Former Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) ChairmanAbsar Alam has made serious allegations regarding pressure he faced duringthe 2017 Faizabad sit-in. He claimed that PEMRA officials were underpressure from serving officers, including then DG(C) Major General FaizHamid, and their requests were not being accommodated by him.
Alam further asserted that the former ISI chief had asked him to takeaction against journalist Najam Sethi and completely blackout HussainHaqqani from TV channels. However, he did not comply with these demands.
On February 6, 2019, the Supreme Court concluded a suo motu case related tothe Faizabad sit-in, instructing various government agencies to operatewithin their mandates.
Alam’s statements follow the federal government’s announcement that afact-finding committee had been established to investigate the Faizabadsit-in. The Supreme Court had also given all parties the opportunity todisclose pertinent facts regarding the case.
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Absar Alam alleged that the ex-spymaster and his subordinates hadcontrolled TV channel policies through “illegal/unlawful” means bymanipulating their channel numbers to reduce their visibility. He claimedto have approached the-then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, former ChiefJustice Saqib Nisar, and former Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa toinform them of threats his team received for not following instructions.
Alam maintained that it was “unsafe” for PEMRA officials to work during thesit-in. He also mentioned that when Channel 92 was suspended on November25, 2017, both the interior ministry and Lt-Gen (retd) had contacted him toinquire about the reasons for the suspension and requested the channel’srestoration.