The notice was issued on a petition filed by an NGO, Democracy and Governance Commission, which cited ministry of information and broadcasting, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and more than two dozen cable operators of Karachi as respondents.
The petitioner maintained that PEMRA as a regulatory authority failed in its primary function when it failed to stop the cable operators from blocking various television channels including BBC, CNN, Sky news, Fox news, etc.
The act of respondent cable operators was illegal and in violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under different articles of the Constitution of Pakistan, the petitioner maintained adding that PEMRA wilfully and deliberately ignored this violation by cable operators.
The court was prayed to the direct PEMRA to take action against cable operators and ensure that such foreign news channels are made available to Pakistani viewers.
The court was also requested to direct the PEMRA to impose penalty on cable operators in accordance with PEMRA Ordinance 2002 and PEMRA Rules 2009.
The bench after initial arguments by NGO counsel Zahid Jamil ordered issuance of pre-admission notice to DAG for an unspecified date.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 15th, 2011.
Correction: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of the story named 'Zahid Jamil' as 'Shahid Jamil'. The error has been rectified.
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