ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) issued three show cause notices, including one to ARY News channel over comments on a statement by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, on Friday.

The regulator took exception to remarks made by Shahid Latif, a guest on an ARY News programme, that termed a recent statement by the prime minister blasphemous.

Shahid Latif made the remarks during the programme, ‘The Reporters’, which aired on Thursday (March 23).

“This is a very dangerous trend. The hosts of the programme did not intervene on this occasion nor stopped him from passing such comments, which is a violation of Pemra rules,” the authority said in a press release.

The press release added: “This has been conveyed to the TV channel that airing any offensive, provocative or derogatory remarks falls in clear violation of clause 20 (f) of PEMRA Act 2007, rule 15(1) of 2009 and various sections and clauses of the PEMRA Code of Conduct 2015.”

The regulator directed ARY News to submit its reply by March 31 and explain why action should not be taken against it for airing “hate speech”.

Pemra pointed out that if the channel was found guilty, the action against it could include banning of ‘The Reporters’, cancellation of ARY’s operating licence and a fine of Rs1 million.

The electronic media regulator also issued show cause notices to nine TV channels — Ab Tak TV, Waqt TV, Channel 5, Sach TV, 7 News, Aaj TV, Roze TV, News One and Capital TV — for airing “fake news” on Wednesday (March 22)that a plane had crashed in Kallar Syedan, near Rawalpindi.

The channels have been directed to submit a reply by March 31.

The penalty for airing fake news includes a fine of up to Rs1 million and cancellation of the operating licence.

Pemra issued a show cause notice to DawnNews for not complying with its orders of suspending Zara Hat Kay for three days.

The charge against the channel was that the presenters of Zara Hut Kay discussed a reference against Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), which is pending before the Supreme Judicial Council, in an episode aired on March 9.

On the other hand, an official of DawnNews said the channel had already obtained a stay order from the Sindh High Court against the show cause notice.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2017