Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) is in hot water as Supreme Court Justice Qazi Faez Isa accused the authority of suffocating the TV industry with unnecessary restrictions while raking in revenue from licensing news channels.
Justice Isa raised objections to the special bench constituted to hear the suo moto case on granting 20 extra marks to medical students for being Hafiz-i-Quran and refused to participate in the hearing. He questioned Pemra’s authority to stifle media coverage of the judiciary’s conduct, adding that an impression is being given that the court is gagging the press.
The attorney-general, Shahzad Ata Elahi, defended Pemra’s position, stating that the authority has barred satellite channels from airing news on judges’ conduct and state institutions. However, Justice Isa countered by saying that the Supreme Court is not a state institution but a constitutional regulatory body, and Pemra has overstepped its bounds by upgrading the status of the apex court.
Furthermore, Justice Isa called out Pemra’s selective silence when it comes to abusive language used against civil judges and questioned whether judges of the subordinate judiciary were considered lesser creatures.
Read more:
