PEMRA Serves Notice To TVOne For ‘Objectionable’ Dance In Sahir Lodhi’s Show

A day after Geo was served a show cause notice for airing an inappropriate scene, regulator watchdog PEMRA on Thursday issued one to TVOne for violation of PEMRA Ordinance 2002.

Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has taken action against Sahir Lodhi’s morning show which airs on TV One. PEMRA has issued a show cause notice to TVOne for Sahir’s ‘objectionable’ dance with a girl in the morning show.

The dance went on air in the program Aap Ka Sahir, featuring the host Sahir Lodhi and a girl, whose name PEMRA did not mention. The regulator said the host was doing such acts on a regular basis and a number of complaints have been received against him.

The notice states, that TV One was in violation of PEMRA Ordinance 2002 which states that private channels have to maintain ethical standards. The scenes aired were a violation of its rules and regulations and the code of conduct for electronic media.

TV One has been given the deadline of March 29, 2017 to reply PEMRA with an answer as to why the license holder violated its terms. The channel might have to adhere to one of the following penalties:

1) According to Section 27, shut down the program “Aap ka Sahir”
2) In accordance with Section 29, pay a fine of Rs. 1 million
3) In accordance with Section 30, cancel TV One’s license

The channel also has to answer whether Sahir Lodhi wants to explain the situation himself.

On the other hand, Geo was handed a similar notice for its program Geo Pakistan where an inappropriate scene featuring a girl and a boy was aired live. Geo also has to answer by 29th March 2017 or it will be subjugated to either Rs. 1 million in fine or the cancellation of its license.

Rimsha Butt