Top court summons Faisal Raza Abidi tomorrow over 'anti-judiciary' remarks

PEMRA bans private channel's programme for three months, slaps Rs1m fine for broadcasting the remarks

ISLAMABAD: The top court issued on Tuesday a contempt notice to former senator Faisal Raza Abidi over his reported use of derogatory language against the judiciary on a private television channel.

The three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar will take up the matter on Wednesday.

Abidi, during a News@8 programme aired on Channel 5, could be heard talking in a derogatory tone against a former top judge. 

Furthermore, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) also banned the channel's aforementioned programme for three months, in addition to imposing a fine of Rs1million.

The authority has also directed the channel to air an apology on the same day as the hearing. The channel has been clearly directed that any violation of the order will lead to the cancellation of its operating license.

Pemra had on April 13 issued a show cause notice to Channel 5 and sought an explanation over the reported anti-judiciary remarks.

پیمرا کا چینل 5 پر عدلیہ مخالف مواد نشر کرنے پر پروگرام "News@8" پر تین ماہ کیلئے پابندی اور دس لاکھ روپے جرمانہ pic.twitter.com/Mn0NsbITbV

— Report PEMRA (@reportpemra) April 17, 2018