Why is there talk of shutting down satellite channels in Pakistan before the 2023 election bugle? Why is the talk of satellite channels being stopped for the first time before the 2023 election in Pakistan?

New Delhi:

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), which monitors Pakistan’s media, has banned the broadcast of three major Pakistani channels within a month. He said that the reason for this ban was not getting security clearance from the Home Ministry. Just last week, BOL News and BOL Entertainment went off air, shortly before that, ARY went off air. The government wants to keep the people in front of the people, but Imran Khan is attacking the government. Imran Khan says that the ban on broadcasting of these news channels has been imposed to stop their coverage. PEMRA has decided to review all records, court orders and notices of the Ministry of Home Affairs and to cancel the licenses of Bol News and Bol Entertainment with immediate effect, PEMRA said in a statement.

Why is the Pakistan government taking away media freedom?

If we talk about media freedom, according to a report of the World Press Freedom Index 2022, there has been a decline in media freedom in Pakistan compared to the year 2021. In the year 2021, Pakistan was ranked 145th in the World Press Freedom Index, which has dropped to 157th this year. According to the Freedom Network, from May 2021 to April 2022, there have been at least 86 cases of attacks on journalists and the press and volunteering in Pakistan. Last year, a well-known Pakistani journalist “Hamid Mir” made remarks against the Pakistani military that led to him being taken off air and later forced to apologize. In addition, many media personalities have been forced to leave Pakistan by Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies and have had to leave their country and take refuge abroad. One of the journalists expelled from the country is Taha Siddiqui who recently issued a statement to the Pakistani media. Siddiqui said that journalists in Pakistan are in danger. They are living in danger of kidnapping, they are living in danger of assault, they are losing their jobs, there is financial kind of blackmailing happening.

Is Shahbaz Sharif afraid of Imran Khan’s popularity?

The news coming out from Pakistan for the last few days seems that Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif is scared of the popularity of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in view of the 2023 elections. The Media Regulatory Authority of Pakistan has banned the broadcast of the live speech of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief has been banned for threatening an Islamabad police officer and a woman magistrate during a rally in Islamabad. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority said that only Imran Khan’s recorded speech is allowed to be broadcast, so that editorial control can be exercised. PEMRA has imposed this restriction on all satellite channels.