The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has stayed a Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) notification that made it mandatory for defense analysts to obtain Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) approval before appearing on television channels.
The court heard the case on the PEMRA notification, which stipulated that only retired officers of the armed forces could participate in television programmes, provided they received prior permission from the ISPR, Express News reported.
The notification, issued in 2019, drew criticism for imposing restrictions on participation of retired defense personnel in the media.
During today’s proceedings, Justice Babar Sattar issued a written order against the notice, noting that PEMRA’s legal counsel did not appear before the court.
An associate lawyer, citing the illness of a senior lawyer, requested an adjournment.
Based on the arguments presented during the hearing, the court decided to suspend the PEMRA notification.
The Islamabad High Court further stated that the suspension of notification would continue until the final decision of the case.
After the hearing, the court adjourned the case until February 11.
Earlier in September, the IHC had sought clarification on why the army’s media wing, the ISPR, had considered it a special privilege to determine defense analysts presenting views on television channels.
Justice Babar Sattar had issued a written order on the hearing of a case, challenging a Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) notification restricting defense analysis on television channels to retired military officers only.
The court also sought the original records and asked about the basis of Pemra’s notification.
He had also asked the Ministry of Defense to clarify the legal status of the ISPR and why the ISPR considered the appointment of defense analysts to be its exclusive authority.
