ISLAMABAD, March 28: The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) withdrew on Wednesday its petition from the Supreme Court against the consent orders of Sindh High Court (SHC) for the grant of licence to the Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt) Limited (PHPL) to establish a satellite television broadcast station.

Advocate Abdul Rauf, the counsel for Pemra, informed a two-member bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi and Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed that the authority was withdrawing its appeal because it had become infructuous, Justice (retd) Tariq Mehmood, who represented the PHPL, told Dawn.

In the petition, Pemra had taken the view that under its Rule 17(v) it could not grant cross-ownership licence to the PHPL. But in the meanwhile it provided the uplinking facility to another private TV channel (Aaj).

Being aggrieved, the PHPL moved a contempt of court petition before the SHC.

Earlier, the PHPL had filed a constitutional petition in the SHC against the Federation of Pakistan and Pemra in Karachi, challenging the qualifications prescribed for eligible applicants for the grant of a licence to establish satellite television.

The PHPL has contended that the constitutional right of freedom of the press does not permit Pemra to deny a broadcast licence for the sole reason that the applicants are owners or publishers of print media. The petition maintains that Pemra's rules prescribing such a requirement are in conflict with the Pemra Ordinance itself.