Musharraf promulgates PEMRA amended ordinance 2007

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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ISLAMABAD: President General Pervez Musharraf on Monday promulgated the amended Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) ordinance 2007.

Under the amended PEMRA Ordinance 2007, the PEMRA has been given powers to seal any building where it believes the illegal transmission is aired.

The PEMRA also has the power to cancel the license of any TV channel and can forfeit the broadcasting equipment for the said reason.

The Ordinance called the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Ordinance, 2007, shall come into force at once.

Following is the text of the Ordinance: Ordinance No. XXVI of 2007. An ORDINANCE, to further amend the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Ordinance, 2002.

WHEREAS it is expedient to further to amend the Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority Ordinance, 2002 (XIII of 2002), for the purposes here in after appearing; AND WHEREAS the National Assembly is not in session and circumstances exist which render it necessary to take immediate action; NOW, THEREFORE, in the exercise of the powers conferred by clause (1) of Article 89 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the President is pleased to make and promulgate the following Ordinance:-1. Short title, extent and commencement:

(1) This Ordinance may be called the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Ordinance, 2007. (2) It shall come into force at once.

  1. Amendment of section 2, Ordinance XIII of 2002:- In the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Ordinance, 2002 (XIII of 2002),Hereunder referred to as the said Ordinance, in section 2,- (a) in clause (ha) for the letters “DTH” the letters and commas “DTH, IPTV, Mobile TV” shall be substituted; and (b) for clause (j) the following shall be substituted, namely:- (j)-- “Frequency” means the frequency of the electromagnetic waves measured in Hertz and used for transmission;".

  2. Amendment of section 4, Ordinance XIII of 2002.- In the said Ordinance,in section 4, sub-section (3) shall be omitted.

  3. Amendment of section 20, Ordinance XIII of 2002.- In the said Ordinance, in section 20, in clause (d), after the word “rules” the words “and regulations” shall be inserted.

  4. Amendment of section 23, Ordinance XIII of 2002. In the said Ordinance, in section 23, in sub-section (2) in the proviso, for the word “fare” the word “Fair” shall be substituted.

  5. Amendment of Section 25, Ordinance XIII of 2002.- In the said Ordinance ,in section 25, in claus e(d), after the word “organization” the words" including any foreign non-governmental organization" shall be added.

  6. Amendment of section 27, Ordinance XIII of 2002.- In the said Ordinance ,in section 27,- (a) for the word “therefore,” the word “there for” shall be substituted; and (b) after the word “operator” the words “or owner” shall be inserted.

  7. Amendment of section 28, Ordinance XIII of 2002.- In the said Ordinance,in section 28, in the marginal note, of the section for the word “of” the word"by" shall be substituted.

  8. Amendment of section 29, Ordinance XIII of 2002,- In the said Ordinance,in section 29,- (a) in sub-section (5), the proviso, for the full stop, at the end, a colon shall be substituted and thereafter the following further proviso shall be added, namely:- “Provided further that he Authority or the Chairman may seize a broadcast or distribution service equipment or seal the premises which is operating illegally or in contravention of orders passed under section 30.”; and (b) in sub-section (6), for the word “one” a word “ten” shall be substituted.

  9. Amendment of section 30, Ordinance XIII of 2002, - In the said Ordinance, in section 30, - (a) in sub section (1), (i) in clause (b), for the colon, at the end, a full stop shall be substituted; and (ii) the proviso shall be omitted, (b) in sub-section (3) the comma and word “, suspended” shall be omitted; and (c) after sub-section (3) following new sub-section shall be added, namely: -“(4) License of a broadcast media may be suspended on any of the grounds specified in sub-section (1), by a duly constituted committee comprising members of the Authority.”

  10. Insertion of section 39A, Ordinance XIII of 2002: In the saidO rdinance, after section 39, the following new section shall be inserted, namely: “39A. Power of the Authority to make regulations:” The Authority may by notification in the official Gazette, make regulations, not inconsistent with this Ordinance and the rules made there under, to provide for all matters for which provisions is necessary or expedient for carrying out the purpose of this Ordinance.”

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Re: Musharraf promulgates PEMRA amended ordinance 2007

And media is free in Pakistan...

Fantasy League Pakistan Vs England - Points Updated
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Re: Musharraf promulgates PEMRA amended ordinance 2007

If you can't kill the message just kill the message. The guy is on his last leg. He is proboly the worst military commander also. Why open a new front with Press when you already have your hands full with lawyers and mullahs? I hate to see his war strategy.

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Re: Musharraf promulgates PEMRA amended ordinance 2007

I want my pakistani news channels back, please my only source of entertainment !!

"Have faith in God"
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Re: Musharraf promulgates PEMRA amended ordinance 2007

I agree, the news channels are real entertainment with headlines like:

PM takes serious notice of violence in Karachi.

CM condemns bomb blast, vows to catch offenders in one week.

Budget will be a relief for poor.

PM orders KESC to sort out problem of electricity shortage at the earliest.

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Re: Musharraf promulgates PEMRA amended ordinance 2007

iconoclast can u point what parts of this you diagree with and why?
do u have an issue with changing the word fare to fair
or chanign from operator to operator and/ owner?

please be specific :)

as far as illegal transmissions go, i dont think they are allowed in any country really.

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Re: Musharraf promulgates PEMRA amended ordinance 2007

Musharaf is starting to look more and more like the dictator he claims to not be...

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Re: Musharraf promulgates PEMRA amended ordinance 2007

can we be more specific :)

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Re: Musharraf promulgates PEMRA amended ordinance 2007

If the move blocks only illegal broadcasts, surely we can have no issue with that. One cannot champion rule of law and defend those who break the law simultaneously.

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Re: Musharraf promulgates PEMRA amended ordinance 2007

what the govt views as illegal and what would be illegal is very different and thats the problem. GEO/ARY/AAJ were blocked simply because the govt goonies were getting their asses handed to them on talk shows. Repeatedly Shaukat Aziz said PEMRA wouldnt allow broadcasts going against "national interest". What that is is pretty hairy, and can probably cover anything the govt wants.

Difference is instead of merely blocking transmissions the govt is now adding bite, confiscating equipment, cancelling licenses, sealing buildings of anyone it deems to have gone astray.

Coming so close to the general clamp down on media there is only one message. Intimidation.

Who likes to stay in bed for long?
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Re: Musharraf promulgates PEMRA amended ordinance 2007

oh yaaar to let supreme court deal with it if channels think that govt is being bad. wait dont they have to deal with cable operators who are kinda getting in channels faces anyways.

Who likes to stay in bed for long?
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Re: Musharraf promulgates PEMRA amended ordinance 2007

PAK AMRY ZINDAABAD :mad:

Who likes to stay in bed for long?
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Re: Musharraf promulgates PEMRA amended ordinance 2007

the courts should deal with it and hopefully will. hopefully soon too, because I think the govt is trying to buy time and take the heat off for a little bit.

unfortunately I think the govt's move will work to the extent that there isnt enough confidence in the judiciary yet for the satellite channels to risk their equipments and properties in the hope that the courts will come through.

cable operators are a different story, and news channels dont have much of a case against them.

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Re: Musharraf promulgates PEMRA amended ordinance 2007

well and wit the courts just pimp slapping geo for its lameness it may be sending a messages that while courts are all for freedom of press and all that they will not tolerate baykar bakwaas.

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Re: Musharraf promulgates PEMRA amended ordinance 2007

what? when did the courts do that?

Just a thought..
Just a thought..
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Re: Musharraf promulgates PEMRA amended ordinance 2007

PEMRA now should be renamed and it should be call a permanent obstacle to free press or POFP.

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Re: Musharraf promulgates PEMRA amended ordinance 2007

June 5 Dawn says:

The move virtually undoes some of the major provisions of a law passed by parliament three months ago after a two-year debate and consultations with the stakeholders

Why can't Mush let the Pakistani parliament do its job and respect people's wishes? Oh I get it. He is an absolute dictator.

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Re: Musharraf promulgates PEMRA amended ordinance 2007

The situation worsens for the dictator…

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\06\06\story_6-6-2007_pg7_33

‘NSC meeting shows Musharraf regime’s weakness’

WASHINGTON: The holding of a meeting of the National Security Council and the promulgation of an ordinance giving the government enhanced powers to control the electronic media shows the regime’s weakness rather than its strength, according to a commentary issued by Stratfor.

The commentary says, “Therefore, the generals will be watching the situation more closely than ever and will be considering contingency plans as the political temperature rises in the coming weeks. Then, if needed, they can intervene and force Musharraf to step down in order to avoid risking an ugly confrontation on the streets. For now, the generals figure the anti-Musharraf movement, though growing in size, lacks direction, organisation and critical mass because the main opposition parties remain divided. Put differently, they believe their interests can still be secured through a compromise involving the reinstatement of the chief justice, and perhaps even with Musharraf assuming the role of a civilian president. But Musharraf does not believe he can both compromise and sustain power, which is why he has decided to tough it out in an effort to get past the re-election in September.”

Stratfor argues that the generals would prefer a situation in which they are not forced to move against President Musharraf because they know such a situation does not necessarily help them salvage the position of the institution. Having Musharraf step down could land them in a situation in which the new military leadership would be forced to negotiate a new civil-military power-sharing mechanism with the political forces, and from a position of relative weakness. Part of this has to do with the fact that Musharraf has been reshuffling the military deck so much that most of the top generals have not had much experience in dealing with national politics. “But when the generals know things have reached a point of no return, they will act; this could happen before the end of summer depending on how fast events progress. The prevention of news broadcasts and political talk shows deemed critical of the government on private television channels could prove to be one key step in that direction. Because of the immense popularity of these private channels, the anti-Musharraf movement is likely to gain greater momentum - and rapidly,” according to the US news intelligence service.

Stratfor believes that the growing public unrest will only get worse because the government is determined to deal with the situation by cracking down. Unless Musharraf reverses course and opts for the path of accommodation with his opponents - both among the political parties and with civil society - it is quite feasible that the unrest, which is expected to peak around the time of the presidential vote in September, could surge earlier. Even his key civilian partner, the PML, is starting to show signs of haemorrhaging, indicating that it might not be possible for Musharraf to secure a second term.

3rd grade puppy love
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Re: Musharraf promulgates PEMRA amended ordinance 2007

hey beckham is back in the english national side.

PS: if we are posting irrelevant stuff for the sake of posting, might as well post about fun stuff

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Re: Musharraf promulgates PEMRA amended ordinance 2007

Almost all Poitical Parties in Pakistan have shown their agressoin in some way but MQM and PML (Q), i wonder why? can any one help me to under stand why they are silent on this important issue?

Are they in support of Govts. Movement against freedom of expression and press?