Anchors failing to maintain Ramazan sanctity risk life ban: IHC

Those who talk of friendship with India should be branded security risks, judge says

ISLAMABAD: No television programme flouting regulatory authority’s guidelines can be aired during Ramazan, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) declared on Wednesday.

Urging the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) for strict monitoring of all TV transmissions, the IHC ruled that the authority should take stern action against all violators.

IHC’s Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui also ruled: “No programme suggestive of containing lottery and gambling, even apparently for…Hajj or Umra tickets…shall be promoted to air either live or recorded. Programmes like Nelaam Ghar and those that appear to be like circus shows must be stopped.”

Justice Siddiqui directed Pemra and ministries of information and interior to ensure that the directives complied.

TV channels were also ordered to broadcast Azaan (Call to Prayer) five times a day.



A blanket ban was ordered on foreign-origin dramas, films and advertisements, particularly from India.

Justice Siddiqui ruled that regulations allowed television channels to telecast just 10 per cent foreign content, subject to the approval of a committee consisting secretaries and representatives of the ministries of interior, information technology, religious affairs and information with the special participation of chairmen Pemra and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

The committee, the order stated, should ensure that the aired content was not in conflict with Islamic injunctions, PEMRA rules, electronic media’s code of conduct and judgments of the superior judiciary.

Any channel, the judgment stated, found to be engaged in airing content deemed to be obscene, indecent and immoral by the regulator would be penalised in accordance with provisions of applicable laws.

Pakistan, Justice Siddiqui stated, is an Islamic Republic and an ideological state with Islam as its state religion.

Since indecency, immorality and obscenity were against the injunctions of Islam and offensive to constitutional guarantees, therefore, all law-enforcement agencies and regulatory bodies were under statutory obligation to ensure that no activity prejudicial to Islam was permitted.

No activity in individual or collective capacity of any citizen could be allowed against the glory of Islam, integrity, security or defence of Pakistan, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court or “incitement to an offence”.

Holding the state responsible for providing an atmosphere in accordance with Islamic tenets as set out in the Holy Quran and Sunnah, he ruled that the sanctity of Ramazan should not be violated and “it is expected that no channel shall air any programme that may disrupt the spirit of this month”.

The order also ruled out airing of advertisements at least five minutes prior to Iftar shall be aired and instead Darood Sharif and a prayer for the solidarity, prosperity, peace and tranquillity of the country, well-being of all its citizens and call for promoting tolerance, forgiveness, sacrifice and acceptance of prayers.

All channels and Pemra licensees were expected that the sanctity and spirit of Ramazan was not compromised by any host or guest, either through their appearances or any act or spoken words, the judgment stated.

The court told the committee concerned to file a compliance report on the completion of the first 10 days of Ramazan.

Meanwhile, counsel for Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) Barrister Ali Zafar argued that PBA and Pemra had voluntarily agreed to a code of conduct under another Supreme Court verdict and if any channel violated Pemra law or the code of conduct, the regulatory authority could take action against that particular channel in accordance with the law.

He said that if any channel considered that Pemra had taken a wrong action, it could challenge the authority’s order before the high court. However, he said, the court was not a regulator.

“Neither the court has authority to take over Pemra’s role and pass directions on the programming of channels, nor can it (the court) direct which programmes can or cannot be aired,” he said, adding that this is solely Pemra’s role.

Zafar maintained that matters of controlling media and entertainment industry and determining what was obscene or indecent or against Islamic values or against the integrity of Pakistan are all matters of policy and fall within the domain of the executive, which must act in accordance with law, and not the court.



“No generalised standard of what is decent or indecent, obscene or not obscene or against the Islamic values or ideology of Pakistan can be laid down or applied by the court,” he asserted.

He believed that if such petitions were allowed, all forms of bigotry would be deemed to have a moral basis for the law to abolish freedom of speech and expression and freedom of the press, which was enshrined in the Constitution as a fundamental right.

He added that the court had no jurisdiction to generally decide on what was moral or decent and which programmes fall or do not fall into this category.

Moreover, morality and decency are relative and individuals might have different perceptions, so the court could not impose its own sense of morality and indecency on the general public.

“Today, it is the choice of the people to watch or not to watch a particular programme and the court cannot ban any particular kind of show,” he concluded.

During the hearing, Justice Siddiqui remarked that TV hosts indulging in antics not befitting the sanctity of Ramazan risked being banned for life.

These remarks were made by Justice Siddiqui while hearing a code-of-conduct petition challenging morning shows and Ramazan broadcasts.

Justice Siddiqui directed Pemra to serve notices on anchors Amir Liaquat Hussain, Faisal Qureshi, Fahad Mustafa, Sahir Lodhi and Waseem Badami and others on this account. The judge said they could face a lifetime ban if they failed to respect the sanctity of Ramazan.

Justice Siddiqui remarked that fashion models delivered sermons in Ramazan, adding that Pemra should ensure only PhD scholars delivered talks on Islamic issues.

Pakistan ideology and ideological frontiers are violated with impunity, he said.

This decision came in response to petitions filed by advocates Waqas Malik, Haider Malik, Chaudhry Asghar Ali, Hafiz Farmanullah, Syed Iqbal Hashmi, Sajid Mahmood Shah, Sohail Akhtar, and Inamur Rahiem.

Petitioners cited Article 2 of the Constitution, saying that the basic law guaranteed that the state shall enable the people of Pakistan to live their lives in accordance with the teachings of Islam.

They said that public homes were invaded by vulgarity on TV channels and the people were helpless. Foreign content, they contended, was being aired by television channels, affecting national language and culture.

The petitioners requested the court to put a stop to vulgarity and immorality on television channels, particularly during the Ramazan transmissions and morning shows.