ISLAMABAD: The Pakis­tan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has slapped a ban for 30 days on television host and politician Dr Aamir Liaquat Hussain for creating ‘unwarranted drama’ on religious matters during a segment of his programme aired on Friday.

The regulatory body’s directives not only bar Mr Hussain from appearing on any TV channel in Pakistan for a month but also ban broadcast of all programmes hosted by him on Bol TV.

In its notification, Pemra highlighted that Mr Hussain ran live, an unedited video and without any delay, a call from Gujrat wherein the caller raised a controversial religious question.

“Dr Hussain merely for creating sensation and in order to achieve maximum rating, created unwarranted drama on the basis of religion and hurt the sentiments of different sects and the public at large,” the regulatory authority noted.

It said that instead of showing restraint on the sensitive matter, he continued to criticise religious beliefs on May 25 without considering the consequences of such an unwarranted discussion.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2018