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Tag: Lahore High Court

  • Court permits private Pak channels to show Indian films

    MUMBAI: A Pakistani court has permitted private television channels having valid licences to show Indian movies as per their conditions of agreement with Pakistan’s regulator. In its October 2016 order, PEMRA had banned Pakistani private channels being operated through cable network from airing the Indian content.

    According to PTI, the Lahore High Court chief justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah yesterday permitted private television channels in the light of the report put by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) before the court.

    Shah passed the interim order on a petition that was filed by Leo Communication challenging the ban on telecast of Indian content on cable television network. Channels, the report stated, could be allowed to run Indian films as per clause 7.2 (ii) of License Establish & Operate Satellite TV Broadcast Channel Station.

    Petitioner’s counsel Taffazul Rizvi argued that the channels should also be allowed to telecast Indian plays as they also come under the definition of ‘entertainment’ under the licence agreement with PEMRA. A PEMRA law officer contended, seeking time to establish that ‘entertainment’ does not include ‘Indian plays’. He said the channels were allowed to run Indian films as per terms of their licence agreements with PEMRA.

    When Indian movies were being screened in cinemas in Pakistan, Justice Shah had earlier observed, what justification the government/PEMRA had to ban them on TV. The court then adjourned the hearing till 2 March.

    Also Read:

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    Pakistan gets tough on Indian DTH & content

    PEMRA raids DTH & cable operators showing Indian content

    Cable TV suspended in parts of Pakistan; Senate okays DTH plan

  • Pak DTH licence bidding stayed

    Pak DTH licence bidding stayed

    MUMBAI: The Lahore High Court reportedly stayed the DTH licence bidding process till a decision on petitions challenging PEMRA rules governing licences is taken.

    A bench headed by Justice Ayesha A. Malik issued the order suspending the DTH (direct-to-home) licence bidding process scheduled for Wednesday, Dawn reported.

    The decision was taken on similar applications filed by the Independent Newspaper Corporation and others.

    The bench had already heard the main case against the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) rules on DTH service licences and reserved its judgement.

    Some media companies had questioned the rules terming them discriminatory. They accused PEMRA of not allowing local broadcasters to participate in the bidding. PEMRA had opposed the petitions arguing that a broadcaster could not be a distributor of its own content. It would be a conflict of interests, PEMRA stated.

    Cable operators strike off

    The Cable Operators Association on Tuesday called off its strike following discussion with the minister of state for information Marriyum Aurangzeb and the Pakistan Broadcasters Association.

    COA president Khalid Arain said the government had assured them that their concern over DTH licences the issue would be addressed.

    PBA supports cable operators

    Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) chairman Mian Amir Mehmood has said that a joint committee would negotiate the terms regarding DTH with the government. He said that DTH was unfair to the cable industry and the Pakistani channels.

    If the reservations of Pakistani channels and the cable industry were not resolved, it was also decided in the meeting, the PBA members will not allow PEMRA to telecast its channels on the DTH. The PBA has also assured the cable operators of its support in case of retaliation by PEMRA, the News reported.

    Cable channels subsequently reopened throughout Pakistan.

    Also read

    Cable TV suspended in parts of Pakistan; Senate okays DTH plan

    PEMRA announces DTH licence bidders; Indian DTH eviction to continue

  • Pak DTH licence bidding stayed

    Pak DTH licence bidding stayed

    MUMBAI: The Lahore High Court reportedly stayed the DTH licence bidding process till a decision on petitions challenging PEMRA rules governing licences is taken.

    A bench headed by Justice Ayesha A. Malik issued the order suspending the DTH (direct-to-home) licence bidding process scheduled for Wednesday, Dawn reported.

    The decision was taken on similar applications filed by the Independent Newspaper Corporation and others.

    The bench had already heard the main case against the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) rules on DTH service licences and reserved its judgement.

    Some media companies had questioned the rules terming them discriminatory. They accused PEMRA of not allowing local broadcasters to participate in the bidding. PEMRA had opposed the petitions arguing that a broadcaster could not be a distributor of its own content. It would be a conflict of interests, PEMRA stated.

    Cable operators strike off

    The Cable Operators Association on Tuesday called off its strike following discussion with the minister of state for information Marriyum Aurangzeb and the Pakistan Broadcasters Association.

    COA president Khalid Arain said the government had assured them that their concern over DTH licences the issue would be addressed.

    PBA supports cable operators

    Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) chairman Mian Amir Mehmood has said that a joint committee would negotiate the terms regarding DTH with the government. He said that DTH was unfair to the cable industry and the Pakistani channels.

    If the reservations of Pakistani channels and the cable industry were not resolved, it was also decided in the meeting, the PBA members will not allow PEMRA to telecast its channels on the DTH. The PBA has also assured the cable operators of its support in case of retaliation by PEMRA, the News reported.

    Cable channels subsequently reopened throughout Pakistan.

    Also read

    Cable TV suspended in parts of Pakistan; Senate okays DTH plan

    PEMRA announces DTH licence bidders; Indian DTH eviction to continue

  • Only 22 per cent Pakistanis support freedom on the internet

    Only 22 per cent Pakistanis support freedom on the internet

    NEW DELHI: Even as the Lahore High Court in Pakistan continues to debate on whether the ban on YouTube should be lifted, a survey has revealed that a mere 22 per cent of Pakistanis want internet that is free of official censorship from the government.

     

    Pakistan scored the lowest percentage out of the 24 developing countries where the use of internet is either prohibited or limited.

     

    India did not figure in the survey as there are no restrictions on internet in this country.

     

    Pew Research Center said while Venezuela topped the list with 69 per cent wanting freedom of the internet, the other country at the bottom was Uganda with 49 per cent wanting the internet to be free.

     

    Most of the other countries in the poll said that they wanted an internet free from censorship.

    Pakistan had banned YouTube after the showing of what it termed as an offensive film, but has not lifted the ban even after the film was removed.

     

    With the ban on YouTube for the past 17 months, famous singer Ali Gul Pir has released a song ‘Kholo BC’ to mock government for its inability to lift the ban on such a useful online platform. With main focus on YouTube ban, Ali and his fellow artiste Adil Omer have touched upon various issues related to Pakistani society, its Youth and the dichotomy present in the behavior of its ruling elite.

     

    According to the US-based Pakistani website MoreMagazine, this song is perhaps the most controversial song released by Ali till date and is almost matched to the norm breaking music that was once produced by beygairat brigad, but their songs were banned in cyber space because of them mocking the Pakistan Army.

     

    A censorship-free internet is a priority for most people in emerging countries, especially the younger population, according to the Pew report.

     

    Pew Research Center interviewed nearly 22,000 people in 24 emerging and developing countries. In 22 of those 24 countries, the majority of respondents think “it is important that people have access to the internet without government censorship.”

     

    The strength of censorship opposition varied by country, as well as other factors. Support of internet freedom is prevalent in Latin American countries as well as Lebanon and Egypt, Pew said.

     

    Not surprisingly, anti-censorship sentiment tends to be strong in nations where internet use is more common, such as Chile and Argentina. The trend is reversed in less connected nations like Uganda.

     

    But two countries bucked that trend: internet-freedom support in Russia (63 per cent) and Pakistan (22 per cent) came in low compared with the level of Internet penetration in those countries.

     

    Age is also a major factor: In 14 of the 24 countries surveyed, people ages 18-29 are more likely than those 50 or older to think a free Internet is important. In nations including Russia and Lebanon, that age gap came in at 20 percentage points or more.

     

    “These age differences suggest that support for internet freedom will only become more widespread with the passage of time,” Pew said in its report.