Pemra’s ban on Hafeezullah Niazi suspended by LHC – Pakistan

Lahore High Court (LHC) suspended an order issued by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) on Thursday that prohibits television analyst Hafeezullah Khan Niazi from appearing on television channels for 30 days.

The higher court made the decision upon hearing an appeal filed yesterday by Niazi against the Pemra ban, which was imposed by his alleged "defamatory" statements against Senator Azam Swati in the "Report Card" program issued on Geo TV July 6

In his appeal, Niazi said that the regulatory body had not issued a justified cause notice and that it had not been convened by the Complaints Council and, therefore, had been "convicted in an unauthorized manner in violation of Article 10 ( a) of the Constitution "which gives citizens the right to a fair trial. He had declared the ban "illegal, unjustified and, therefore, liable to be eliminated."

He had urged the court to suspend Pemra's order until a verdict was issued on the petition.

During today's petition hearing, the superior court issued notices to Swati, Pemra, the agency's regional general manager and the ministry of information, which were answered in Niazi's request, and demanded a response before October 10.

Niazi's accusations

Niazi, in Geo TV & # 39; s Report Card of the program, had claimed that a relative of the prime minister had said that Swati's entry was prohibited in the United States because he had committed insurance fraud.

In response to the journalist's claims, Swati said Niazi's statements had damaged his credibility.

He had said at the time that he had filed a case against Niazi, as well as Geo TV with Pemra and he intended to file a defamation suit against them claiming Rs1 billion in damages.

The senator had also said that Niazi would have to apologize to the viewers on the same program to avoid further legal action or prove the accusation.

Pemra said his Complaint Council extended enough time to Geo TV to prove the veracity of the comments made by the analyst during the program. However, the channel could not find a satisfactory answer, after which the body imposed on October 1 a ban on the appearance of Niazi on television channels for a month.

Swati had said that he had gone to the United States in 1978 and remained there until 2001. "I have no case against me for the past 45 years," the minister said.