Pemra issues notice to TV channel for airing ‘false’ reports against ministers
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ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) issued a notice to a TV channel on Saturday for airing news reports deemed to be against Federal Finance Minister Asad Umar and the Minister of State for Interior, Shaharyar Afridi.
The regulator directed the TV channel to air rebuttals or furnish evidence in support of its reports which it aired on Friday night.
Titled “Notice on False News”, the Pemra notice pertains to some tickers on the TV channel that referred to a statement by Prime Minister Imran Khan about the performance of Mr Umar during an informal meeting of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). The other report was about the renovation of Mr Afridi’s house.
“From the tickers it was transpired that the prime minister had expressed displeasure over the performance of federal finance minister for his policies,” Pemra said in the notice.
It said that by airing such reports, the TV channel had violated provisions of the 2015 Electronic Media Code of Conduct.
Pemra asked the TV channel to prove authenticity of its reports and submit a reply by Monday (Oct 15).
The notice said if the TV channel concerned failed to provide evidence in support of its reports, it should tender an apology. If it failed to reply to the notice within the specified time, the matter would be decided ex-parte by the authority.
Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2018
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Comments (34) Closed
Oct 14, 2018 10:17am
Is PAMRA going to issue notices for Government officials leveling false claims before judgments against it's opposition?
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Oct 14, 2018 10:35am
The media should play a responsible role and should not air false reports because then they will loose the credibility and no one will believe what they say. They should not be a tool in the hands of those who want to defame others.
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Oct 14, 2018 11:23am
Did Shehryar Afridi deny renovation of his house? No. Who did pay he partly said "He paid 450,000/-" but who paid the remaining 30 lakh? PEMRA need to wait till outcome of formal inquiry. No haste must be done.
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Oct 14, 2018 12:04pm
Will Pemra issue same notices to the channels airing news against PMLN ministers and will ask those channels to provide evidence or air rebuttal?
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Oct 14, 2018 01:38pm
Good, fake news and foreign countries agendapromoters are being held to account.
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Oct 14, 2018 01:47pm
It's all part of dirty propaganda against PTI and PM Imran Khan to malign them - obviously, opposition parties love such false news to divert attention. As they have nothing much constructive to do!
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Oct 14, 2018 01:59pm
It is heartening to note that PERMA is alive to the serious issue of "fake news". It is recognised that it is a very grave responsibility to" fact check" the media performance, which is dependent on complaints of the victims. However, two points are of great importance:
i. Journalism profession must have a body of its own like all other professions have or should have to monitor the performance of its members.
ii. Perma must have a criterion of "proper person" for the licence for broadcasting. This should be the "Gold Standard" to judge by the suitability of the "person" that qualify's for the privilege of broadcasting in the country.
It is so important if we need to have a pride in our fourth estate. We must endeavour to uphold with pride our institutions of great importance. So far, after a cursory look, we have not succeeded in this important aspect
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Oct 14, 2018 02:23pm
Media is most immature in Pakistan because of journalists who are not qualified or educated. They dont think of effects of their false news and just fill their pockets
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Oct 14, 2018 02:54pm
Will the same steps be taken if other members are involved?
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Oct 14, 2018 03:18pm
@AK Manjiwala How surprising some trust what, why, how, who, for whom and for what the 'media' spreads what it does under the garb of 'freedom of press', etc., and press it does for sure. When it comes to it, there is a world of difference between what it 'should' and what in reality it 'is'.
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Oct 14, 2018 03:22pm
Evidence is pertinent in a court of law. A counter argument is sufficient in a TV discussion. The right to freedom of speech must be respected.
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Oct 14, 2018 03:26pm
Please ask ministers for evidence when they level allegations on the previous govt or anyone else in the opposition.
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Oct 14, 2018 03:40pm
they should do more than issuing notice to media channels. time came for the accountability of the electronic and print media. most of the media groups are involved in money laundering and other serious crimes. best wishes for the new government !!
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Oct 14, 2018 04:00pm
@Aslam oh Man! Why do you always look for excuses and criticize one way or the other? If one institution is doing its job then let it do.
Btw, what false allegations has the aforementioned ministers raised?
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Oct 14, 2018 04:30pm
@Nadeem
Mr Afridi has given complete account of how the house was renovated. You need to watch some authentic news channels instead of Geo News.
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Oct 14, 2018 04:51pm
Fake news simply spreads chaos. It must be stoped. Licenses must be revoked who violate the law
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Oct 14, 2018 05:00pm
PMLN government was awarding billions of Rupees worth ads to these TV channels presumably to win their support, but present government of PTI is trying to save the public money from wastage and is not doing the same favour to the media, that's why these channels are crying against this government. This is very unhealthy approach.
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Oct 14, 2018 05:06pm
PEMRA is excellent at issuing notices.
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Oct 14, 2018 05:20pm
@Anti-Corruption_Pakistani well said. A honest, responsible, ethical & vibrant media is the 4th pillar of a democratic system. Our media which has made considerable strides,creating milestones of success towards these goals during the last decades, still have to long way to be totally independent of political inclinations & influences.It is sad and most unfortunate to note that character assasination through misreporting, spicy & controvertial stories, without proper check & balance, for the sake of getting more audiences & subsequently enhanced marketing, which was norm of the past, is still in practice by some.To discourage creation of such hypes in general public & opposition, the recent action by PEMRA is a step in the right direction which would throw the onus of proof of authentication of any such news on those propagating it. In this particular case, it is now the full responsibility of the specific TV channel to come forward with proof or issue a rebuttal as soon as possible.
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Oct 14, 2018 05:35pm
I think government should penalize those media houses who are spreading wrong news. The minimum penalty should be at least Rs. 5 M. This is how one should streamline and steer media in the right direction.
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Oct 14, 2018 06:08pm
@Aslam PEMRA cannot issue notice on that. Court can.
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Oct 14, 2018 06:59pm
PEMRA is being premature in it's actions. The whole matter must be carefully and independently scrutinized before jumping to any conclusions.
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Oct 14, 2018 08:05pm
Nawaz Sharif government was too liberal in allowing the media to spread all sort of propaganda against them. Imran Khan is smart, he knows what he used against others can be used against him. All we can say is "look who is now complaining against fake news".
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Oct 14, 2018 09:03pm
Wow! Naya Pakistan is full of victimization!
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Oct 14, 2018 09:40pm
@Aslam, first of all the government is not, " Electronic Media ". When you mention false claims you should give some examples otherwise it wouldn't make much sense.
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Oct 14, 2018 09:42pm
In Pakistan, most of the print and TV media feels no obligation to verify reports before making them public which is highly irresponsible and clearly not in the public interest. I have seen several talk shows in which the anchors come on air with the purpose of promoting political agenda instead of constructive analysis. While freedom of the press is a critical element of any society, it must be subjected to check & balance to protect public interest. There is a need for a system to be devised with oversight from an independent body with real consequences for irresponsible journalism
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Oct 14, 2018 10:00pm
Any action against imran for levelling millions of accusation against other politcians. what about 35 punctures and many other such claims?
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Oct 14, 2018 10:27pm
@Amjad Durrani Engineer USA - thanks for your comments. Yes, in a well matured and civilsed society, media plays a major role in providing impartial and honest news reporting. Through which, public are educated and informed about domestic and international stories and developments in different disciplines. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, majotrity of the electronic and print media is owned by property and bussiness tycoons and, as a result, certain politicians, political parties and rich people use money and bribery as a tool to take advantage of our weak systems. It's all part of a corrupt mafia's plan to control our so called institutions - this is why they have planted their cronies in key positions.
In order to come out of our current political and financial mess (created by NS and his cronies), we have to identify black sheep of our society and punish them serverly, receiver all looted money from NS, SS, AZ and their families and cronies - there is no other way. This is my view.
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Oct 14, 2018 10:58pm
I was watching yesterday Kamran Khans program on a channel. He had three participants to talk with and throughout he kept a very aggressive stance on government economic policies and tried his best to flay them including the more favorable comments from the participants from the business sector. No one can deny that some of the Anchors on the TV are rigged from subversive channels.
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Oct 14, 2018 11:58pm
@Aslam Did the previous govt. make PEMRA a body which can fulfill its duties honestly. Don't expect the same in 40 days that you didn't expect in 40 years...!
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Oct 15, 2018 01:23am
@Optimitic which pmln ministers?
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Oct 15, 2018 03:44am
These TV anchors and channel must take responsibilities before making any false statements. Our public is emotional and still new to free media.
Or government must shut these channels for a while.
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Oct 15, 2018 07:00am
@Anti-Corruption_Pakistani Well said. I fully appreciate your well founded, correct and candid comments.
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Oct 16, 2018 03:05am
@ Aslam - the govt can't level false claims now..they have the inside knowledge..in any case don't you think the thieves of the country are clearly caught out now?
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