In a major win for PTI, Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan will return to live television. To clarify, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority’s (PEMRA) recent notification which prohibited television channels from airing the live speeches of Imran Khan.
According to the details, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah suspended the notification till September 5 and observed that the regulatory authority “does not have the authority” to issue such orders.
PEMRA had earlier imposed a ban on the live telecast of Imran Khan’s speeches after the former prime minister criticized police and other state institutions in a speech during his rally in Islamabad.
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“It has been observed that Imran Khan, Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, in his speeches/statements is continuously alleging state institutions by leveling baseless allegations and spreading hate speech through his provocative statements against state institutions and officers which is prejudicial to the maintenance of law and order and is likely to disturb public peace and tranquility,” PEMRA said in its statement.
During today’s hearing, the IHC chief justice mentioned that PEMRA “cannot ban speeches based on objectionable comments” and if someone is seeking action, contempt of court proceedings are already underway.
Perfect timings?
Important to note that the suspension of PEMRA’s ban comes when Imran Khan organized a fund-raising telethon Monday night.
Imran Khan said he would be doing a telethon at 9:30 pm and raising money from the nation and ex-pats for flood victims. He wanted all Pakistanis to participate in the telethon and contribute to this noble cause to the best of their ability.
A committee, headed by Sania Nishtar, will look into all funding matters while representatives of all the provinces will be present on the committee.
چیرمین تحریک انصاف عمران خان آج رات 9:30 پر وزیر اعلیٰ پنجاب اور وزیر اعلیٰ خیبر پختونخوا کے ہمراہ لائیو ٹیلی تھون کے ذریعے سیلاب زدگان کے لیے فنڈز ریزن ٹیلی تھون کا انعقاد کریں گے۔#TelethonByImranKhan pic.twitter.com/YQvnPaMTQ7
— PTI (@PTIofficial) August 29, 2022
“We will continue to distribute it among the flood victims as the money comes in. I will wait for all my Pakistanis on telethon Monday night,” Imran Khan said.
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