ISLAMABAD: The Pakis­tan Electronic Media Regu­latory Authority (Pemra) on Monday shortlisted 12 companies for participation in the first auction on Nov 23 of Direct-to-Home (DTH) service licences.

Addressing a news conference, Pemra Chairman Absar Alam said the three licences would be auctioned in open bidding. The operation against use of illegal Indian DTH would continue till it was eliminated, he said, adding that despite protests by cable operators opposing the ban, use of Indian DTH at a time when the Indian army was violating the ceasefire agreement and killing innocent Kashmiris was out of the question. Mr Alam stressed that Pak­istani DTH would not only promote national culture but would also benefit the nation economically.

The Pemra chief also announced that the National Press Club trust would be issued an FM radio licence.

In response to a question about illegal termination of employees’ services by various electronic media houses, he said Pemra would take action as per law, adding that majority of the cable operators were cooperating with the authority.

The short-listed companies are Orient Electronics Lah­ore, Mag Entertainment Lah­ore, Skyflix Islamabad and Startimes Communi­ca­tions Isla­m­abad, Sardar Builders Islamabad, Smart Sky Islam­abad and Parus Media and Broadcast Islamabad, Naya Tel Islamabad, Maestro Med­ia Distribution Islamabad, Sha­h­zad Sky Islamabad, HB DTH Islamabad, and IQ Com­munications Karachi.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2016