Lahore: Geo News, a leading television channel in Pakistan, is in trouble for airing content on Asha Bhosle who passed away in Mumbai on Sunday.
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has issued Geo News a showcause notice asking for an explanation.
Azhar Abbas, managing director of Geo News and president of the Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors in Pakistan, shared the news on X.
“It has always been customary to revisit and celebrate the work of iconic artists when reporting on them. In fact, for an artist of Asha Bhosle’s stature, we should have shared even more of her timeless and memorable songs than we did. Yet, Pakistan’s electronic media regulator, PEMRA, has chosen to restrict this,” Abbas wrote.
The death of Asha, one of the most versatile playback singers of all time, was mourned across India, and also across the border. Pakistani users and social media users paid glowing tributes to the singer.
Disappointed by the showcause notice, Abbas pointed out “Art, like knowledge, is a shared heritage of humanity and it should not be confined by borders. Asha Bhosle herself admired Pakistan’s legendary singer Noor Jahan, whom she fondly called her ‘elder sister.’ She collaborated with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and brought to life the poetry of great Urdu poets like Nasir Kazmi.”
Abbas further said: “In times of war and conflict, art and artists should not become casualties. Intellectuals, musicians, and creators are often the very voices that stand against hatred and division, and the ones who bring people closer together.”
PEMRA has issued a show-cause notice to Geo News for airing content related to the legendary subcontinent singer Asha Bhosle.
It has always been customary to revisit and celebrate the work of iconic artists when reporting on them. In fact, for an artist of Asha Bhosle’s stature,… pic.twitter.com/AuhFPyGZCL\— Azhar Abbas (@AzharAbbas3) April 13, 2026
‘Wilful defiance of Supreme Court order’
In its notice, PEMRA highlighted the Pakistani channel’s broadcast of Indian songs and visuals from Indian films while airing news of Asha Bhosle’s death.
The regulatory authority called it a “wilful defiance of the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of Pakistan… wherein airing of Indian content was prohibited”.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court, in a 2018 ruling, banned the airing of Indian content on TV channels in the country.
Geo News CEO Mir Ibrahim Rehman has been summoned by PEMRA on April 27. The channel has been asked to explain in writing, within 14 days, why legal action should not be initiated against them.
PEMRA faces the heat
PEMRA’s decision has been questioned by several eminent personalities in Pakistan.
“Art and culture have no boundaries and can not be confined,” Pakistani journalist Gharidah Farooqui expressed in a post on X.
Journalist Rauf Klasra asked the regulator not to take the country back into the Zia-ul-Haq era.
“Pls dont take us back to the draconian years of the 80s of Gen Zia, when even owning a VCR/movies was a crime and punishable. It’s the age of Netflix and AI. Don’t make us look like a fool in this age,” he wrote.
