Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has banned the televangelist and talk show host Aamir Liaquat on Monday from hosting his Ramazan show ‘Inam Ghar’ for three days on Geo Entertainment, a statement released by the authority said.

Earlier, a show-cause notice was issued by PEMRA after the June 6 episode that showed a re-enactment by Aamir of a girl committing suicide, the statement said. The same episode also had a guest who used abusive language while on air. During the transmission of another episode on June 25, a female caller’s inappropriate phone call was also reviewed by PEMRA.

A member from the authority’s council of complaints also shared a video of Aamir hugging a pole while singing a song. The authority said that they took action after they had received hundreds of complaints from viewers. A representative from the private channel has sought 15 days to submit a detailed reply regarding the many complaints received during the show’s transmission.

The council has directed for a reply to be submitted by the third day after Eid holidays and further action will be debated upon after the submission of the reply. As an initial step, the council recommended suspension of the transmission of the show from June 28 to June 30 due to the channel’s continued violation of the code of conduct, the statement added.

– Non-professional content –

The channel had been advised to apologise for airing non-professional content which hurt the sentiments of the viewers. Aamir has also been asked to issue a personal apology during the July 1 transmission of his show. “In case of contempt of the order or no apology, the show will be suspended indefinitely,” the PEMRA statement said.

“On the recommendations of the council, the relevant authority under Section 27 has advised Geo to suspend the transmission, and to ensure Amir Liaquat apologises in the beginning of July 1 transmission,” it said.