New Delhi: Pakistan’s media regulatory authority, PEMRA, has issued a show-cause notice to the country’s biggest media house Geo News over airing content related to Asha Bhosle. The problem, according to the notice, is that the channel “broadcasted Indian Songs and visuals from Indian films”. Pakistani journalists and activists have spoken up against ‘such unprecedented control’. “In times of war and conflict, art and artists should not become casualties,” many say.
Bhosle died on 12 April at the age of 92 in Mumbai. Tributes poured in, including from across the border. Dawn, in an article on the singer Monday, noted that ‘her music transcended borders, touching the hearts of many Pakistanis’.
The obituary also shared anecdotes about her connection with Pakistan and the confusion over her namesake in Pakistan, an actress called Asha Posley. Geo News, too, aired content related to her and has now been served a notice.
Most journalists and civil society members called out the notice, labelling it ridiculous. Journalist Azhar Abbas, in a long post on X, said that in Pakistan, “It has always been customary to revisit and celebrate the work of iconic artists when reporting on them.”
“In fact, for an artist of Asha Bhosle’s stature, we should have shared even more of her timeless and memorable songs than we did… Asha Bhosle herself admired Pakistan’s legendary singer Noor Jahan, whom she fondly called her ‘elder sister.’ She collaborated with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and brought to life the poetry of great Urdu poets like Nasir Kazmi,” Abbas added.
Senior journalist Azaz Syed of Geo News agreed.
“Such unprecedented control over Pakistan’s mainstream media has perhaps never been witnessed before. That is, even broadcasting their work on the death of Asha Bhosle led to show-cause notices being issued. The media has always worked responsibly, but those controlling the media have branded the media as anti-state while portraying themselves as patriots,” he wrote on X.
PEMRA issued a show cause notice to Geo News today about an airing report about the death of an Indian singer Asha Bhosle pic.twitter.com/KODNSH2Xb7
— Ehtisham ul haq (@ehtishamulhaq87) April 13, 2026
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‘Responsibility to state’
Pakistani journalist Gharidah Farooqui also criticised the PEMRA notice. “Art and culture has no boundaries and can not be confined,” read the X post. For journalist Rauf Klasra, it was more serious.
“Pls dont take us back to draconian years of 80s of Gen Zia when even owning VCR/movies was a crime and punishable. Its age of netflix and AI. Don’t make us look like a fool in this age,” he wrote.
Barrister Amir Zafar Khan called it a ‘censorship’ that was not needed.
On X, user Nawab Asad Jutt called it a ‘boomer’ move by those who ‘have destroyed Pakistan’s entertainment industry’. “Someone please dismantle it”, he wrote.
Human rights reporter Alifya Sohail labelled it “peace-broker pettiness” in reference to Pakistan hosting the first peace talk between Iran and the US.
Journalist Kamran Yousaf was sure that those who issued the show-cause notice “must have been listening Asha Bhosle’s songs & many other legendary artists from across the border”.
Former I&B minister and PTI senator Fawad Hussain labelled it ‘illiterate mentality in full swing’.
“@NawazSharifMNS should tell PMO we ll oppose Modi hegemony but elements that bind people must be above political differences, Sur, Sangeet sports, culture trans boundaries and sanity demands we must learn to respect legends!!” he wrote on X.
However, not everyone agreed.
Pakistani journalist Wajahat Kazmi refused to see the Geo News content as a pluralistic move and instead criticised the editorial priorities of the media house ahead of the one-year anniversary of the India-Pakistan conflict in May 2025.
“By giving such prominent coverage to an Indian celebrity during a period associated with national remembrance, the channel appears to be completely out of touch with public sentiment and its own responsibility to the state,” he wrote on X.
According to him, the decision shows “a clear disconnect in editorial judgment”.
“While the nation prepares to honor the history and sacrifices tied to Marka-e-Haq, a leading news outlet is instead shifting the narrative toward cross-border entertainment. A major media house is expected to uphold the national narrative, but Geo seems more interested in providing a distraction. This is not just about a single story; it is about an editorial direction that seems increasingly misaligned with the country’s values at a defining moment,” his post further stated.
It was a Pakistani journalist who had the best response to the entire controversy. Noreen Zahra from Geo News quoted Indian lyricist Gulzar to register her protest.
“Ankhon ko visa nahe lagta Sapno ki sarhad nahe hoti (Eyes do not need a visa because dreams are beyond borders),” she wrote on X.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)