The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority’s (PEMRA) notification prohibiting the live telecast of speeches by former premier Imran Khan was suspended on Monday by the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
When hearing the ex-prime minister and leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) challenge the ban, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah noted that it initially looks that PEMRA went above its powers. The PEMRA and the Pakistani attorney general received a notice from the IHC. Justice Minallah continued by saying that Imran Khan’s speech should not currently be prohibited for any legitimate reason. Any such injunction cannot be issued by the PEMRA.
The notification was suspended pending the outcome of the next hearing, which is scheduled for September 5. The court additionally ordered PEMRA to designate an officer to present and defend the issuing of the notification. PTI attorney Ali Zafar testified during today’s session that Imran Khan is currently soliciting donations for flood victims, particularly from Pakistanis living abroad. He cannot deliver a speech in real-time though. Imran Khan’s remarks, according to PEMRA’s notification, are against the interests of the country.
The court then ordered to read a notification from PEMRA that claimed Imran had threatened the additional district and sessions judge Zeba Chaudhry, the IG, and the DIG. The court noted following the reading of the notification that do you defend Imran Khan’s remarks. The court upholds the right to free speech, but some topics are not covered. Justice Minallah questioned the PTI’s allegations of torture against PTI leader Shahbaz Gill. How many instances of torture that surfaced during the past three years, when the PTI was in power, were reported to the cabinet? Do you not believe that torture has been occurring for the last three years? Can the inferior judiciary be intimidated in this way after a journalist was kidnapped from Lahore and brutally tortured?
This court has been committed to enhancing all courts for the previous three years. I have to admit, though, that this behavior was completely unexpected. Everyone would have been detained under PECA (Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act) if it hadn’t been repealed, according to Justice Minallah. The current government, which had been impacted in the past three years, is itself doing the same thing, the IHC CJ stated.
The plea was submitted by the party chief’s attorneys earlier today, asking the court to reverse the ban’s order. Imran had asked for judicial action to be taken against individuals involved in the violence against party member Shahbaz Gill, the appeal stated. It went on to say that the PTI chief’s speech was misinterpreted as hate speech and that as a citizen, I had the legal right to file a lawsuit. Imran’s position to demand legal action against those accountable for Gill’s “suffering,” according to the petition, does not constitute hate speech. A ban on all satellite TV networks airing the PTI leader’s live statements had earlier been issued by the PEMRA.
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 notification prohibiting the live telecast of speeches by former premier Imran Khan was suspended on Monday by the Islamabad High Court (IHC).){kind=link}