ISLAMABAD, (MILLAT/APP): Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Wednesday issued show cause notices to 27 private television (TV) channels over defiance of its orders of March 3.
On the said date, PEMRA in its meeting had directed these
channels to air apology on March 6 between 6 pm and 7 pm for
telecasting fake news about Gulberg Lahore bomb blast dated February 23.
However, these channels did not comply with the orders of the authority. For defying PEMRA’s order these TV channels had been directed to submit a reply within seven days by March 15 and explain why appropriate legal action may not be initiated against them.
With regard to airing apology, only two TV channels Kohinoor TV and
Channel-5 complied with the authority’s orders. The 27 channels which defied
PEMRA’s orders and had been issued show cause notices, were; ARY News, Khyber News, 92 Channel, Dunya TV, SAMAA TV, Metro One, Geo News, Awaz TV, Jaag TV, Abb Takk, Roze TV, Dawn News, Mehran TV, 7News, Lahore News, Neo TV, Capital TV, Sach TV, Sindh TV News, Express News, Din News, Waqt TV, KTN News, News One, 24 Channel, Bol News, and K-2.
In the meeting, PEMRA had also imposed a fine of Rs 1
million on each national private TV channel and Rs 500,000 on each regional TV. The fine amount had to be deposited within three weeks of the date of the issuance of the PEMRA’s decision.