Geo News Apologizes, Suspended for 15 Days by PEMRA Over Muharram Broadcast

Pakistani broadcaster Geo News on Sunday apologized for airing a documentary after it was handed a 15-day suspension a day earlier. Geo News said it apologized for the contents of the program "Safar-e-Ishq" that was transmitted during the sacred month of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar. "Geo News has acknowledged an editorial error regarding content aired during its 10th Muharram transmission," the broadcaster said on its website. It said that the program had shown "certain rituals practiced by a limited number of people in Iraq and some other Middle Eastern countries." It did not clarify what rituals were portrayed in the documentary. What did Pakistan's media watchdog say about the Geo News suspension? The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) said on Saturday that the "broadcast of such visual representation, given the religious, cultural and social sensitivities, constitutes a serious regulatory concern," adding that the program in question "was liable to hurt the religious sentiments of viewers… and create a risk of disturbance to public peace." Pakistan has heightened media regulation during the sacred month of Muharram. The statement also did not provide further details of the documentary's content. Some members of Iraq's Shiite Muslim community carry out plays and processions depicting early Islamic figures, known as ta'ziyah, a practice typically discouraged by scholars from Islam's more widespread Sunni sect. Most Pakistanis are Sunni Muslims, while some 10% belong to the Shiite minority. Tensions between the two groups have led to clashes in the past. Pakistan also has strict blasphemy laws that have at times stirred vigilante violence. The South Asian country was placed 158th out of 180 countries ranked on Reporters Without Borders (RSF)'s Press Freedom Index in 2025. Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru