Title: IHC suspends PEMRA notification banning Imran's live speeches
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The Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended on Monday the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority's (PEMRA) notification banning live telecast of former premier Imran Khan's speeches.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, while hearing the ex-prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief's plea challenging the ban, observed that prima facie it appears that PEMRA exceeded its authority.
The IHC sent a notice to the PEMRA and the attorney general of Pakistan stating the same.
Justice Minallah further added that, "In the current situation, there is no proper reason to ban Imran Khan's speech. The PEMRA has no power to issue any such restraining order."
The court further directed PEMRA to nominate an officer to appear and explain the issuance of the notification, suspending the notification till the next hearing scheduled for September 5.
Earlier today, the petition was filed by the party chief’s lawyers who requested the court to set aside the order of the ban.
“While referring to the violence against party member Shahbaz Gill, Imran had requested to take legal action against those responsible,” the petition read.
Read PTI to challenge ban on live telecast of Imran’s speeches
It furthered that as a citizen the law has given the right to take legal action and that the PTI chief’s speech was mistaken as hate speech.
The petition added that Imran’s stance to call for legal action against those responsible in Gill's "torture" does not fall under hate speech.
Earlier, the PEMRA had imposed a ban on broadcasting live speeches of the PTI chief on all satellite TV channels with immediate effect.
The regulatory authority’s decision came after Imran warned the IG and DIG of Islamabad police during a protest rally in Islamabad.
During the rally he said that he will not spare them and register a case against them for “torturing” party leader Shahbaz Gill during physical remand.
He also called out Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Zeba Chaudhry for approving police request of physical remand despite knowing that Gill was subjected to “torture”. “We will not leave you [Zeba] and will also file a case against her.”
Published Date: 29-Aug-2022
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