Pakistani TV channels fined for interviews of Taseer’s killer
By IANSTuesday, January 11, 2011
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan’s media regulatory authority Tuesday imposed a penalty on two private television channels for airing interviews of the assassin of Salman Taseer, governor of Punjab province.
Taseer was killed by his own guard, Malik Mumtaz Qadri, in Islamabad Jan 4.
Qadri was a member of the governor’s special security squad. He fired nine bullets from close range as the governor was coming out of a coffee shop towards his vehicle in Kohsar market in the federal capital.
A statement from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Tuesday said the television channels were “repeatedly airing interviews of the assassin”.
“The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority on Tuesday imposed a fine on two satellite TV channels, amounting to one million rupees ($11,600) each for projecting terrorists and airing blood and gore,” Xinhua quoted the statement as saying.
The statement, however, did not mention the names of the channels.
Taseer had publicly expressed support for a blasphemy accused, Aasia Bibi, a Christian convert, who was sentenced to death by stoning on a local clergy’s accusation. He also pledged to seek pardon for her from President Asif Ali Zardari.
