LAHORE – A new petition has been submitted to the Lahore High Court, challenging the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority’s (Pemra) directive restricting TV channels from covering court proceedings. This is the fourth petition filed in high courts against the Pemra ban.
The petitions list the Pemra chairman, director general, and the federal government through the secretaries of interior and law and parliamentary affairs as respondents.
They call for the suspension, nullification, and declaration of the Pemra notification as unlawful.
The media regulator issued a notice on Tuesday prohibiting news channels from broadcasting material about ongoing court cases until final judgments are made.
Pemra’s directive bans coverage of sub judice cases, allowing only information that serves the public interest to be aired.
Additionally, Pemra instructed media outlets to avoid expressing opinions on sub judice cases and cautioned against discussing these cases in ways that might influence investigations or trials.
The authority emphasized that only information necessary for public knowledge will be permitted for broadcast.
