Why he wants to talk about minorities on his program

freedom of expression

This is ridiculous!

Why to blame masses when the authorities do not recognize rights of minorities.

"Pemra bars Hamza Ali Abbasi from doing Ramazan transmission"

Very good decision to stop Hamza Ali Abbasi, having little or no knowledge about Islam, he was going too far with already legally settled issues. Pemra has in fact saved Abbasi from getting into trouble.

Very good. Ramzan shud not be used for any self promotion stunts. Also ban Liaqat

Wondering how come Amir Liaquat transmission is not banned yet? At least Hamza was discussing some key topics. 1133 is not an enough number to ban the show.

That's what you get for saying something that supports the minorities!

In a population is 200 million just approx 1200 complaints can lead to banning a show, quite amazing.

@Asma Ali . Pemra did this after receiving 1,133 complaints which are of course from public. Read the news carefully.

These people have nothing to do with Islam..they are opportunists...

Nation has lost the right to talk about minority rights in other nations..

good decision and pls ban the aamir liaquat also!

Those who talk about minorities pay a heavy price. We should focus on our national ideology.

@Iqbal Aswani , so PEMRA has no role or responsibilities and opinion of its own and receiving 1,133 complaints is enough to ban a program?

There was also another petition to stop hate speach against molvis on tv wonder pemra did about that

You cannot ignore minorities as they are Pak citizens. Respect their believes, respect their traditions, respect their value systems, respect their identity if you want to see Pakistan image in World community to look good. Lear how to respect another human being.

By birth I am Sunni Muslim & I would like to say we must have to have freedom of expression & i am backing Hamza Ali on his stance about Ahmadis.

A very right step; Hamza is not a scholar he should talked about the things he doesn't fully understand

Nice work by pemra effectively stopped the plot to spread sectarian issues.

Hamza with very less knowledge was trying to augment problems for all. Its not his fault his party pti has the ideology to spread chaos

Why do we need actors to do religious shows where are the scholars who can guide us and also be effective dor masses. Sadly media dor ratings is now having actors to do islamic shows. Pemra has done a good job. Other actors/ actresses should also be banned for lack of kniwledge.

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".Voltaire, the great French writer & philosopher once said.

Has pemra ever banned any programe which incited hatred and resulted in murder of many Ahmadies in the past? Why pemra let hate provoking programes go on air unnoticed and bans programs that talk about rights of minorities?

Good step !

TV should respect believes of masses and

be very care full in such sensitive issues which creates anger in masses

Things will never change neither we progress ever !

Excellent and wise decision.

Just because you look good and speak well doesn't mean you can talk about such matters. This is why Pakistan is being ruined through media!

I watched his whole show he didn't say anything wrong, actually he is asking questions from scholars on behalf of many Pakistanis about Ahmedies' rights. If this show is violating Pemra's code of conduct then why shows like "Jeeto Pakistan" and Aamir Liaqat's show are on airing.

I think it will take time to show maturity and to learn how you can be bold and smart at same time. Everyone should have freedom of speech as long as speaking the right way on right time.

Not a fan of Hamza but I fully agree with him on minority issue. These and other tabu subjects must be discussed on talk shows with live general public participating. And it is not necessary to invite mullahs on these shows.

He was logical to raise this issue. Why Mauluvi give hate speech through media against Ahmadi why doesn't Pemra ban them? Pakistan is going down day by day because of this mauluvis and their followers.

Although I advocate freedom of speech though I believe that social taboos should first be discussed among intellectuals of the society who can lay a foundation of thoughtful ideas for serious discussions among masses.

Good job by pemra. Stopped spreaders pf haters from doing shows.

This is ridiculous! PEMRA itself should be banned. Just because they received a 1000 plus complaints (which can be very easily generated given today's social media) against something does not mean the transmission should be banned.

I'm not a Hamza Abbassi fan but I really really appreciate him highlighting serious issues which even our brave media men dare not talk about. Talking about minorities' rights is just the beginning. It's not just Ahmedis. People from all minorities feel threatened in Pakistan and they've been fleeing Pakistan for years now.

I think PEMRA should at least allow people to hear him out. It's not like he's committing a crime.

Its not hamza fault it is his party ideology of creating chaos that has led him to this day Very nice action by pemra

The so-called celebrities should not be involved in religious issues. They lack knowledge and background . Minorities issue is more political than religious.

Hamza's cooments related to the murder of innocent Ahmadi's just on the basis of their belief. Everyone should have the freedom to say what they want. Word of mouth cannot be retaliated to with a gun or sword! Such actions are defined as barbaric in the modern world. The challenge now is to the silent majority in our country to rise and tell Pemra that many many many people over and above 1133 believe that religious intolerance is wrong and faith and religion should have nothing to do with the matters of the state.

Sad and tragic. Incitement to violence in not banned but even raising the question about persecution of Ahmadis is objectionable. Endearing demonstration of Islam as practiced in Pakistan by its people and its leaders.

Good decision

For the first time I think PEMRA has made a good decision. They have probably saved Hamza from a lot of trouble. I really like Hamza and feared for his safety but I am happy now that he will not be doing this show. If something happened to him we would lose a very talented and a true Pakistani and it would look very bad for Pakistan too. Hamza needs to understand these things.

It is absolute censorship which shall have very serious repercussions for freedom of thought and expression. This will also contribute to more intolerance the society is already suffering from in the form of terrorism.

It was strange to talk about Ahmadis on a Ramazn related program me but his comments are justified .

I am Muslim Sunni and I support Hamxa Ali Abbasi and anyone who will speak for the right of our minorities. don't forget we are putting this in place that ok they are non muslims then what ? they have the same right to live and practice as anyone else who the hell are you or anyone who want to take this freedom from them . Ahmedi's have been murdered in Pakistan and christian communities have been living under protection for the last many decades what sort of a country is that . I am Pakistani but these are the ugly truth we need to talk about and fix one by one .

So what exactly did he say that irked 1133 people out of 200 million to get himself banned? Please can someone explain?

Sad to hear that! For the first time someone has stood for the rights of Ahamadi community! Curbing that voice is highly condemnable! It is not about whether they are muslims or not but about humen rights! Arn't they citizens of the country & arn't they supposed to be protected! Where does our religion say kill them, this hatred & rage is insane. Stand by them, they are our fellow citizens. LET HAMZA SPEAK

Excellent PEMRA !

@RAJA CHILL , You are right. The way we treat our minorities should be considered a Crime. How can you have a constitution which bans Non-Muslim Pakistani to be the President of the country or many other posts? In Canada, if we ban Muslims from any post , we Muslims Pakistanis will make so much so much cry for discrimination. Why are we so Narrow-minded? This not what Islam teaches us. Huzoor (PBUH) always taught us love , tolerance, and peace. We just talk about how peaceful our Islam is but in practice we are most the intolerant religion. There are calls for Shea Kaffir, some say Ismaili Kaffirs . Where is end

@Abdulla Hussain So who has the religious knowledge? Those who keep inciting hatred and violence.

Sure. Sweep all discussions under the carpet until it all erupts in the government's face. Maturity and wisdom not one of our traits as a nation.

Excellent Pemra!!!

@Abraham Haque Aren't minorities Pakistani citizens? TV channels forever talk about cricket, politics, political achievements of our leaders and their families. Rights of Minorities is one topic that our leaders will never discuss.

Good step by Pamera. Also ban dr. Amir liaquat because sometimes he crosses limits.

Prudent decision taken by PEMRA and one thing we need to understand is that Pakistan was made wholly on Islamic ideology so let us not play hide and seek over this.

These topics should first be discussed by intellectuals before being discussed by actors/actresses. Sdaly Media has excluded intellectuals from its list and now we are forced to watch these immature actors.

Most pakistanis seem to commend this ban - they would rather not talk about the state of the minorities

Good decision for sure. But necessary action from PEMRA is long overdue in respect of stopping indecent and sort of immoral ads. Hope the PEMRA chief also does something in this regard too.

Happy with PEMRA decsion, MR. Hamza has gotten too over board and bold. this should be a lesson for the rest.

He took the right step to talk about minorities but approach was poor .

He was only giving his arguments and each time the host try to answer , H.A. Abbasi .. We will talk at the Last Rozza.

Before starting the debate one should have solid grips on a matter other wise only mess will be created.

I support Hamza Ali Abbasi. This is sad news.

Good decision from PEMRA...

I fully support Minorities rights (100% similar to all other citizen's) and freedom of expression/religion....BUT...a ramadan show should be focused on ramadan ONLY please.

We need to forge unity instead of creating ethnic or religious division during the sacred month of Ramadan. We must have a thread and thrum approach about the sanctity of this once a year month. Citing live who is ardent Muslim and who is otherwise is not good as it causes hatred and antagonism which in turn, gives rise to religious disharmony and chaos. Islam equally protects rights of the minorities as it does the majorities.

We are forced to live in darkness and are forced not to question and than forced to accept darkness as daylight. I don't think Pakistan is ready for such discussions hamza but I do do wish and hope it will. Hamza look after yourself.

Pemra has done the right thing. Hamza Ali Abbasi do not understand any thing about Khatme nabuwat. He is not a religious scholar and should not allowed to host any more religious shows. I strongly condemn his controversial talk.

Bravo Hamza

@Abraham Haque he can talk about anyone...what is your problem? Do we really want to live in a country where the govt. What we should say or watch?

@Abdulla Hussain That is why he was asking questions to gain knowledge. Why stop him and public from gaining knowledge?

@Abraham Haque Why should he not talk on minorities ?

@TechnoKraft v true

PEMRA to protect religion and control spreading confusion among people should bar people from discussing religion on any media. Only qualified or government authorized religious personalities should be allowed to appear on media and discuss about it.

@KAHN You can hate Aamir Liaqat but he doesnt talk on sensitive issues

@Abraham Haque Why not Sir?

@jahangir you and your supporters argument about less knowledge,
What kind of knowledge you need to talk about less secure people and humanity?

@TINA Rubbish!! Pakistan was not made because of Islamic ideology but because to create a safe home for Muslims of subcontinent. Go get your self educated and read Jinnah's speeches. It was meant to be a respectful country where all citizens were to be treated as equals. Only fanatics like you believe in the superiority of Muslims- the most backward tribe in the world hated by every civilized society!!! I want my Jinnah's Pakistan back!!

There is nothing wrong in talking about things. What makes the difference is if the subject is discussed fairly from all aspects and in all fairness and not just because it suits the temperament of the host or his narrow focus on little picture rather than the big picture and issues involved. Yes minorities have the rights but it should not be at the expense of taking away the rights of majority. At the same time experts should be invited to discuss the topic rather than the host pretending to be an expert with a few selected "yes man" guests also pretending to experts on the subject.

@K.Shah Majority deserves time too

@Life who decides who is an intellectual and who is not?

@Abraham Haque Why not?

@L.Ahmad Beautifully put!

Good topic, wrong platform and Hamza has to pay the price

These issues should not be discussed publicly.

@Abraham Haque why not

@Abraham Haque Why shouldn't he?

Why he wanted to hold conversation on that? Clash Royale for iPhone

not fair decision.... state should be neutral and ready to protect rights of every citizen

@nnnn You don't need to be a scholar to realise how bad and systemic the persecution of minorities is in this country. You just need empathy, something a lot of religious preachers and followers lack in Pakistan.

@Zain Who can talk about these matters then? Someone has to. The religious clerics won't, someone has to. It is high time that persecution of minorities should stop.

@farrukh iftikhar Hamza Ali Abbasi only wanted to question the silence of the media on the killings of Ahmedi community people. But if you don't start the discussion, you remain in ignorance. Have you ever actually talked to an Ahmedi scholar and asked what they actually believe in? This myopic view that the majority of Muslims have will only lead to intolerance, hatred and more violence.

Lets welcome the dogs for this country has gone to them

Has any other country such as KSA,Qattar,Afghanistan,Iran have declared Ahamadis non Muslims will any enlighten.

Well done Prema.

Shame on Pemra for banning Hamza Ali's program.

Why shabbir. What wrong did he commit?

@Maula How do u say minority issues is political. I belong to minority, have u analyzed minority issues seriously. please don't see superficially and declare minorities have no issues or minorities have equal rights.

Pakistan is trapped inside and out.

@TINA so Pakistan was made as Islamic State and minority rights and issues are to be neglected. Then why do u guys talk about Muslim minority in other countries like India, Philipine etc. Get Muslim minority in other countries be imported in Pakistan and get all minorities in Pakistan out of the country.

@Rashid Lodhi exactly

PEMRA is becoming increasingly CCI like body. Both should be disbanded.

This is sad affair of the nation. You can not even discuss the persecution of Ahmadis but I firmly believe that the time will come, that the leaders of the nation will ask for forgiveness from all minorities.

@nnnn everybody has the right to question. Tomorrow what if government tells you - do not question electricity outages because you do not fully understand the entire economics and demand supply etc behind this.... you would be happy with that?

@Abdulla Hussain well said.

@TINA Pakistan was made neither on Islamic ideology nor for Islamic ideology. It was made for protection of values and rights of Muslim minority of the sub continent.

@Abraham Haque We Muslim need to take of minorities and that's our responsibility

It shows how intolerant our society is. Why blames other for our own mistakes and intolerant attitude.

Pakistan needs Right person on a right place.

Ban is not enough, hit the pocket only then they will learn. Charge a heavy fine on Anchor and TV management.

Commendable decision by PEMRA. Any body who is trying to create controversies should be banned as we can not afford more problems in our society.

Could someone explain what was so wrong about Hamza Ali Abbasi's show?

I do not know what HAA's agenda is, but his coming out on TV can escalate crimes against innocent Ahmadis in Pakistan. Altaf Hussain of MQM is the only leader in Pakistan who spoke against these laws in two different programmes, and challenged these mullahs to declare him this and that,

pakistan talk about muslim minority rights across the wrld but ban its own people to speak about minority rights in its own country.....what a hypocricy....

@Abdulla Hussain Yeah and rest of the ramazan transmission hosts know a lot about Islam.

It was not PEMRA decision . It was the people decision . They lodged complain and PEMRA has to obey.

Apparently something has changed at Pemra. They have learned the word BAN and want to try that out on everything. Let people decide what they want to see and not.

@Abdulla Hussain A good assessment of the situation.

who is Muslim or non Muslim is not matter but the most important matter is who is good human being.

@TechnoKraft What he said doesn't require too much fiqahi knowledge. He asked a simple question. Someone who has even a single sense of equality and humanity, would ask! Why can't ahmadis be given the right to be safe in their own country? That is all.

Pemra has saved Hamza.....

I remember those days when I was student, and I noticed that people use to listen BBC Urdu news on radio before 9:00pm Khabarnama of PTV. I did not understand why people use to talk about matters which shouldn't be of their interest. Now I understand, when a state did not take notice of general public views, when a state did impose their own ideology on almost every matter, when a state bring people on different post to which they are not eligible. Then a new generation of thoughts come arise, who provides food for thought on different issues of the state. State should always remain state, not a KING of the jungle. It is my sincere advice to state actors whether sitting in ministry's track, bureaucracy's track, religious track that, they should learn and learn from their past, and be a good human being first.

Wise move in my view.

@Abraham Haque Why not?

I thought Pakistan was a democracy with freedom of speech guaranteed by the constitution. Looks like I was wrong.

Very sensitive topic but as awareness progress, we Pakistanis should not confine to the explanation/interpretation made by religious scholars only we have to do our research work and expand the horizons of knowledge and seek answers.

@Abdulla Hussain well said!

@Zain Hamza raised some good questions on human rights.

First time pemra did a good thing. ramdhan transmissiond should not be given to those who know nothing about islam. It should be handed over to ulema ikram only.

Well done PEMRA

The irony that Pakistan was made to protect the minority that was Muslims in the subcontinent and now we have institutionalised bigotry towards a minority.