2 min read . 23 Feb 2023
Sounak Mukhopadhyay
The Shehbaz Sharif administration is preoccupied with its protracted fight with ousted PM Imran Khan. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
The Shehbaz Sharif administration is preoccupied with its protracted fight with ousted PM Imran Khan. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority has banned the coverage of terrorist attacks on TV channels.
Pakistan has made it illegal for TV networks to report on terrorist strikes. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), which gave the directive, requested TV networks to abide by the PEMRA's 2015 Electronic Media Code of Conduct.
Terrorism and political unrest are exacerbating Pakistan, which is already reeling with economic disaster. Investors are concerned that recent militant strikes in Pakistan and the country's ongoing replacement of its finance minister would lead to a return of extremism.
Along with the military's historic control over the country's politics, the Shehbaz Sharif administration is preoccupied with its protracted fight with ousted PM Imran Khan. At a time when many Pakistanis can't buy bread, Khan, who was shot in the leg while leading a protest march in November, is calling for new national elections.
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A five-person committee was previously created by Pakistani police to look into the attack on the Karachi police chief's office and to keep track of the case's development. On February 17, an attack occurred on the Karachi Police office.
Four individuals were killed, and 19 others were hurt in the hours-long battle between law enforcement and terrorists. The three terrorists from the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, on the other hand, were all dead.
Now, PEMRA’s ban on covering terrorist attacks as it has “observed with grave concern" that satellite TV channels are unable to adhere to the Electronic Media Code of Conduct-2015 rules in letter and spirit despite repeated requests. It criticises the “marathon" coverage of “unfortunate" incidents like a blast or an explosion.
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Such coverage ignores “basic journalist norms and ethics just to take lead", says PEMRA in its directive while censuring the urge to take “credit of being first in breaking news and airing live images of the crime scene".
Without consulting the local security agencies, the information broadcast on the news channels is speculative and unsubstantiated, according to PEMRA. Hence, such reporting spreads unnecessary confusion and terror among viewers, both domestically and among Pakistanis living overseas, it added.
By publicising their campaign, terrorists are able to further their ideological goals by using the media as a platform for political advertising when such instances are reported, PEMRA said. Terrorist organisations benefit from media coverage of such events since it enables a particular group to demonstrate its might and audacity in comparison to its competitors, according to PEMRA.
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Pakistan
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