Broadcast drama: Team to visit Dubai to verify Geo’s claim

PEMRA issues warning to channel to resume its transmission from Dubai or face legal consequences.

ISLAMABAD:

A team will be sent to Dubai to verify a private channel’s claim of broadcasting Geo Super’s programmes from the Gulf state’s Media City.

The verification team would comprise of representatives from Pemra, Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) and an independent media person, who would visit Dubai to confirm the media group’s claim of airing programmes from there for the last three months.  It was decided at a meeting of the National Assembly Sub-Committee of the Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting on Wednesday.

The group had earlier claimed to air the sports channel from Dubai and not Pakistan, whereas PEMRA rejected its claim. Pemra Chairman Dr Abdul Jabbar said that the media group wants to air its’ channel from Pakistan, which is illegal as it is already airing four channels nationally and can not run another “If Jang group wants to continue  Geo Super’s transmission from Pakistan, then it has to surrender licences of the other channels”.  Operating fifth channel from Pakistan is a violation of law.

Pemra chairman said that the group has been misleading the public. “The fact of the matter is that the channel has been illegally operating from Pakistan since day one and was never on-air from Dubai, from where it had obtained licence”. He said Pemra was ready to provide an uplinking facility to the channel within 15 minutes if it resumes broadcast from the Gulf state.

He suggested to form a
team to visit Dubai and resolve the issue.

The committee chairperson, Chaudhry Syed Iqbal agreed to form a committee that would visit Dubai and look into the matter. “If the channel is not being aired from there, then the matter will be referred to Pemra to deal with it according to the law”, he said.

The Pemra chief also added that Jang group has instead started to pressurize the government to hide its illegal transmission from Pakistan. The other members of the sub-committee were MNAs Shireen Arshad Khan and Farhad Muhammad Khan.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2011.