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Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved the appointment of Saleem Baig as the chairman of the Pakistan Electronic and Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), local media reported.
The Federal cabinet will approve his appointment through a circulation summary in a couple of days, ARY News reported citing sources. Earlier, Baig was appointed to the same position during the interim government in June 2018. In 2019, former Pemra chairman Baig submitted his unconditional apology in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in connection with a contempt of court case. During the hearing, Baig said that he could not even think of misusing the court's name and the notice was not issued to challenge the powers of the court. He prayed IHC for withdrawing the show-cause notice over contempt of court issued on November 1 2019, reported ARY News. This speculation came after the Sindh High Court ordered the PEMRA to immediately restore the ARY News transmission across the country. This development came after the Pakistani media portal aired a report that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) has reportedly activated its strategic media cell to malign Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, referring to PTI leader Shahbaz Gill's arrest. A day after the transmission of Pakistani television station ARY News was taken off air by the country's regulatory authorities, the outlet's senior Vice President Ammad Yousaf was arrested from Karachi in the early hours of Wednesday. Meanwhile, in the recent development of Ammad Yousaf's case, the Karachi court on Thursday acquitted him. Senior Vice President of the outlet, Yousuf was produced before the Malir district Court. He was brought in an armoured vehicle and was not allowed to meet his lawyers and family members, ARY News reported. A day earlier, Yousuf's lawyer Naeem Qureshi requested the court to withdraw a First Information Report (FIR) against the head of ARY News. "We will apply for bail if the court does not withdraw the FIR," he said. According to the lawyer, the FIR against Yousuf in Karachi is illegal. "The FIR registered in Memon Goth police station is against the court decisions," he added.Yousaf while talking to the media after the decision said he was thankful to everyone who has supported ARY NEWS during the testing time. President and CEO of ARY Digital Network Salman Iqbal, Anchor persons, Arshad Sharif and Khawar Ghuman were also booked under sedition charges. On the complaint of the Station House Officer (SHO), a First Information Report (FIR) has been registered at Karachi's Memon Goth police station. According to the channel, the FIR was registered just an hour before the arrest of ARY News head Ammad Yousaf. The FIR has been registered under sections 120, 124A, 131, and 153A in which sedition and charges of plotting alleged conspiracy have been included. (ANI)
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