Chairman Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), Absar Alam claimed on Monday that he and his staffers are receiving threats. In a press conference, the chairman Pemra said that it is difficult for PEMRA to work under such circumstances. He sought security from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Chief Justice Saqib Nisar and Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, and urged them to take notice of the issue.
During the press conference, Alam played recording of a threatening phone call and appealed to relevant authorities to investigate threats. "I have a family. Pemra employees too have their families. While I can tolerate personal attacks, I cannot permit threats directed towards my institution or its workforce," he said.
"It is getting more and more difficult for us to operate. The situation is quite serious," he said referring to threats. He demanded the government and concerned institutions provide security to Pemra while taking actions against violators of the law. He said Pemra is being criticised without any reason, adding that some channels are even spreading hatred against Pemra, however, Pemra is a national institution which is working according to the law.
Alam said that he paid Rs 8.2 million income tax last year and slammed all the accusations levelled against him over undeserved wage and working for an NGO, among others. That non-governmental organisation is carrying out operations here in Pakistan after a security clearance granted by Ministry of Interior, he added. He claimed that the Pemra administration at the time is attempting to build a department and to take it forward.
Alam made it clear that the regulatory body would not be able to work as required by the law if it continues face stay orders all the time. He said that every time the regulator takes action against "illegal" broadcast, "violators" are granted a stay order by a court. Absar Alam also took the opportunity to appeal to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief Justice Saqib Nisar to expedite the judicial process that has seen 333 out of 357 Pemra notices challenged and stalled in courts.
Alam also stressed that the government's National Action Plan (NAP) to eradicate terrorism ought to consider Pemra as an important institution in curbing the menace of hate speech that at times makes its way to mainstream media outlets operating under Pemra regulations.
Alam said, "As we have taken action against vulgarity, it is also our responsibility to monitor and curb problematic hate speech on television." "We can't even enforce the code of conduct that we have in place," said Alam, referring to the difficulties, which according to him, the Pemra faces in taking the notices to their logical end. Answering a question, he said, "I will not resign. I will struggle until our concerns are addressed."