The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has issued Pakistani channel Geo News a show-cause notice for airing content related to the death of legendary singer Asha Bhosle, the channel’s managing director said on Monday.
Azhar Abbas, Managing Director of Geo News and President of Pakistan Electronic Media Editors and News Directors Association, shared the news on X.
“It has always been the norm to revisit and celebrate the works of eminent artists when we report on them. In fact, for an artist of Asha Bhosle’s stature, we should have shared more of her timeless and memorable songs than we did. However, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, PEMRA, has chosen to restrict this,” he said in the post.
Asha Bhosle died in Mumbai on April 12 at the age of 92. Condolences have poured in, including across borders, with many artists offering their condolences over the legendary singer’s death.
Actor Ehsan Khan described Bhosle’s death as “the end of an era”. Another actor, Adnan Siddiqui, praised the singer, saying her voice “has a way of filling even the quietest moments with something devastatingly human.”
“Today, it is the same silence that seems heavier. Thank you for the feelings you gave us, the memories you have become and the magic you left behind. You will always be heard, somewhere…somehow,” he wrote.
PEMRA Notice to Geo News
A PEMRA notice was issued to Geo News on Sunday, highlighting the Pakistani channel’s broadcast of Hindi songs and visuals from Hindi films while broadcasting the news of Asha Bhosle’s death.
The notice described it as a “deliberate challenge”. [of] Ruling of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of Pakistan… where streaming of Indian content has been banned.”
In 2018, the Supreme Court of Pakistan banned the broadcast of Indian content on TV channels in the country.
The notice said that Jio’s broadcast violated Section 20(f) of the PEMRA Act, 2002, which requires Pakistani channels to comply with programming and advertising laws approved by the authority and to appoint an internal monitoring committee, upon notification by the authority, to ensure compliance with the laws.
The regulator summoned Geo News CEO Mir Ibrahim Rehman on April 27. The channel was also asked to explain in writing, within 14 days, why legal action should not be taken against them.
PEMRA faces criticism
Many in Pakistan, including prominent figures, criticized PEMRA’s actions on Geo News.
“Art and culture have no borders and cannot be limited,” Pakistani journalist Garida Farooqi wrote in a post on the X website.
Journalist Rauf Kalasra asked the regulatory body not to take the country back to the Zia era.
“Please don’t take us back to the harsh years of the 80s, when owning a VCR/movie was a crime and punished. This is the age of Netflix and AI. Don’t make us look like the fools of this age,” he wrote.
