Justice Babar Sattar of the Islamabad High Court questioned the federal government on why the military’s media wing, ISPR, was taking on the “exclusive right” to determine who qualifies as a defence analyst.
The issue emerged after the court addressed a challenge against Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) directives, which require retired officers to obtain ISPR’s approval before appearing on television.
In April 2019, Pemra mandated that all television channels obtain clearance from ISPR before featuring retired military officers in news and current affairs programs to discuss national security matters.
The Ex-Servicemen Legal Forum challenged these directives in the IHC, while the Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Society supported them.
According to a document available with Dawn.com, Assistant Attorney General Adeel Akhtar Raja referred to the defence ministry and ISPR’s joint response during the hearing. When questioned about the legal basis for ISPR’s authority to decide who can be a defence analyst in Pakistan, the assistant attorney general requested additional time to prepare his response.
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Additionally, the IHC posed several questions to the Pemra counsel, including inquiries about the relationship between pre-clearance for television content contributors and national sovereignty or security, the rationale behind imposing prior restraints on speech, the reasons for issuing these directives, and whether there had been any requests from military sources or the ISPR. The lawyer also sought more time to provide detailed answers.
Justice Sattar directed Pemra to submit the original files that led to the issuance of the controversial notification to help clarify why it was deemed necessary. The hearing has been postponed until November 20.
