Ministry of Defence | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

IHC rejects petition to halt journalists demo plan

Pakistan Press Foundation

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court Thursday turned down a petition in which the petitioner had prayed the court to issue directions to the authorities to halt a suggested sit-in by the journalists in front of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) office. A single bench of IHC comprising Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddique dismissed the petition of Azhar […]


Helicam banned for covering city events

Pakistan Press Foundation

LAHORE: The City District Government of Lahore on Monday banned the use of helicam or drone cameras for covering various events in the city, imposing Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). However, the ban will not be applicable to media organisations if they get prior permission from the CDGL. Know more: The ‘other’ […]


Defence ministry hints at appealing Pemra decision

Pakistan Press Foundation

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said the ministry will appeal against a decision of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) suspending transmission of Geo TV for a fortnight and imposing a Rs10 million fine on the channel. In a statement, he said the “Ministry of Defence is absolutely not satisfied with the penalty […]


Black day for Pak journalism; freedom of expression suppressed

Pakistan Press Foundation

KARACHI: Masood Raza, while speaking as host of Geo News programme ‘Aaj Kamran Khan Kay Sath’, said that Friday happened to be the black day for Pakistani journalism because the right to free speech was suppressed. Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) took a unilateral decision by suspending Geo News licence for 15 days and […]


Media mess — III

Pakistan Press Foundation

While the media mess is now squarely in the courts, the government support to Geo and the reservations of the ministry of defence are backed by the public. The shortcomings of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) are being exposed. It is important that we put our heads together and try to find a […]


UK minister says media freedom cannot be curbed

Pakistan Press Foundation

LONDON: Britain’s Secretary of the State for Work and Pensions Iain Duncan Smith has said that freedom of the press is fundamentally important to protect all kinds of freedoms and no government or authority shall be allowed to take away these freedoms under any excuse or pretext. The senior Tory leader and UK government figure […]


FIR order against journalists unlawful

Pakistan Press Foundation

ISLAMABAD: The unanimous opinion of legal experts is that the additional sessions judge and the Justice of Peace Islamabad, who passed an order under section 22-A Cr.PC to register an FIR against journalists under the treason and terrorism acts, is unlawful and the JP didn’t fulfil the requirements of the law. The JP has transgressed […]


Govt, media, army must work together for country: Nawaz

Pakistan Press Foundation

LONDON: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that the government, media and army must work together for the country to take Pakistan out of the multifarious and serious crises facing the motherland. Answering a question from ‘The News’ after addressing a conference of investors here, the premier said that all the institutions, including the media […]


UK rally backs Hamid Mir, warns against ban on Geo

Pakistan Press Foundation

LONDON: Pakistanis in Britain have called on the government of Pakistan to ensure that Hamid Mir gets justice through a thorough and completely transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding a well-planned gun attack aimed at ending his life in Karachi a week ago. At a large rally held outside Pakistan High Commission here, British Pakistanis […]


IHC, LHC dismiss pleas for ban on Geo, Jang Group

Pakistan Press Foundation

ISLAMABAD: Justice Riaz Ahmad Khan of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) here on Friday dismissed the petition of a local journalist, seeking ban on Geo television. The petitioner named the Federation of Pakistan through secretary Ministry of Defence, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) Mir Ibrahim Rehman, chief executive officer Geo TV, Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman, Amir […]


FO condemns attack on Hamid Mir

Pakistan Press Foundation

ISLAMABAD: While the Defense Ministry wants to ban Geo and Jang Group newspapers, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thursday showed some compassion when it condemned attack on Hamid Mir. At the weekly media briefing, the spokesperson was reminded that the US State Department, Reporters without Borders and the Amnesty International had condemned the brutal attack […]


IFJ Condemns Call to Shut Down Pakistan’s Largest TV Station

Pakistan Press Foundation

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned a request from the Pakistan Ministry of Defence for the government to shut down the country’s largest television news station, Geo. According to media reports, on Tuesday, 22 April, in the first action of its kind, the Ministry of Defence requested that the government invoke media regulations […]


Government moves to cancel license of country’s largest television network

Pakistan Press Foundation

In the aftermath of allegations and counter allegations following the April 19 attempted murder of popular anchor Hamid Mir, Pakistan government sought to ban the country’s largest television channel on the complaint initiated by the country’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) agency. On April 22, 2014 the federal Ministry of Defence filed a reference with Pakistan […]


ISI and media infighting

Pakistan Press Foundation

IN the bizarre, whiplash-inducing fallout of the Hamid Mir shooting, an alarming new twist has occurred: the Ministry of Defence — really, the army/ISI leadership — has petitioned Pemra to cancel the TV licence of Geo News while also calling for action against the Jang group’s flagship newspapers under the defamation and press laws of […]