Pakistan's media regulating body has prohibited live broadcasts of ex-PM&nbsp;Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan's speeches after the leader allegedly threatened an Islamabad police officer and a female magistrate during an address.

Imran's recorded speeches now would only be allowed to air if an adequate delay mechanism was in place to provide effective monitoring and editorial control, said the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA).

Watch |&nbsp;Pakistan government denies custodial torture; Imran Khan calls for nationwide rally

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PEMRA in its notification said, "In view of the above-mentioned background and reasons, in exercise of delegated powers of the Authority vested in Section 27(a) of the PEMRA Ordinance 2002 as amended by PEMRA (Amendment) Act 2007, hereby prohibits the broadcast of live speech of Mr Imran Khan on all satellite TV channels with immediate effect."

The suspension as per ANI&nbsp;was issued hours after Khan&nbsp;pledged&nbsp;to bring legal action against Islamabad's inspector general, deputy inspector general, and a&nbsp;female magistrate for "torturing" his close aide Shahbaz Gill.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-descending-into-a-banana-republic-says-imran-khan-after-arrest-of-close-aide-shahbaz-gill-507916">Pakistan 'descending into a banana republic', says Imran Khan after arrest of close aide Shahbaz Gill</a>

He criticised additional district and sessions&nbsp;judge Zeba Chaudhry&nbsp;for approving Gill's two-day physical remand last week at the request of the capital police and warned her that a case will be filed against her as well, reported Geo News.

Speaking to the crowd outside Islamabad's F-9 park, Khan&nbsp;declared, "We will not spare the IG and DIG."

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-political-crisis-imrans-party-in-turmoil-after-shahbaz-gills-arrest-505456">Pakistan political crisis: Imran’s party in turmoil after Shahbaz Gill’s arrest</a>

Gill was detained by the police on August 9 after making contentious comments on television about the Pakistani army that the nation's media regulator regarded to be "highly hateful and seditious".

He was detained on charges of conspiring with a private TV news outlet to spread anti-state propaganda.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Pakistan's media regulating body has prohibited live broadcasts of ex-PM Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan's speeches after the leader allegedly threatened an Islamabad police officer and a female magistrate during an address.

Pakistan's media regulating body has prohibited live broadcasts of ex-PM Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan's speeches after the leader allegedly threatened an Islamabad police officer and a female magistrate during an address. Imran's recorded speeches now would only be allowed to air if an adequate delay mechanism was in place to provide effective monitoring and editorial control, said the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA). Watch | Pakistan government denies custodial torture; Imran Khan calls for nationwide rally PEMRA in its notification said, "In view of the above-mentioned background and reasons, in exercise of delegated powers of the Authority vested in Section 27(a) of the PEMRA Ordinance 2002 as amended by PEMRA (Amendment) Act 2007, hereby prohibits the broadcast of live speech of Mr Imran Khan on all satellite TV channels with immediate effect." The suspension as per ANI was issued hours after Khan pledged to bring legal action against Islamabad's inspector general, deputy inspector general, and a female magistrate for "torturing" his close aide Shahbaz Gill. Also read | Pakistan 'descending into a banana republic', says Imran Khan after arrest of close aide Shahbaz Gill He criticised additional district and sessions judge Zeba Chaudhry for approving Gill's two-day physical remand last week at the request of the capital police and warned her that a case will be filed against her as well, reported Geo News. Speaking to the crowd outside Islamabad's F-9 park, Khan declared, "We will not spare the IG and DIG." Also read | Pakistan political crisis: Imran’s party in turmoil after Shahbaz Gill’s arrest Gill was detained by the police on August 9 after making contentious comments on television about the Pakistani army that the nation's media regulator regarded to be "highly hateful and seditious". He was detained on charges of conspiring with a private TV news outlet to spread anti-state propaganda. (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION LIVE HERE: You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Pakistan's media regulating body prohibits live telecast of ex-PM Imran Khan's speeches

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has banned broadcast and rebroadcast of any speech, interview or public address of absconders or proclaimed offenders, it was reported.

On Thursday, the regulatory body in a statement, which is also available with The Express Tribune, prohibited the broadcasting of content including commentary, opinions or suggestions about the potential fate of sub-judice matter which tends to prejudice the determination by a court and a tribunal in compliance with the order passed by the Supreme Court.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/will-no-longer-remain-quiet-on-dual-accountability-standards-in-pakistan-nawaz-sharif-331919">Also read|&nbsp;Will no longer remain quiet on 'dual accountability standards' in Pakistan: Nawaz Sharif</a>

"If licensee fails to comply with the aforementioned directives, the authority shall take action under Section 29 and 30 of PEMRA Ordinance which may result in imposition of fine and suspension/revocation of licence," it added.

The decision came after former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been targeting the incumbent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led government in his rect speeches from London, where he has been residing since last year following his bail for medical treatment.

Sharif first spoke at the multiparty conference on September 20, where he declared that the opposition was up not against Prime Minister Imran Khan but against those who had brought him into power in the 2018 elections.

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has banned broadcast and rebroadcast of any speech, interview or public address of absconders or proclaimed offenders, it was reported.

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has banned broadcast and rebroadcast of any speech, interview or public address of absconders or proclaimed offenders, it was reported. On Thursday, the regulatory body in a statement, which is also available with The Express Tribune, prohibited the broadcasting of content including commentary, opinions or suggestions about the potential fate of sub-judice matter which tends to prejudice the determination by a court and a tribunal in compliance with the order passed by the Supreme Court. Also read| Will no longer remain quiet on 'dual accountability standards' in Pakistan: Nawaz Sharif "If licensee fails to comply with the aforementioned directives, the authority shall take action under Section 29 and 30 of PEMRA Ordinance which may result in imposition of fine and suspension/revocation of licence," it added. The decision came after former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been targeting the incumbent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led government in his rect speeches from London, where he has been residing since last year following his bail for medical treatment. Sharif first spoke at the multiparty conference on September 20, where he declared that the opposition was up not against Prime Minister Imran Khan but against those who had brought him into power in the 2018 elections.

Pakistan's PEMRA bans speeches of 'proclaimed offenders'

When Hafiz Saeed, a Pakistani Islamist wanted in the United States and India, led a kilometre-and-a-half long caravan of supporters on an anti-India protest march across Pakistan to the capital this week, the story was not aired by local TV channels. 
 
Also absent from the airwaves earlier this year were images of the nearly 100,000 hardliners who packed the funeral of executed assassin Mumtaz Qadri, hailing him a hero for killing a governor who advocated reforming Pakistan&#39;s draconian blasphemy laws. 
 
The blackouts are the most vivid examples of changing editorial behaviour prompted by a little-reported provision in Pakistan&#39;s National Action Plan, a counter-terrorism strategy that in effect bans broadcast media from covering Islamist militants. 
 
But in a country with a fast-growing but still young broadcast media, Pakistan&#39;s critics worry that rules intended to fight militancy will spill over into wider limits on criticism of the government or powerful military that could undermine a fragile democracy. 
 
&quot;Projecting militants is undesirable but a blackout does not serve the public interest,&quot; said Raza Rumi, a Pakistani broadcast journalist who is currently a scholar-in-residence at Ithaca College in the United States. 
 
&quot;For public accountability it is important that carefully edited information on militants is aired so that the public can assess the efficacy of state operations against terrorism.&quot; 
 
Pakistan announced the 20-point National Action Plan after Taliban gunmen attacked a military-run school in the northwestern city of Peshawar in December 2014 and killed 134 children and 19 adults. 
 
The plan&#39;s main thrusts include expanded counter-terrorism raids, secret military courts and the resumption of hangings. 
But it also contains clauses banning &quot;glorification of terrorism and terrorist organisations through print and electronic media&quot; and calling for &quot;measures against abuse of internet and social media for terrorism&quot;. 
 
Media Regulatory Authority warns against usage of provocative content 
 
Under the plan, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has sent dozens of warning letters to TV networks in recent months, and imposed fines for airing content that incites religious hatred or promotes violence. 
 
This included fining a channel whose host likened members of the Hindu minority to &quot;dogs&quot; and issuing warnings to a popular news station that interviewed a woman who said she had gone to Syria to join the Islamic State. 
 
PEMRA chief Absar Alam, a former journalist, told Reuters banning such content was not censorship but rather &quot;a call to be responsible&quot;. 
 
&quot;I&#39;ve worked in Pakistan, I&#39;ve worked for international organisations but I haven&#39;t seen the kind of irresponsibility and violation of codes as in Pakistan,&quot; Alam said. 
 
&quot;We want Pakistani media to avoid promoting extremist views. There should be balance.&quot; 
On Qadri&#39;s funeral, Alam said he did not order a media blackout, but merely issued a reminder of the law&#39;s provisions. &quot;It was a warning, not a single word asks them to stop covering news,&quot; he said. 
 
But some worry that the broadcasters are also being steered away from covering legitimate stories. 
Two years ago, events such as Qadri&#39;s funeral or this week&#39;s March by Saeed, who operates with no fear of arrest despite a $10 million U.S. bounty over his alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, would have been extensively reported on TV. 
 
&quot;There seem to be quiet guidelines and you can&#39;t afford not to follow them,&quot; said Abbas Nasir, a former editor for the BBC World Service and Pakistan&#39;s Dawn newspaper. 
 
Overt censorship or quality control?&nbsp; 
 
Many journalists in Pakistan, however, support the blackout. 
&quot;Media is oxygen for militants,&quot; said a former managing director of state-owned Pakistan Television, who declined to be named because of the nature of his new job. 
 
&quot;On one hand you are trying to bleed them and then you want to keep giving them oxygen? That makes no sense.&quot; 
 
Pakistan&#39;s largest news network, Geo News, was ordered off air for 15 days by the PEMRA in 2014 - one of the few examples of overt censorship in recent years - after accusing the army&#39;s intelligence arm of an attack on one of its leading anchors. 
 
But Geo was happy to go along with the blackout in coverage of the Qadri funeral. 
 
&quot;It is a show of maturity by the media and it is not imposed,&quot; Muaaz Ahsan, chief of programming at Geo, said. &quot;There was across the board agreement that giving these elements airtime is detrimental to society at large.&quot; 
 
A few years ago, Pakistani Taliban spokesmen would call in and claim responsibility for attacks on live television. 
Today, news channels rarely even report such claims. 
 
&quot;They don&#39;t want people to know the real situation,&quot; Taliban spokesman Muhammad Khurasani told Reuters. &quot;In the near future, the whole world will see how we handle media.&quot; 
 
There have been several attacks on local TV stations since the anti-terrorism law&#39;s introduction. 
 
Since the army launched an operation against militant strongholds near the Afghan border in 2013, it has earned broad support from a Pakistani population, including its media. 
 
But while analysts support erasing militant groups from the airwaves, they say the blackout has come hand-in-hand with ignoring the alleged excesses of security forces. 
 
&quot;The media owes it to the blood of our soldiers to question what is going on, to tell all sides of the story,&quot; Abbas Nasir, the former editor, said. &quot;Otherwise we are just not doing our job.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Pakistan's broadcast media worries that rules intended to fight militancy will spill over into wider limits on criticism of the government

When Hafiz Saeed, a Pakistani Islamist wanted in the United States and India, led a kilometre-and-a-half long caravan of supporters on an anti-India protest march across Pakistan to the capital this week, the story was not aired by local TV channels. Also absent from the airwaves earlier this year were images of the nearly 100,000 hardliners who packed the funeral of executed assassin Mumtaz Qadri, hailing him a hero for killing a governor who advocated reforming Pakistan's draconian blasphemy laws. The blackouts are the most vivid examples of changing editorial behaviour prompted by a little-reported provision in Pakistan's National Action Plan, a counter-terrorism strategy that in effect bans broadcast media from covering Islamist militants. But in a country with a fast-growing but still young broadcast media, Pakistan's critics worry that rules intended to fight militancy will spill over into wider limits on criticism of the government or powerful military that could undermine a fragile democracy. "Projecting militants is undesirable but a blackout does not serve the public interest," said Raza Rumi, a Pakistani broadcast journalist who is currently a scholar-in-residence at Ithaca College in the United States. "For public accountability it is important that carefully edited information on militants is aired so that the public can assess the efficacy of state operations against terrorism." Pakistan announced the 20-point National Action Plan after Taliban gunmen attacked a military-run school in the northwestern city of Peshawar in December 2014 and killed 134 children and 19 adults. The plan's main thrusts include expanded counter-terrorism raids, secret military courts and the resumption of hangings. But it also contains clauses banning "glorification of terrorism and terrorist organisations through print and electronic media" and calling for "measures against abuse of internet and social media for terrorism". Media Regulatory Authority warns against usage of provocative content Under the plan, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has sent dozens of warning letters to TV networks in recent months, and imposed fines for airing content that incites religious hatred or promotes violence. This included fining a channel whose host likened members of the Hindu minority to "dogs" and issuing warnings to a popular news station that interviewed a woman who said she had gone to Syria to join the Islamic State. PEMRA chief Absar Alam, a former journalist, told Reuters banning such content was not censorship but rather "a call to be responsible". "I've worked in Pakistan, I've worked for international organisations but I haven't seen the kind of irresponsibility and violation of codes as in Pakistan," Alam said. "We want Pakistani media to avoid promoting extremist views. There should be balance." On Qadri's funeral, Alam said he did not order a media blackout, but merely issued a reminder of the law's provisions. "It was a warning, not a single word asks them to stop covering news," he said. But some worry that the broadcasters are also being steered away from covering legitimate stories. Two years ago, events such as Qadri's funeral or this week's March by Saeed, who operates with no fear of arrest despite a $10 million U.S. bounty over his alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, would have been extensively reported on TV. "There seem to be quiet guidelines and you can't afford not to follow them," said Abbas Nasir, a former editor for the BBC World Service and Pakistan's Dawn newspaper. Overt censorship or quality control? Many journalists in Pakistan, however, support the blackout. "Media is oxygen for militants," said a former managing director of state-owned Pakistan Television, who declined to be named because of the nature of his new job. "On one hand you are trying to bleed them and then you want to keep giving them oxygen? That makes no sense." Pakistan's largest news network, Geo News, was ordered off air for 15 days by the PEMRA in 2014 - one of the few examples of overt censorship in recent years - after accusing the army's intelligence arm of an attack on one of its leading anchors. But Geo was happy to go along with the blackout in coverage of the Qadri funeral. "It is a show of maturity by the media and it is not imposed," Muaaz Ahsan, chief of programming at Geo, said. "There was across the board agreement that giving these elements airtime is detrimental to society at large." A few years ago, Pakistani Taliban spokesmen would call in and claim responsibility for attacks on live television. Today, news channels rarely even report such claims. "They don't want people to know the real situation," Taliban spokesman Muhammad Khurasani told Reuters. "In the near future, the whole world will see how we handle media." There have been several attacks on local TV stations since the anti-terrorism law's introduction. Since the army launched an operation against militant strongholds near the Afghan border in 2013, it has earned broad support from a Pakistani population, including its media. But while analysts support erasing militant groups from the airwaves, they say the blackout has come hand-in-hand with ignoring the alleged excesses of security forces. "The media owes it to the blood of our soldiers to question what is going on, to tell all sides of the story," Abbas Nasir, the former editor, said. "Otherwise we are just not doing our job." (Reuters)

Pakistan bars extremists from airwaves, sparks censorship debate