I’m not sure if anyone understands the events involving the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) and Geo Network which unfolded on Tuesday evening.
Since the announcement Geo News was unavailable on my cable network despite the fact that Pemra’s administration declared the suspension of Geo licenses, announced barely a few hours before by some of its members, void.
The awkward press conference in which the suspension of three of the network’s television licenses was announced seemed both rushed and ill-prepared and the media address was soon followed by a statement from the press information department of the regulatory body which disowned the suspension declaring it ‘null and void’.
The entire exercise by Pemra members going back and forth reeked of mismanagement, lack of professionalism and disorganisation, with new pair of flip flops clearly in order.
Also Read: Pemra disowns members’ decision to suspend Geo licences
The rules are simple; either the chairman of the body, and at present there isn’t one, or more than half of its members need to be present to call a meeting.
Since Pemra comprises of 12 members, at least seven would be required for the meeting to have a legal standing. There were, however, only five present as Israr Abbasi claimed but only three appeared on camera after the deliberations.
Now, after a meeting has been called in accordance with Pemra rules, clause 4 of the body's ordinance reads that the quorum is complete for decision making with one third of the members present i.e. any four members.
Also read: Media crisis turns into Pemra chaos
This is evidently not what happened on Tuesday.
Pemra members' clear manipulation by insisting the meeting and its decisions were legal is nothing short of a mockery of a process that should have been executed with some modicum of propriety and not the chaos that we had to witness.
Instead, what we saw was a crude delivery of the body’s ruling exacerbating an already precarious situation.
The regulatory body, whatever that has come to mean in this case, is to decide on the network’s fate on the 28th of this month with the principal set of allegations against Geo involving the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and a morning show which is seen to have hurt religious sentiments. However, what we witnessed on Tuesday night has left many of us wondering if the authority in its current constitution is fit to do the job.
The spectacle went on for a couple of hours with Pemra member Israr Abbasi keeping the audience “dazed and confused” for a better part of the evening and later the body’s executive member Kalimuddin Tipu declaring the entire exercise illegal.
In these circumstances, can a Pemra which is dangling between legally and illegally summoned meetings of five or seven members and is dishing out suspension orders that it takes back be trusted with deciding what people should or should not be watching on television?
It is hard to tell whether Pemra has learned much from Tuesday’s debacle and if it would perhaps opt to avoid a confrontational route and call for a constructive approach to the issue. The body would do well to better train journalists and those engaged in television programming if its aim is indeed to ensure improvement in “the standards of information, education and entertainment”.
Meanwhile, it is equally prudent to mention that an outright ban against Geo or any network is not in the best interest of a free media, something that many have fought for decades to ensure.
Amidst the noise that has clouded our television screens in the past several days, the calls for finding responsibility in the attack on Geo anchorman Hamid Mir have gotten lost.
It is important to look for answers and not forget what happened.