Media accountability case: SC summons acting PEMRA chairman

Justice Khwaja questions how the acting chairman could handle affairs of the body for two years.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has summoned Pakistan Electronic Media Regularity Authority’s (Pemra) acting chairman, Abdul Jabbar, to appear on Wednesday and explain why a chairman has not been appointed since two years, reported Express News.

The bench, comprising Justice Jawad S Khwaja and Justice Khilji Arif, was hearing applications seeking media’s accountability.

Justice Khwaja questioned how the acting chairman could handle affairs of the body for two years.

During the hearing, anchorperson Hamid Mir told the bench that the journalists, who Pemra had allegedly contacted before drafting media’s code of conduct, have denied being contacted.

The hearing has been adjourned till tomorrow (Wednesday).

The petition, filed by TV anchors Mir and Absar Alam, prayed to the Supreme Court to form a commission that will be responsible for inquiring about the source of income of TV channel owners, advertising agencies and anchorpersons.

The petition stated that secret funds of various ministries are being used to manipulate the media, and asked the court to make the details of such funds public.