By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s broadcast regulator on Saturday suspended the licence of Geo News for 15 days, taking the country’s most widely watched Urdu-language television channel off the air after it broadcast footage during a Muharram transmission that authorities said was liable to hurt the religious sentiments of viewers.
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) issued the order to the chief executive of Independent Media Corporation, Geo News’ parent company, with immediate effect.
The order, issued under Section 30 of the PEMRA Ordinance 2002, said the broadcast constituted “a serious regulatory concern” due to religious, cultural and social sensitivities, citing findings from the authority’s monitoring wing.
PEMRA found the content to be inconsistent with several provisions of the Ordinance, including Section 20(b), which requires licensees to preserve “national, cultural, social and religious values and the principles of public policy as enshrined in the Constitution,” and Section 20(c), which bars content that contains or encourages religious discrimination or sectarianism. The regulator also said the broadcast violated a directive it had issued on June 15 regarding observance of the sanctity of Muharramul Haram.
All satellite operators and distribution service licensees were ordered to immediately remove Geo News from their networks and platforms for the duration of the suspension.
PEMRA referred the matter to its Council of Complaints for examination, a formal hearing and recommendations, including possible further regulatory action. The authority also directed Geo News to conduct an internal inquiry into the editorial, monitoring and compliance failures that led to the broadcast and to present its findings and corrective measures before the Council.
GEO APOLOGISES
Geo News issued an unconditional apology, calling the incident a “grave editorial error” that was entirely unintentional and did not reflect the channel’s editorial stance or institutional values.
The disputed footage was broadcast during a special Muharram transmission titled Safar-e-Ishq on the 10th of Muharram. The channel said the material had depicted certain rituals practised by a limited number of people in Iraq and some other Middle Eastern countries, and was neither produced by the channel nor aired with any deliberate intent or objective.
“What happened was wrong. We do not seek to defend, minimise, or rationalise it,” the channel said in a statement. It added that the content had been removed immediately after the error was identified internally, before any regulatory or public pressure had emerged.
The broadcaster issued show-cause notices to the reporter and the editorial committee members responsible for the lapse, and said a formal inquiry and disciplinary proceedings had been initiated in line with its internal policies.
Geo News said it had strengthened its editorial approval procedures by introducing additional review mechanisms, enhanced supervision and tighter compliance checks to reduce the risk of a recurrence.
HISTORY CITED
Noting its position as the most widely watched Urdu-language news channel in the world, Geo News said that “every aspect of our programming is examined closely” and that it accepted the heightened responsibility this entailed. The channel cited its record of dedicated religious programming — including Ramazan transmissions, Hajj coverage and special programmes during Muharram, Rabi-ul-Awwal and other Islamic occasions — as evidence of its long-standing commitment to its Muslim audience.
“One regrettable mistake should not overshadow years of responsible work,” the channel said, while acknowledging that human error in a 24-hour news operation, though an inevitable reality, could never serve as a justification.
PEMRA’s order leaves open the possibility of penalties beyond the current suspension, with its Council of Complaints empowered to recommend further regulatory action following its hearing.
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