Pakistan

IHC suspends PEMRA notification banning airing of Imran Khan’s live speeches

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

IHC suspends PEMRA’s order till September 5.
Notices issued to PEMRA, attorney-general.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah issues order.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority’s (PEMRA) recent notification which prohibited television channels from airing PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s live speeches.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah suspended the notification till September 5 and observed that the regulatory authority “does not have the authority” to issue such orders.

Barristers Ali Zafar represented Khan at the hearing, which was headed by the IHC CJ. In it, the PTI lawyer argued that Khan wanted to do a live telethon later today to raise funds for flood affectees.

After hearing the arguments, the IHC chief justice suspended the notification and issued notices to the regulatory authority and Attorney-General of Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf Ali.

The PEMRA ban came into place on August 21 after the PTI chairman threatened state institutions and government officials with serious consequences.

PEMRA’s notification said that Khan’s addresses are in open violation of the regulator’s rules and Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan.

According to the regulator, the ban has been put in place under Section 27 of the PEMRA Ordinance 2002. The PEMRA notification cited Khan’s speech at the F9 Park, Islamabad as the reason behind the ban.

Apart from the ban, Khan is also facing contempt of court proceedings for threatening Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry during the same speech.

The IHC has constituted a five-member larger bench to hear the contempt of court case against the former prime minister and issued a notice to him to appear before the court on August 31.

‘Cannot ban speeches based on objectionable comments’

During today’s hearing, the IHC chief justice mentioned that PEMRA “cannot ban speeches based on objectionable comments” and if someone is seeking action, contempt of court proceedings are already underway.

The judge also mentioned that whatever was happening in the case of PTI leader Shahbaz Gill was not right and that torture could not be accepted in any form.

“The culture of our police stations is torture […] when the executive is in power, they forget that in police stations, people get tortured,” the IHC chief justice mentioned.

But Justice Minallah also said that the “biggest torture” in the country is the missing person issue — and he has time and again put blame on the governments in this regard.

He told Khan’s counsel that the PTI “spoiled” its own case of torture regarding Gill when the former prime minister delivered the hard-hitting speech.

Business

Price of LPG “slashed” by Rs. 20 per kilogram

Published

15 hours ago

Farwa

Sources claim that LPG rates have been lowered by Rs 20, making the cost per kilogram drop from Rs 280 to Rs 260.

It is noteworthy to remark that the costs of LPG were reduced by Rs 20 per kilogram earlier, resulting in a total reduction of Rs 40 per kilogram within a few weeks.

The price of liquefied petroleum gas for the month of May 2024 was lowered by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on April 30.

The LPG tariffs were lowered by Rs 11.88 to Rs 238.46 per kilogram in accordance with the OGRA’s notice. On Wednesday, May 1, 2024, the new rates will go into effect.

In April of last year, the price per kilogram of LPG was Rs 250.34. pricing reduction of Rs 140.18 has resulted in a new pricing for home LPG cylinders set for May 2024 of Rs 2813.85.

The OGRA reported a drop in liquefied petroleum gas pricing in April. The price of LPG is now Rs 250.34 per kg instead of Rs 256.78 due to a reduction of Rs 6.44 per kg.

The price of the household cylinder was fixed at Rs 2954.03 for the month of April, down from Rs 3030.12, a decrease of Rs 76.9.

Business

ADB delegation stops by FBR headquarters

Published

15 hours ago

Farwa

Senior Director ADB Tariq Niazi oversaw the expedition, which also involved Sana Masood, Farzana Noshab, and Senior Public Sector Management Specialist Laisiasa Tora. The meeting included presentations from economists as well, according to an FBR press release.

The officers focused on structural and policy adjustments as they discussed the Domestic Resource Mobilization Program’s implementation at the meeting.

$300 million was given to the Pakistani government by ADB in December 2023 as a result of the hard work and dedication of FBR. Better laws, regulations, and institutional capability for the FBR were established by Sub-Program I.

With the $300 million in funding provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to the Government of Pakistan in December 2023, the delegation conveyed satisfaction with the program’s effective launch.

The FBR also underlined how crucial digitization is to recording the economy and boosting productivity in a sustainable way.

In order to promote the Government of Pakistan’s Digital Tax Administration Project, both parties decided to look into measures to improve their cooperation.

Latest News

Off-duty police in Islamabad are prohibited from donning uniforms.

Published

15 hours ago

Farwa

The new directives, according to specifics, were sent via wireless by the federal capital police and state that no officer may wear a uniform when reporting for duty or leaving it.

According to the police official, uniforms will only be worn when on duty; otherwise, two policemen will accompany each other during duty hours and will always be required to carry guns.

A different development was the earlier release of an app by the Islamabad Police with the goal of improving crime prevention and public safety.

Launched on the orders of former Interior Minister Sarfraz Akbar Bugti, the recently released ICT-15 app aims to empower the people of the capital city by giving them the ability to actively engage in the battle against crime and protect their areas.

Residents of Islamabad can now easily download and utilize the ICT-15 app because it is easily accessible on the Google Play Store.

Citizens can report a variety of issues with this easy-to-use application, such as incidents, unlawful behavior, complaints against law enforcement, the presence of undocumented people, or any suspicious criminal activity.

The police promise quick reaction times as soon as information is reported using the app, so assistance will be provided as quickly as feasible.