The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on Monday banned live recording and coverage of rallies and public gatherings in Islamabad.
According to details, PEMRA has issued a notification, stating that the ban has been extended to cover public meetings and rallies in the Islamabad area for 27th March 2023.
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The notification said that the license of satellite TV channels would be canceled for violating the PEMRA instructions۔
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority further said the live broadcast of violent mobs and attacks on law enforcement agencies, spread chaos and panic.
Last month PEMRA banned television channels from coverage of terror attacks.
The electronic media regulatory body’s orders came in continuation to the earlier orders on the subject asking TV channels to adhere to the provisions of the PEMRA Electronic Media Code of Conduct 2015.
The Authority, in a notification issued today, stated: “It has been observed with grave concern that despite repeated directives satellite TV channels are unable to comply with provisions of Electronic Media Code of Conduct-2015 in letter and spirit.”
The regulatory body added that, amid a terror attack, news channels resort to marathon transmission ignoring basic journalistic norms and ethics only to “take lead” and “credit” for breaking the news first. It added that the channels also violate journalistic ethics by “airing live images of the crime scene.”
PEMRA also mentioned that reporting such incidents gives benefits to terrorists for “using media as a form of political advertising” and serves their ideological purposes by “publicizing their campaign”.
Remember that directive issues, after the past few months rising terror attacks have been recorded in Pakistan.
