After Pakistan’s electronic media regulator PEMRA issued a show-cause notice to Geo News for airing content related to the death of legendary singer Asha Bhosle, it sparked a broader reaction about art and the shared cultural roots in the subcontinent.
Azhar Abbas, managing director of Geo News and president of the Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors (AEMEND),
He wrote in the X post, “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 Electronic Media Regulatory Authority or] PEMRA has chosen to restrict this.”
Abbas did not stop at defending his channel’s editorial choices.
He made a case for shared culture: “Art, like knowledge, is a shared heritage of humanity and it should not be confined by borders.”
He further noted, “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.”
Asha Bhosleat the age of 92.
As tributes poured in from across the world, Geo News — one of Pakistan’s most prominent television channels — covered her passing by revisiting her music and legacy.
What notice argued, and Geo MD’s reply
The media regulator issued a notice invoking a 2018 Supreme Court of Pakistan order that banned the airing of Indian content on television. It summoned Geo News CEO Mir Ibrahim Rehman for a hearing on April 27.
Abbas, however, batted for separating brittle politics from art.
“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,” he wrote. India and Pakistan were engaged in military exchanges last year after a terror attack in in India’s Jammu and Kashmir union territory. India carried out ‘’ against terror bases in Pakistan.
Zia reminder, and more reaction
The backlash to PEMRA’s notice was not limited to Geo News’ reaction.
Political commentator Rauf Klasra even invoked a historical context. “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,” he wrote, “It’s the age of Netflix and AI. Don’t make us look like a fool in this age.”
The reference to was to his military rule in the 1980s, marked by cultural restrictions and a climate of censorship.
Another X user by the name Umer Farooq attacked the Shehbaz Sharif government: “The current regime is attempting to project a softer image of Pakistan. They claim we are better than India. Her melodies live on in people’s hearts. You want to erase them? How will you stop people from listening to her songs on YouTube or other platforms? The current regime has gone mad.”
Pakistani artists have paid tributes to Asha Bhosle. Actor Ahsan Khan called her death “the end of an era”; another actor, Adnan Siddiqui, wrote that her voice “had a way of filling even the quietest moments with something devastatingly human”.
Siddiqui added, “Thank you for the emotions you gave us, the memories you became and the magic you left behind. You’ll always be heard, somewhere… somehow.”
There were, however, pro-notice reactions too, one being from a user called Kamran Malik: “Very good decision by Pemra. It’s a Tit for Tat, if they do not respect our sovereignty why should we bulge? Subcontinent sounds nice in theory.. but reality says otherwise. If sovereignty is not respected, there is no reason to pretend everything is normal.”
