New Delhi: Pakistan’s media regulator has banned one of the biggest media organisations, Geo News, in the country for 15 days over ‘blasphemous’ content. Pakistanis say the hybrid regime cannot continue suppressing the media.
The suspension came from Pakistan’s media regulator PEMRA after a Geo News programme aired during Muharram contained “religious visualisations that could offend public sentiment and threaten religious harmony.”
According to the regulatory authority, a 26 June episode of a show called Safar-e-Ishq, broadcast as part of the channel’s special Muharram programming, included visual depictions that were “liable to hurt the religious sentiments of viewers, undermine religious harmony, and create a risk of disturbance to public peace, tranquillity and law and order.”
‘An editorial error’
Geo News Sunday acknowledged the incident as an editorial error and issued a public apology. In a statement, the channel said the footage depicted rituals practised by a limited number of people in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East and was intended only to document local customs, not to endorse or promote any particular religious interpretation.
The broadcaster stressed that the mistake did not reflect its editorial policy or ideological position. It said it had immediately removed the disputed material, launched an internal investigation, and pledged to strengthen editorial oversight by introducing additional layers of review, staff training, and compliance measures.
In May, PEMRA had issued a show-cause notice to the media outlet over airing content related to Asha Bhosle.
The suspension comes at a time when Pakistan continues to face international scrutiny over media freedom. Television channels have periodically been subjected to regulatory sanctions, temporary suspensions, and transmission restrictions, often amid periods of political tension. In the 2026 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, Pakistan ranked 153rd out of 180 countries.
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‘Unwarranted censorship’
Pakistanis argued on social media that the suspension was politically motivated rather than purely regulatory.
One commentator alleged that the temporary ban had been coordinated between Geo’s management and the political establishment as a means of defusing public anger while limiting long-term consequences for the broadcaster.
“Despite #Geo‘s history of broadcasting anti-PTI propaganda for commercial gains, regime took action. 10-day suspension was orchestrated with the mutual consent and consultation of Geo’s management and establishment as a calculated damage-control tactic to diffuse public anger,” Pakistan X user Saima Khan posted.
Another user Shahbaiz Hussain called it ‘unwarranted censorship’ pointing out that “Geo News has been shut down multiple times in the past due to its fact-based reportage” but “it will continue this legacy no matter the consequences.”
“Hybrid dictatorship cannot silence this channel even today,” Hussain wrote on X.
Other conservatives are, however, calling for a boycott of the channel. Pakistani X user Ubaid Rizvi called it ‘a conspiracy to test Muslims’.
“This is nothing but a conspiracy that’s repeated every few days in different ways just to check if there’s any sense of honor left among Muslims or not, but now there will be a complete boycott of Geo News,” he wrote on X.
Pakistani author Muneeb Qadir had a middle way out—“channels must refrain from making lengthy broadcasts on religious matters. Just mention the religious occasion & its context AND THAT’S IT”.
“In a country like Pakistan, where this can be a highly slippery slope, references to religion & broadcasts about religion ought to be precise & factual. Not just Geo but even other Pakistani channels were making very similar broadcasts on Ashura. It was quite obvious that the broadcasts were very risqué by Pakistani standards, not just on Geo but every mainstream news channel. Result? Our tv channels & presenters increase the chances of things going dangerously wrong,” he wrote on X.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)