What constitutes obscenity, vulgarity?

The consultative meeting to deliberate upon parameters of "Obscenity" for electronic media was held on Monday at Pemra Headquarters Islamabad.
The meeting was attended by Qazi Hussain Ahmed (Ex-Ameer Jamat-i-Islami), Ansar Abbassi, Muhammad Hussain Mehanti (Ameer, Jamat-i-Islami, Karachi), Lieutenant General Abdul Qayyum (R), Oriya Maqbool Jan, Javed Jabbar, Dr Mehdi Hassan, Muhammad Ziauddin (Executive Editor, Express Tribune), Mazhar Abbas, Kamran Khawaja (FM Radio Association) and representatives of Pakistan Advertisers Society (PAS), United Producers Association and Pemra officials.
The participants took serious view of non-representation from owners of TV channels or cable operator which was viewed non-seriousness on their part as they are the direct stakeholder to implement the public / viewer's aspiration. The Chairman Pemra briefed participants about various terminologies, connotations and expression used to define obscenity in different countries. Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Muhammad Hussain Mehanti, Lieutenant General Qayum Retd and Ansar Abbassi said that Pakistan was created in the name of Islam.
They specifically criticised news channels for spreading vulgarity in the guise of entertainment news. They objected showing vulgar mujra, dances and songs in every headline. The re-enactment and dramatisation of crimes was also severely criticised by the participants as they said that this form of disgust in the garb of investigative journalism should not be tolerated by Pemra.
They unanimously recommended referring this matter to the Council of Islamic Ideology and Parliament to define the "Obscenity and Vulgarity". However, they also appreciated the work done by Pemra in this regard and demanded immediate closer of all illegal channels. Concluding to the elaboration of obscenity, they said that "Any content which is unacceptable while viewing with the family transpires obscenity". They also recommended formulating a committee to screen out unwanted content from TV advertisements as well as regulating the rating of TV channels.
Javed Jabbar and Dr Mehdi Hassan on the other hand defended that the media is not all about vulgarity. There might be 10% of total content objectionable but the rest media in Pakistan is doing fine. They said that technological advancements and cultural dynamism can't be enslaved in a rigid canvas. Cultural ethos varies from passage of time. Javed Jabbar opposed involving Council of Islamic Ideology in defining obscenity.
He said that it is perplexed matter and would be difficult to evolve consensus. Dr Mehdi Hassan said that if something is undesirable to watch, you have option to switch the channel or completely switch off your TV. It would be wrong to hamper technological advancements instead of grooming and training our offspring. We absolve our responsibility by not teaching them good or bad and then shed our responsibility by putting iron curtains on media. Dr Mehdi Hassan further said that obscenity can not be confined only to ill dressed models on TV channels but to him child labour, injustice to minorities, social imbalance, poverty, hunger and disloyal politicians are also obscene. Why the custodians of morality do not account for these issues?
Ziauddin, the veteran journalist strongly endorsed view point of Javed Jabbar and Dr Mehdi Hassan. He, however, proposed appointing an ombudsman for every media institution to ensure accountability. Sameena Ahmed (TV artist and producer) from United Producers Association and Aly Mustansir from Pakistan Advertisers Society said that vulgarity is relative term and can't be invoked by a select group of people.
They proposed taking input from entire society on the issue. They were of the view that they reflect public aspirations in their programmes/ advertisements and a thorough research is conducted before launching any content. They denied that the advertisements and dramas produced by them contravenes to the Islamic values. They, however, agreed to comply with the Code if it is unanimously accepted and adopted. Mazhar Abbass disagreed with the hardcore and rigid opinions of censoring media by blaming it vulgar. He suggested formulating an independent commission with no involvement of stakeholder in order to deal with the media violation issues.
The participants, however, unanimously agreed and suggested Pemra to invoke its laws across the board and desired zero tolerance for violation of Pemra laws particularly the illegal channels and illegal content. The Chairman Pemra thanked participants for sparing valuable time for this consensual and national cause and ensured that all possible measures would be taken within the ambit of Pemra laws to curb violations. The next meeting on the subject was proposed in the mid of September whereby the owners of TV channels and cable operators would also be involved in this constructive consultation process.-PR