Pemra's foolish action.

PEMRA'S knee-jerk reaction to ARY host Kashif Abbasi's show on Wednesday night was yet another example of the electronic media regulator's misplaced assertion of authority.

It had initially banned the show for 60 days but better sense seemed to have prevailed last night when Mr Abbasi was allowed to continue as usual. In an angry response to PTI minister Faisal Vawda, who had crossed all bounds of decency during Mr Abbasi's show, Pemra declared that Mr Vawda, 'performed [a] very unethical act' and his arguments were 'not only extremely frivolous and derogatory but also an attempt to debase a state institution'.

On the other hand, the host of the show, the notice charged, 'was quite unprofessional who actually did not intervene ... rather took the entire incident casually and kept smiling/cherishing such occurrence'. Although the immediate danger may have passed, Pemra should refrain from endangering the constitutionally protected right of freedom of speech in future. It should not be allowed to ban journalists for 'smiling/cherishing occurrence'.

Much worse has been aired on TV channels without Pemra batting an eyelid. People have been spewing hate speech laced with racism and misogyny...