Show cause: IHC suspends notices to three Pemra members

Court suspends notification for May 27 PEMRA meeting, holds appointment of executive member.

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday suspended Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority’s (Pemra) notification for the body’s meeting today (May 27) and the show-cause notices issued to three of its private members but also put on hold appointment of its new executive member.

The IHC judge, Justice Noorul Haq N Qureshi, was hearing petitions filed by the media watchdog’s three private members - Israr Abbasi, Mian Shams and Fareeha Iftikhar – who had been issued show-cause notices on May 22 for alleged violation of powers.

The three, along with two other private members, had met on May 20 and announced measures to suspend three Geo TV channels – Geo News, Geo Entertainment and Geo Tez – in response to a reference filed against the channel by the ministry of defence. Later, on the same day, Pemra had released a statement, disowning the decision by the members and claimed that May 20 meeting had no legal standing.

The court also suspended the notification for the appointment of Pemra’s executive member Kalimuddin Tipu. Interestingly, the same official had issued on behalf of Pemra the statement that disowned the May 20 meeting.

Justice Qureshi issued notices to the information ministry’s secretary and Tipu and asked them to submit their reply at the next hearing.

Earlier, one of the petitioners, Advocate Israr Abbasi said the ministry of information had no authority to issue show cause notices to Pemra members.

He also argued that a Grade-20 officer, Tipu, could not be appointed as an executive member, which is a Grade-21 post. He alleged that the government had violated procedures in the said appointment in order to raise the numeric strength of its loyalists in the authority.

Currently, Pemra comprises 11 members including five private members.

Mian Shams, who was also served a show-cause notice, informed the court that it was decided during the private members’ meeting on May 20 to convene the next meeting on May 28, but government members cancelled the meeting and issued a notification for a meeting on May 27.

He said the agenda for the May 27 meeting was prepared at the residence of the Pemra secretary.

“However, according to the rules, agenda of a meeting can only be finalised in the previous meeting,” he added.

The court later suspended the notification of the May 27 meeting and put off the matter until the next hearing, the date of which is due to be fixed by the registrar office.


Published in The Express Tribune, May 27^th, 2014.