Pakistan levies millions of fines on TV channels
April 3, 2014
By Chris Forrester
BBC Monitoring is reporting that Pakistan’s media regulator (PEMRA) has levied a total of 35 million Pakistan Rupees in fines on TV channels for “excessive foreign content” or “illegal and misleading advertisements” over the past year or two.
PEMRA says: “[We] took cognisance where violations of code of conduct of the authority were committed,” Minister for Information Senator Pervaiz Rashid in a written reply to a question in the National Assembly said on April 2nd.
The Minister said the programming content being aired on private satellite TV channels is generally in accordance with the prescribed code of conduct devised under PEMRA Rules 2009 as well as social, cultural and religious values of the country. In some instances fines were imposed on these TV channels and licence of one TV channel was also proposed to be revoked. However, the said channel obtained stay order from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and the matter is currently sub judice.
The television channels who faced fines from Pemra include XM, Jalwa, Apna TV, Geo Ent, TV One, Oxygen, Play TV, Koh-e-Noor, Express Ent, Hum TV, Silver Screen, Filmax, Film World, Filmazia, KTN, Sachal, Starlite, Sindhi TV, Aruj TV, Khyber News, ARY News, Geo Entertainment, Geo Super, A-Lite, Ravi TV, Channel-5, Rohi TV, Royal TV, N-Vibe, Silver Screen, Film World, Filmax, Filmazia, Starlite, each of which were fined 1 million Rupees (€7,400), and Filmasia and Silver Screen, which were fined 500,000 Rupees.