Pemra Suspends Geo News Transmission for 15 Days
Islamabad: The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has suspended the transmission licence of Geo News for 15 days with immediate effect over the broadcast of a special programme that, according to the regulator, was liable to hurt the religious sentiments of viewers.
In an order issued under Section 30 of the Pemra Ordinance, 2002, Pemra stated that the transmission violated provisions requiring broadcasters to uphold national, cultural, social and religious values. The regulator also said the broadcast was inconsistent with its earlier directive regarding the observance of the sanctity of Muharram.
Pemra directed all distribution service operators to implement the suspension immediately and referred the matter to its Council of Complaints for further examination and possible additional regulatory action. The authority also instructed Geo News to conduct an internal inquiry into the editorial lapse and submit a report outlining corrective and preventive measures.
Geo apologises for ‘mistake’
In response, Geo News acknowledged the incident, describing it as an unintentional editorial error. The channel apologised for the broadcast, clarified that the content did not reflect its editorial policy, removed the material, initiated an internal inquiry, and said disciplinary action had been taken against the staff responsible.
