Pakistan Electronic Media Regularity Authority (PEMRA), in pursuance to its mandate, has established a round the clock state of the art complaints Call Centre 0800-PEMRA (i.e 0800-73672) to facilitate public complaints against any aspect of broadcast media or cable TV networks and to take prompt necessary action to address the same.

Now any one can complain to PEMRA or Government of Pakistan against any TV / News Channel.

Dedicated and trained staff would be available at service of the callers on 24/7 basis. The public can now lodge their complaints, suggestions or comments with regard to services, quality of content of the private TV channels, FM radios and cable TV networks through toll free number (0800-73672), said the press release.

How to Report / Complain ?
Besides, the phone complaints / feed back can also be lodged through:

• PEMRA Website: www.pemra.gov.pk/feedback
• E-mail: email
• Fax No. +92-51-9107147

The caller would receive a complaint ID and would be contacted back within maximum of two weeks depending upon nature of complaint.

The Chairman said that Launching of complaints call centre is one step ahead to facilitate public at their door steps through one window facility and this would definitely work as catalyst to bridge divide between the stakeholders and PEMRA.

PEMRA believes in freedom of expression and media but the freedom must be coupled with responsibility and in conformity to societal norms.

It is the public who should decide that what they want to see or not instead of regulators or media operators. No content or advertisement can be designed or shown unless it is endorsed or accepted by the public.

The Complaints call centre would also help PEMRA in defining its future course of regulations and decisions said Chairman PEMRA. PEMRA resolved that the complaints data would be made public on quarterly basis.

Chairman PEMRA Dr. Abdul Jabbar said that in addition to call centre PEMRA, under section 26 of its law, has also established Councils of Complaints at four provincial capitals and one at Federal Capital comprising of eminent persons for the purpose of redressing public complaints / grievances against broadcast media and distribution services.

These Councils have so far been able to amicably redress nearly 5,800 public complaints of various genre throughout the county, mostly against cable TV operators.

© Pakistan Live News

If you do not know that who is Arfa Karim,  she became youngest Microsoft Certified Professional at the age of 9 when she cleared certification exams back in 2004. Recently Arfa Karim at 16 is suffering from a serious medical condition after a heart attack on December 28, 2011. Since past two and three months family of Arfa Karim is seeking the help from Government of Pakistan. But  Bill Gates, the chairman of Microsoft, has reportedly approached parents of Arfa Karim to offer her treatment in United States at billionaire’s expense.

We appreciate Bill Gates to show the sympathy and do some action for very talented girl of Pakistan, but on other end we ask our authorities that why they did not help Arfa Karim? Does treatment of Arfa Karim is very expensive? Does Pakistan not have any sufficient resources for the treatment of such a talented girl? These kind of questions are now raising fingers towards the relevant authorities and seek the answers.

We all know the situation of our Government, but other agencies such as IT ministry, NGOs, Social workers and Celebrities also did not respond to the request of the father of Arfa Karim. Our leaders flies to foreign hospitals for routine medical checkups, but no funds for Arfa? Let us clear that if we do not respect or care our assets then they will not be ours!  We have seen a huge rallies and protests in Pakistan for Aafia from different group of authorities, but where they are all for Arfa? Isn’t it clearly describes the purpose of all those protests in past? We simply say that if we do not consider Arfa as Pakistan’s asset then we should not expect her to stay in Pakistan and make this nation better!

Lets be positive and share your concerns, feedback, suggestion in comment section. You can also connect us through RSS, Facebook & Twitter.

Security, quality education, access to healthcare, prospects of a reasonable job on merit and sound economy are the ingredients to be provided by the state to its citizens to run the state and the society smoothly. Growth of successful nations … Continue reading →

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Photo From Dawn http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/28/pakistan-fire-may-have-prompted-nato-strike-wsj.html

In wake of the recent killing of Pakistani soldiers as a result of NATO bombing, Pakistani government has gone into a crisis mode and so has the Pakistani public: while the civilian government and the army have issues some powerful rhetorical statements, including the ultimatum to the US to vacate their base in Balochistan, the Pakistani people are out in the streets protesting against yet another violation of their airspace by their so-called allies.

Yes, I know Pakistan is weak and needs all the friends in the world that it can gather, especially against the daily terror unleashed by the Taliban and others in its cities, villages, and public spaces, but does that mean that Pakistan should be a total hostage to the interests and policies of powers that suffer no direct consequences of their actions in the region.

Here is a sad irony: while the Pakistani troops were being killed by NATO bombers in the tribal region, the US citizens were camping outside corporate big-box stores to purchase the latest gadgets at reduced prices. Is this what Pakistan is underwriting with its sacrifices? Are we there to serve the empire so that its privileged citizens can buy their video games in peace, while our children suffer of malnutrition, our cities stink of raw sewage, and while our soldiers are being killed by the very allies for whom over three thousand of them have died in the past few years.

Yes, the war against fundamentalism is in the best interest of Pakistan, but why should we call it a WAR? Why not call it a struggle and then harness all resources, mostly peaceful and pedagogical, in order to win this struggle against intolerance and terror. In my meeting with a senior ISI officer last year, who happens to be an old friend and my mentor in so many ways, the most important thing that I learned was this: Even the ISI knows that this struggle cannot be won through military action alone and that in order to win, Pakistan would need a lot of international support to literally rebuild its national infrastructure. Yes, rebuild the educational system, the healthcare system, and the system of law and justice. Of course all these sectors are considered “non-developmental” sectors by the IMF. So, if the US is so committed to the long-term interest of Pakistan, then where is the help to restructure and overhaul Pakistani economy and the public sphere?

Sadly, it is quite obvious that the world economy is not really “Flat.” Third world nations have now become living and ghettoized sweatshops for the developed nations: how else could Walmart sell its crap for so less to its American customers. Politically also nations like Pakistan are expected to submit their national will to the dictates of the likes of USA; that, the surrender of our national will, is too high a price for a nation .

The current policies and agreements with the US and NATO, let us not forget, were forged by a dictator under duress. It is time that the popularly elected government asked its people, the people who are the true owners of the nation, as to what its policy should be. Yes, our people are poor and not highly educated but you will be surprised to know that most of them are politically more aware than their average American counterparts.

So, this time let this not again be another set of empty slogans and un-implemented ultimatums: let us remind our so-called allies that killing our soldiers and civilians–even if it is hot pursuit or collateral damage–is not acceptable under any circumstances. I mean what was the army high command doing when two of their posts were under attack? Obviously, according to the protocol, the officers on the posts must have reported what was happening, must have asked for aid: Why did no aid arrive? Where was Pakistan Air Force whose job it is to defend the nations borders? Or was the current military leadership following the same cowardly policies as the ones followed by Pervez Musharraf when he abandoned his soldiers to die in Kargil!

This is also the time to ask these hard questions of our military commanders: did they let these soldiers die in vain without even mounting minimal countermeasures? And if they did, doesn’t that mean that they have let down the very soldiers they expect to die for their country on their orders? Yes, enough empty posturing: answer our questions honestly. Your troops deserve the answers and so does the nation.

Related articles

• Killing of Pakistani Soldiers: A Mistake or a Message? (pakistaniaat.net)
• Pakistan:NATO apologizes for shelling Pakistani border checkpoint (laaska.wordpress.com)
• Who fired first in Saturday’s deadly NATO airstrike on Pakistan? (shortformblog.tumblr.com)
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• A round up of international media on Pakistan’s response to the NATO strike (aleksandreia.wordpress.com)

© 2011, Masood Ashraf Raja. This article may not be reproduced in any form without providing an active attribution link/ reference to The Pakistan Forum. All attribution links within the article must also be retained.

Image via Wikipedia

According to recent reports, 24 Pakistani soldiers were allegedly killed by NATO airstrikes along the Pak-Afghan border. The Pakistani government, in retaliation, has blocked the two NATO supply routes and has also asked the US to vacate the CIA (drone)base in Balochistan.

This is a crucial moment for the so-called alliance between Pakistan and the US. So far, this alliance has only brought misery to Pakistani people and caused them to be immediate targets of Taliban and other militant reprisals. Pakistan so far has been the ideal soft target for the militants any time they are under pressure and want to lash out against targets close by. The Americans, on the other hand, might lose their troops in this war but their home country is safely away and thus not subject to such reprisals.

This latest bombing of Pakistani border posts should not be taken lightly: the general fog of war claims cannot hold here as the positions were known to NATO, as they have been provided the exact coordinates of Pakistani posts. If this is a sort of message to Pakistan, it is rather a sad and cynical message. What does it tell Pakistani people: simply that when cornered, the NATO troops have no qualms about killing the troops of their most important ally in the region.

I am glad to know that the Pakistani government is showing some courage here, as they have asked the US to vacate their base in Balochistan, but I think the government and the military need to do more. They need to clarify it to their so-called allies that killing of Pakistani soldiers and civilians cannot be tolerated especially if they turn out to be premeditated or caused by the carelessness of NATO forces.

The NATO commanders should learn that in their zeal to capture or kill their foes in Afghanistan, they cannot just blow up anything that stands in their way. Sometimes, it is necessary to let your enemy escape if bombing them kills quite a few of your friends in the process.

Yes, it is time Pakistan re-evaluated its committment to the war on terror and it is also time for the Pakistanis to safeguard their own people and their own national interest.

Related articles

• Chaos: Pakistan wants U.S. drone base shut after NATO attack kills 26 Pakistani troops (hotair.com)
• Pakistan tells NATO to leave air base (colonel6.com)
• Anti-NATO tension builds in Pakistan (cbsnews.com)
• Pakistan official: NATO attack kills 26 Pakistani soldiers – CNN International (edition.cnn.com)
• NATO attack allegedly kills 24 Pakistani troops (newsok.com)

© 2011, Masood Ashraf Raja. This article may not be reproduced in any form without providing an active attribution link/ reference to The Pakistan Forum. All attribution links within the article must also be retained.