Geo News fires staff behind Muharram Documentary after 2 weeks PEMRA Ban

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s leading news channel admitted to serious editorial lapses, unconditionally apologized, and confirmed termination of officials responsible for producing and approving controversial documentary related to Muharram. Appearing on behalf of Geo News’ license-holding company, Supreme Court advocate Saim Hashmi acknowledged the management’s mistake without reservation and tendered an unconditional apology before the Council. Geo News’ legal team, comprising Saim Hashmi and High Court advocate Arbaz Khan, also submitted official documents revealing that an immediate internal inquiry had led to the termination of the individual who produced the sensitive documentary as well as the member of the editorial committee who approved it for broadcast. The management further informed the Council that it is introducing new editorial safeguards to prevent similar incidents in the future. As part of these measures, Geo News has decided to appoint an Islamic scholar to its editorial committee to review sensitive religious content before it is aired, aiming to strengthen oversight and avoid future editorial errors. The disclosures came during the ongoing hearing into regulatory action against Geo News, marking the channel’s first formal acknowledgment of responsibility and outlining the corrective measures it says have already been implemented. Last week, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) suspended Geo News’ broadcast licence for 15 days after ruling that a special Muharram transmission contained content that could hurt viewers’ religious sentiments and violated the regulator’s broadcasting rules. The media watchdog ordered the channel off air with immediate effect, referred the case to its Council of Complaints for further proceedings, and directed Geo News to conduct an internal inquiry into the editorial lapses that led to the broadcast. Geo News accepted responsibility for the incident, callin