SHAHID RAO
ISLAMABAD - A writ petition against vulgarity in dramas/films dubbed in Urdu and some singing competitions on some private TV channels was filed in Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday.
A single bench of Justice Noor-ul-Haq N Qureshi will take up the petition on Wednesday (today).
Tariq Asad Advocate moved the petition and made secretary information, chairman Pakistan Electronic Media Authority (PEMRA) and some private TV channels as respondents. The petitioner contended in his petition that it was a conspiracy to promote such programmes in order to pervert Pakistani young generation and create hatred against the ideology of Pakistan. He prayed to the court that the respondent number 2 might be directed to ban exhibition of programmes of singing competitions, Turkish films dubbed in Urdu on some private TV channels and advertisement trailers of obscene Indian films on news channels.
He requested the court that chairman PEMRA might be directed to immediately stop the exhibition of programmes of competition of singing, dancing, fashion show, and obscene advertisement for being in violation of articles 2-A, 14, 19 and 20 of the constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, directing them further to improve the standard and culture of TV media generally in consonance with the ideology of Pakistan and article 19 of the constitution.
The petitioner further prayed that the secretary information might be directed to appoint intellectuals, journalists, lawyers, doctors, engineers and religious scholars as chairmen and members of the Censor Board and members of the committees.
He added that respondent number 1 be further directed to constitute a separate censoring committee of greater integrity for censorship of TV programmes in order to keep the standard of morality and decency in accordance with the injunctions of the Holy Quran and Sunnah and provisions of the constitution, and direct the private TV channels to telecast the programmes of foreign stations after censoring them absolutely in consonance with the standard of morality and decency described in this petition in view of article 19 of the constitution.
Asad further added that information secretary might be directed to ban import, manufacturing, trade and sale of CDs of Indian and obscene films under article 18 of the constitution.