ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) confirmed Monday that all TV channels are willing to comply with the authority’s notification issued last week to broadcast the Muslim call to prayers, Adhan, five times a day.
“We issued notices earlier to 45 channels and sent a final warning last week directing them to comply with Islamabad High Court orders. All are following the new guideline,” PEMRA spokesperson Mohammed Tahir told Arab News.
PEMRA had warned that non-compliance would result in suspension of the network’s television license.
On May 9 the court ordered all television channels to broadcast the call for prayer five times a day while hearing a petition on code of conduct violations by some TV networks broadcasting questionable, immoral and indecent content.
Justice Shaukat Siddiqui, the presiding judge, ruled that the state is responsible for providing an atmosphere in accordance with Islamic tenets, as set out in the Qur’an and Sunnah. He noted that the sanctity of Ramadan should not be violated and “it is expected that no channel shall air any program that may disrupt the spirit of this month.” 
He warned that channels would not be allowed to air quiz shows such as “Neelam Ghar,” the country’s most recognized program, and similar shows during Ramadan.
“No program suggestive of containing lottery and gambling, even apparently for…Hajj or Umra tickets…shall be permitted to air either live or recorded,” said Siddiqui, adding “programs like Nelaam Ghar (now named Bazm-e-Tariq Aziz) and those that appear to be like circus shows must be stopped.”
He objected to channels running entertainment, music, dance and adverts during prayer time, and banned foreign content.
Some of the channels summoned to court are ARY, Filmazia Entertainment, BOL TV, TV One, and GEO for airing Indian content and game shows, the PEMRA spokesperson said.
While PEMRA has said there is no rule making it compulsory for private media channels to broadcast Adhan, the spokesperson explained it was a unilateral decision by the court that must be observed. However, he acknowledged that it would upset the preplanned programming of media outlets and hurt their revenue.
Another official who requested not to be named called the judgment “judicial activism” and pointed that the court had failed to differentiate between lottery and quiz programs. “You have to purchase a lottery ticket of some form or place something of value to gamble, but a quiz is just using your general knowledge.”
The spokesperson explained: “If three minutes are allocated five times a day to Adhan, 15 minutes are lost daily to the channels. Every minute, especially during Ramadan, is precious for TV.”
Former PEMRA Chairman Absar Alam, who resigned in December after Lahore High Court declared his appointment illegal, did not respond to Arab News’s request for a comment.
Pakistan Broadcast Association (PBA) Chairman and Dawn News CEO Shakeel Masud declined to comment, telling Arab News: “The matter is sub judice (under judicial consideration) so it won’t be appropriate for me to comment”.
But PBA’s defense counsel, Barrister Ali Zafar has argued that PEMRA was entrusted to take action against electronic media outlets, not the court.
Zafar maintained at the court hearing earlier: “Neither the court has authority to take over PEMRA’s role and pass directions on the programming of channels, nor can it direct which programs can or cannot be aired,” he said, adding that this is PEMRA’s role.