ISLAMABAD: Religious scholars proposed to ban anchorpersons not well-versed with Islamic tenets during the special transmission during Ramazan in a bid to avoid controversies.
The religious scholars held a meeting with Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Minister Pir Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, wherein they expressed profound concerns about some unethical programmes telecast in the holy month of Ramazan, besides extending full support to the minister’s letter written to Prime Minister Imran Khan on the matter.
They said due to their inadequate knowledge, the anchors could create religious chaos in the country. They were of the view that private TV channels should stop broadcasting such content as entertainment and recreational shows, which were in contradiction with Islamic injunctions.
They maintained that TV channels should produce such informative programmes to create religious harmony and remove differences among people of all segments of society. They also pointed out some advertisements telecast on private TV channels were against social, cultural and religious norms.
It may be mentioned that Minister Noor Qadri had written a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan proposing that TV programmes pertaining to the Ramazan transmission should be hosted by religious scholars in order to avert controversies.
He said for the last few years, some anchors, who were not well versed with Islamic teachings, had been conducting programmes during the holy month of Ramazan. Due to lack of Islamic knowledge, they had created many religious controversies and social media hype having negative impacts on the people, he added.
Qadri said there must be a dress code for the hosts and participants of programmes to keep the sanctity of the holy month of Ramazan. No controversial topics should be discussed in the programmes, while keeping the respect of all sacred personalities in view, he added.
He said the TV channels should avoid airing entertainment and recreational shows particularly at Seher and Iftar timings. Moreover, such content should also be avoided in the religious programmes. Unethical stuff and advertisement should not be broadcast, he added.
He said the TV programmes should be based on such content which not only imparted true Islamic knowledge, but also promote religious harmony across all sections of the society. The minister urged the prime minister to direct the Information Ministry and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to issue guidelines for all TV channels.
Council of Islamic Ideology (CCI) Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz, Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Chairman Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad, Arif Hussain Wahidi, Tanveer Ahmed Alvi, Ibrahim Khalil Al-Fazli, Ghulam Rasool Nasir, Syed Iftikhar Hussain Naqvi, Mufti Zamir Ahmed Sajid and Sheikh Nayar Abbas Mustafvi attended the meeting.
