Body investigating 'IB list' speaks to Pemra officials

The National Assembly Fact-Finding Committee (FFC) formed to investigate a list purportedly prepared by Intelligence Bureau (IB) to monitor 37 parliamentarians believed to have links with banned outfits, listened to the point of view of PEMRA officials as well as Intelligence Bureau (IB) and on their request held the meeting in-camera.
The meeting was chaired by Rana Muhammad Azfal who told media persons that the meeting was earlier open for media, but later it was decided to keep the meeting in-camera. The parliamentary panel was established by the speaker National Assembly to investigate the matter and seek a way out as an anchorperson had displayed a report by IB in his programme which claimed that 37 MNAs had links with terror outfits.
The members of committee include Dr Muhammad Afzal Khan Dhandla of PML-N, Shazia Marri of the PPP and Shafqat Mehmood of PTI. The anchorperson when summoned by the chairman, presented a 166-page report in support of his point of view. The report carried several references that the IB had been involved in 'low-down' activities within the country. The page 11 of the report highlighted the charge of 'insider job in the IB' by the apex court.
The committee had called DG IB along with the concerned officers, chairman PEMRA along with necessary record, and the anchorperson, while the chief executive of the TV channel was not invited to the first meeting. Rana Afzal said, "The IB has totally denied any involvement in the said letter as shown at the screen and termed it completely fake and concocted. We will look into the details and if it was fake then who was behind it."
He said after studying the documents and reports, the committee will discuss the issue and submit a report to the Speaker NA. Regarding briefing by PEMRA, Afzal said the electronic media regulator had informed about the proceedings of Council of Complaints and also expressed concerns that a stay order in the case had restricted PEMRA from pursuing the matter.
After the purported letter by IB was displayed at his programme, several MNAs took serious note of the matter. The IB filed a complaint with police station Secretariat on October 5, 2017 for registration of an FIR and the formal FIR was lodged the following day, but this led to serious reaction from the media community.