The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on Monday decided to immediately take both the BOL News and BOL Entertainment TV channels off the air for not getting security clearance by their lincence holder M/s Labbaik from the Interior Ministry.
The decision to the effect was taken during its 174th meeting presided over by PEMRA Chairman Muhammad Saleem Baig, according to a news release.
The meeting was informed that the licences of M/s Labbaik were cancelled by PEMRA in its 131th meeting of 2017 for not getting security clearance from the Ministry of Interior. However, the channels continued their transmission after challenging PEMRA’s order in the Sindh High Court, which disposed of the case in 2021.
It noted that PEMRA’s lawyer had made it clear that both the channels would not be allowed to go on air if the Interior Ministry did not give security clearance to M/s Labbaik.
The Authority, after reviewing all the records related to the court’s orders and the letters issued by the Interior Ministry, ordered to stop transmission of both the BOL channels.
The media watchdog said that the M/s Labbaik had not submitted any application for renewal of the BOL Entertainment’s license, which had expired in December 2021.
