Contempt of court continues as ARY News yet to be restored on SHC orders

The contempt of court is continued as the private news channel ARY News is yet to be restored following the Sindh High Court (SHC) orders that had been issued for the second time.

Yesterday, the Sindh High Court (SHC) ordered concerned authorities to immediately restore ARY News, however, no progress was made on the implementation of the SHC directives.

The transmission of the private news channel is still suspended across Pakistan after it was restored in some parts of the country.

Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) said it was not responsible was suspending the news channel’s transmission and sought the SHC to remove the contempt of court allegations against its chairman.

According to ARY News, the Sindh High Court (SHC) ordered the PEMRA and cable operators to immediately restore the transmission of ARY News on Tuesday.

The SHC single-judge bench headed by Justice Aqeel Abbasi heard the plea and issued directives to PEMRA and cable operators to immediately restore the ARY News transmission.

The court has directed the media regulatory authority to take action against cable operaters, who defy the Sindh High Court’s decision.

During the hearing, Justice Aqeel Abbasi should take action as per rules and court orders. “The PEMRA should utilize its broad powers to implement the court’s decision,” the judge said, asking how can a cable operator defy PEMRA’s instructions.

Meanwhile, PEMRA counsel urged the SHC to suspend contempt notice against the authority’s Chairman. “At least, he should be exempted from his attendance tomorrow”, he added.

To which, the channel’s lawyer Ayyan Memon noted that the contempt petition against Chairman PEMRA will be withdrawn when he implements the SHC decision.

It is pertinent to mention here in a new move against the journalist fraternity, the Ministry of Interior cancelled the NOC of ARY News without serving any notice.

Analysts said that it was sorrowful to witness the non-implementation of the SHC orders for the second time which is tantamount to contempt of court. Surprisingly, no one from the concerned authorities and cable operators were claiming responsibility for the move, then who will be held responsible for the contempt of court in the coming days, they questioned.