Post-Bin Laden: Lawyer wants PEMRA to not broadcast footage

Lawyer wants PEMRA to ban footage being aired until confidence-inspiring footage is made available to the public.

KARACHI:

A lawyer, Sohail Hameed, has filed a petition in the Sindh High Court, asking the government to prevent Pakistani and international television channels from airing footage of the operation in which Osama bin Laden was killed.

He has argued that the alleged killing of Bin Laden has yet to be proven. Until confidence-inspiring footage is made available, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) should be asked to prevent other footage from being aired.

He named the Secretary of Defence, Chief of Army Staff and other top leaders as respondents.

No person detained or arrested during the raid was produced before the media. No fingerprints of Osama bin Laden were stated to be taken to establish his identity, the petitioner said.

The body was thrown into the sea to destroy all evidence. The entire drama was staged to ridicule Pakistani security agencies and to project Pakistan as a “sanctuary for terrorists”, he argued.

The petition is likely to be heard on Friday.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 5^th, 2011.