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ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Electronic Media Regularity Authority (PEMRA) on Thursday barred a private television channel from airing interview of former Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan.

“It has come to PEMRA’s notice through monitoring that private TV channel Geo News in its programme “Jirga” which is hosted by journalist Saleem Safi is going to broadcast the interview of Ehsan Ullah Ehsan today, on Thursday, April 27. This is a clear violation of PEMRA’s directives that it had issued under the National Action Plan and Section 3(3) of Electronic Media Code of Conduct, 2015,” the regulatory body said in a statement issued here on Thursday.

It said that the TTP is a terrorist organisation and Ehsan Ullah Ehsan has been a spokesperson for this terrorist outfit. “During the last several years, he has taken responsibility for the mass murder of Pakistani nationals through terrorist activities across the country. Thousands of children, men, women civil and military officials lost their lives due to the heinous crimes of his terrorist organisation. It is quite heart-wrenching and deeply disturbing for the loved ones of those martyred in terrorist acts to see the member of a terrorist outfit appearing on TV screens in any capacity/mode, a known militant who earlier would claim responsibility for acts of massacre,” the PEMRA statement said.

“Ever since promo of the interview of Ehsan Ullah Ehsan was aired on Geo News, PEMRA received a number of complaints through What’sApp, SMS, Facebook, Twitter and PEMRA’s call centre. The complainants expressed their anger and anguish asking PEMRA to stop airing of the programme. Before the situation gets even worse, PEMRA through an order has prohibited Geo TV from airing the interview of Ehsan Ullah Ehsan in the said programme “Jirga” as well as its promo,” it said,

As per PEMRA’s Rules and Code of Conduct (CoC) 2015, glorification of terrorists cannot be allowed except the confessional statement which has already been released by the investigating agency. Even in that statement, only the selected parts are allowed to be aired which do not, in any manner, glorify a terrorist and his terrorist setup. In the case of non-compliance of PEMRA’s decision, strict action will be taken against the violators under Sections 29 and 30 of PEMRA Ordinance 2002 as an amendment by PEMRA Act 2007, the statement concluded.