ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) hasasked all news channels inviting retired army officers in current affairstalk shows as ‘defence analysts’ to either seek clearance fromInter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army’s media wing, or call themonly ‘analysts’.
In a ‘confidential’ letter to all TV channels dated April 4, the mediawatchdog said, “Retired military officers may only be invited as defenceanalyst for discussion on military matters with prior clearance from ISPR.”
PEMRA’s letter to all news channels dated April 4, 2019
The PEMRA has directed TV channels to follow the said procedure beforeretired army officers’ “their first appearance” as defence analyst. “Ifinvited in talk shows for discussion other than security matters should betitled as ‘Analyst’ only… procedure for clearance may be processed withISPR as defence analyst,” the statement added.
Read Top Stories
In its reasoning, the authority said retired military officers are “usuallynot fully conversant/abreast with the latest defence and securitydevelopments due to their service background and post-retirement time.”
