no programme can be aired that contains material which is against the ideology of Pakistan or Islamic values.

A spokesman for Pemra said more than 5,000 public complaints were received against the programme at Pemra’s call centre and website.

Meanwhile, the programme drew a bitter reaction from viewers and religious organisations. The Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), along with former senator Faisal Raza Abidi, held an emotionally charged press conference here on Thursday at the National Press Club.

SIC Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza denounced the TV channel for hurting Muslims’ sentiments and declared that SIC would hold a protest in Karachi on Sunday.

On its part, Geo TV repeatedly aired tickers on behalf of Shaista Lodhi in which she apologised to those whose sentiments were hurt, while the management said: “An inquiry has been launched against ‘Utho Jago Pakistan’ over the inadvertent mistake on Wednesday’s show”.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2014

Pakistan

Kalbe Ali is a senior staff reporter for Dawn based in Islamabad, with nearly 20 years of field reporting experience. He covers a diverse range of topics, including the internet, IT and telecom sectors, as well as religious affairs.

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mansoor

May 16, 2014 01:12pm

State in which the country is, do we still need to justify the failed ideology?

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Muhib

May 16, 2014 02:38pm

Instead of banning the channels, state would do well in capturing the agents who shoot journalists...

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AJamal

May 16, 2014 02:56pm

Our media continues to cross limits on a daily basis without any regard to the message they convey to the populance, a significant majority of which remains illiterate.

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Sadiq

May 16, 2014 03:03pm

@mansoor State in which the country is due to non implementation of the Ideology of Pakistan i.e. Islam. Pakistan and Islam cannot never be separated.

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Naveed

May 16, 2014 03:15pm

GEO Must be shutdown and its licenses must be cancelled at once.

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Abid

May 16, 2014 03:22pm

Shame on GEO TV I will never watch it again. Every Muslim should do the same at least.

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unforgetable memories

May 16, 2014 03:28pm

Exectly

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zak

May 16, 2014 03:30pm

@AJamal Thats because they work for foreign interests.

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zak

May 16, 2014 03:32pm

Simple solution-Government should appoint an editorial board above the board of Geo, only fair, impatial genuine news which not foreign agenda driven will be passed for coverage. This way, staff keep their jobs and for agents are weeded out like Hamid Mir, Ansar abbasi, Shakeel ur Rahman and cronies.

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Syed Qutub Ahmed

May 16, 2014 03:53pm

Why only GEO, when ARY and Samaa used the same Qawali in their morning shows before.. All of these channels should banned. These morning shows have no boundaries and meant to introduce every thing but decency and Islamic Values.

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Pakistani

May 16, 2014 03:54pm

@mansoor Can you elaborate your failed ideology.

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MSAlvi

May 16, 2014 04:14pm

What exactly, Geo said? Any body know?

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M. Siddique

May 16, 2014 04:28pm

For a person who did not watch the program, am perplexed what was said in that program. To me this news is created in vacuum. Dawn might as well not talk about it if the cause is not explained and news is not a stand alone item.

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M. Siddique

May 16, 2014 04:30pm

@MSAlvi, I don't know what GEO said.

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Khan

May 16, 2014 04:44pm

@Muhib spot on

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mansoor

May 16, 2014 04:54pm

@Sadiq If in 67 years we were unable to implement an ideology there must be something flawed with it. Why no attempt was made to seriously implement it, because there is no demand for it. When Taliban want to implement Sharia which directly effects you and me we are up in arms. Look Islam does not answer most of the questions asked by modern state and for me, religion is a private matter not something to carve a country around. We have failed ourselves and blame non implementation of Islam. I admit I am a failure and do not hide behind my religion. Finding faults in myself, to know myself, to look for solutions to correct myself may one day make me a better self. Try it, it may work for you.

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sarah shah

May 16, 2014 04:58pm

i think now whole country is doing too much against geo....shaista has said sorry.....there is no issue with wording but shoes hiding during qawali was disgusting,

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anonymous

May 16, 2014 05:01pm

show bombs, bullets, dead bodies and violence and nobody bats an eye. a little mistake like this and everybody loses their minds.

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Akmal

May 16, 2014 05:04pm

@Naveed agreed

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Mahmood

May 16, 2014 05:28pm

@mansoor Failure to implement an ideology doesn't mean that you should give up on it. Yes its hard to implement Islam but the righteous path is always filled with obstacles. Focusing on oneself and not blaming religion is the right way to go. But remember that religion is practically an individual and collective matter otherwise we're insinuating that our creator has given guidelines on personal life while neglecting social life. Moreover, Pakistan is based on two nation theory and whenever we forgot this basic fact we have suffered tremendously.

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Fahad Nazir

May 16, 2014 05:31pm

GEO to be banned or not, whatever. But the real culprit is PEMRA they are turning blind eye from media and doing it since a long time now. U can see vulgar scenes in dramas, dirty commercials or things like that everyday. What is the point of having a censor policy when you don't use it.

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Laraib

May 16, 2014 05:33pm

@mansoor The ideology of Pakistan is one and the only solution to our problems. But unfortunately we have lost the capacity and intellect to implement the ideal values of Islam. The waters we are in today, reflect the abuse of our ideology, and not its failure!

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Anon

May 16, 2014 05:34pm

@mansoor You cant blame an ideology for people ignoring it...!

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Nizamuddin Ahmad Aali

May 16, 2014 05:48pm

This is Jung bashing. I have been listening this lyrics in different homes for at least ten or twelve years now. I believe this is a very old song. Some one impartial should investigate, please. Looks like the anti free forces have gone to work.

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Saad(DXB)

May 16, 2014 05:51pm

@M. Siddique Geo invited actress Veena Malik and her husband and ran a live Qawwali which was praising the marriage of Hazat Fatima Zahra (RAA), the daughter of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and Haider-e-Karrar, Hazrat Ali (RAA). The program was extremely offenive and left a bad taste in my mouth, not to mention the anger i felt.. And i like to think of myself as an extremely moderate person.

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Qaiser

May 16, 2014 05:52pm

I think this defines hypocrisy that is embedded in us. I am not a big fan of Geo and I don't even watch their programs, but this is ridiculous on so many levels for so many different reasons. What is bothering me is the hypocrisy of ARY TV and especially Mubashir Lucman. Did anyone know that ARY digital showed the same "qawwali" during a wedding event in their own studios?? Was that made into a big deal? Geo is in hot water because of ISI and that is why everything they do is under a microscope.

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Zainab

May 16, 2014 06:06pm

@Sadiq Apparently you are unaware of the continuing declining the conditions in the country and the ever increasing chaos and lawlessness currently. Nothing is wrong with Islam, but religion has its own place. Look at how much Turkey, Malaysia or Indonesia have progressed, and they are also muslim countries, just like Pakistan, the difference is the separation of politics and religion.

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May 16, 2014 06:15pm

This is poor reporting. I don't understand what happened.

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PUNJABI

May 16, 2014 06:30pm

Guess this is the biggest issue faced by the people right now..........

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Yawar

May 16, 2014 06:51pm

Let the one without sin cast the first stone

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lol

May 16, 2014 06:57pm

Remain progressive, dear Islamic Republic. Indians elected a leader for progress and development and you are ready to ban TV show over blasphemy. Such progress..

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Yawar

May 16, 2014 06:59pm

@Zainab "Look at how much Turkey, Malaysia or Indonesia have progressed, and they are also muslim countries, just like Pakistan, the difference is the separation of politics and religion" I disagree. The difference is in the attitude of the people. We dont look in our own gareybaan when it comes to committing sin. But when it comes to others, we are very quick to cast the first stone.

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sab

May 16, 2014 07:19pm

This is mind boggling, can somebody define who all we cant talk about in muslim history so that we avoid this fraca. Blasphemy is when u cheat ur fellow humans, wen u deny good upbringing to ur girl child, when u marry ur girl off when she is a minor, when u kill ur girl child in the name of honor , when u measure less, when u cross a red light, when u r corrupt, when u dont pay tax and so on and on . Allah can protect His and the honour of His messengers very well, dont try to take HIS job.

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Syed

May 16, 2014 08:27pm

This is not specific to GEO, this is all TV channels, they don't know ethics, moral values, social values. There objective is to earn money. We don't have any limit or boundry, every one is independent. This is time to think about, where this media is taking the mindset of peoples?

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omer khan shaheen

May 16, 2014 08:58pm

I am not surprised, because of the way this program and few others are handled. The sad part, however, is that the acts of few very immature individuals will cost the whole group!

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Ahmer

May 16, 2014 10:13pm

Veena Malik and her husband are equally guilty for this program. Her reformation and return to Islam were a fraud. She is a hypocrite.

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Muhammad

May 16, 2014 11:04pm

@ Mubim...Its not PEMRS's job to capture the people who are shooting journalist. So, if one department is doing good job then appreciate it..

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GKBaloch

May 16, 2014 11:57pm

What I saw on Youtube , no wonder why people are upset. It is outright outrageous, GEO is trying to attract audience at the expense of common decency. Don't shut down GEO but fire programme coordinator.

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Syed Jawad Ali Kazmi

May 17, 2014 12:17am

It,s my humble request to chairman PEMRA please take serious action on GEO TV and my request to shaista please clear your concept about islam thnks

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Paladin

May 17, 2014 06:20am

Disappointing.

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Arif

May 17, 2014 12:10pm

@Fahad Nazir you are very right the whole nation is out on the streets but were sleeping when all the channels were airing disgusting scenes. Why cant we think on our own instead of waking up when some highly controversial and disliked person Mubashir Luqman points it out to gain personal revenge. ARY aired scenes from the same program but no one understood.Till when will we be made fools by the opportunists.

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AGENT X

May 17, 2014 12:44pm

@Muhib Government is trying to find those criminals and there is not relavance between these two incident. you cant get away by doing crime.

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Hazrat Bilal

May 17, 2014 01:42pm

Good !. Serious action must be taken against these real terrorists.They are Criminals of both Pakistan and ISLAM. Our protest is not confined to GEO specifically, any individual (or Channel) repeating the same action must be punished.

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junaid

May 17, 2014 02:06pm

@Muhib That is new one. One problem after another. Forgot about the current problem and move to another problem. The problem that is related to government not media. Every problem and issue have to be taken seriously. Otherwise, there will be no improvement in the society. Thanks

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Wake up

May 17, 2014 08:19pm

@AJamal and most of these messages emanate from right wing fundamentalists

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Wake up

May 17, 2014 08:21pm

@Abid wake up n open ur eyes

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Wake up

May 17, 2014 08:21pm

@zak have the guts to say that you want censorship!

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Muhammad

May 18, 2014 06:55am

Solution is not banning voices you disagree with. You don't ban dissent or disagreeable opinions on TV you simply switch the channel. This is the way you hurt their ratings and revenues.

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TooTrue

May 18, 2014 12:27pm

@Sadiq Even two negatives don't make a positive here. The problem with Pakistan is religion. End of story.

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sabeeh omer

May 18, 2014 12:40pm

All these so called MORNING SHOWS lack substance and grace. The hosts appear neither civilized nor cultured. It appears as as a program aimed at advertising oneself and does not reflect the values and culture of the Pakistani society. All such programs that are a sheer waste of time should be banned.

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A Cheema

May 18, 2014 12:48pm

All the pseudo Muslims are up in arms for media freedom. Where do we draw the line between free speech or religious rights. Let's see what happened in the show: Marriage of: Veena Malik whose tantrums are open secret. Being compared to the one of the leaders of Jannah, daughter of Prophet Muhammad in a qawali. Not to mention Ali r.a. who has one of the highest status among the ummah of Prophet Muhammad pbuh being compared to a guy who is husband of Veena The producers, directors, hosts and singers they should all be locked up for this absolute non-sense and garbage being shown on TV in the name of freedom of speech and liberalism. I was absolutely stunned that non-of the audiences had the common sense to object to the comparison. Absolutely horrendous production. What Veena does in her personal life that does not concern me but comparing this couple to Fatima r.a. and Ali r.a. is absolute travesty. And any Muslim who slightly think that this is okay to do have no Imaan and respect for Islam.

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Harmony

May 18, 2014 02:07pm

@A Cheema - You are right about the comparisons, it shouldn't have happened. However, to judge Veena on her tantrums and claim that she is not a good Muslim is not for you to say. God might like an act of a person so much so that it supersedes all other transgressions. People have tendency to say that so and so is a bad Muslim. This judgement is for God only. Only He knows. We should worry about ourselves.

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Muhammad Imran

May 20, 2014 11:53am

Please stop all these non sense Morning Show, banned all anchors of so called discussion shows like mubaser luqman, Jasmine who create the instability in Pakistan in cover of information and all topies which is pending in courts

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Shahzad

May 21, 2014 11:13am

GEO Must be shutdown and its licenses must be cancelled at once.And Please stop all these non sense Morning Show, banned all anchors of so called discussion shows;;;

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anas Shahzad

May 21, 2014 11:14am

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