Pakistani media regulator PEMRA handed a 15-day suspension to one of the country’s leading private TV channels, Geo News, after it allegedly broadcast ‘unacceptable religious images’ in a program.
The broadcast was made on June 26, 2026, on the religious holiday Muharram, which is also the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar.
According to a statement by PEMRA, Geo News aired the program ‘Safar-e-Ishq’ featuring religious imagery and conceptual depiction that violated the terms of the channel’s licence. They also said the broadcast went against religious, social and cultural values and principles.
The statement said the broadcast fell under a category of blatant violation of several PEMRA rules and hurt religious sentiments, and affected religious harmony.
It said that the program had shown "certain rituals practised by a limited number of people in Iraq and some other Middle Eastern countries."
The statement, however, did not clarify what rituals were portrayed in the documentary.
Geo News on Sunday issued a detailed apology for airing the program, saying that “immediate accountability was carried out”
“We immediately removed the relevant content as soon as we realised this mistake, before any organisation or individual approached us. This action was not a result of external pressure, but a manifestation of our own sense of responsibility,” they said.
What Geo News Aired
According to several social media users, the program that was aired on Muharram featured AI-generated images or caricatures of several important figures in Islam, including the Prophet Muhammad.
One user on X, an advocate from Pakistan's Punjab, said that “Geo News has committed the worst blasphemy against our beloved Prophet Muhammad.”
She also alleged that Geo News had previously aired programs that were against various Islamic rituals.
Muslims follow aniconism, and portraits and images of religious figures or God are considered blasphemous in Islam. The practice stems from the prohibition of idolatry.
