Pakistani broadcaster Geo News apologized for airing a documentary on Sunday after facing a 15-day suspension a day earlier.
Geo News said it apologizes for the content of the program “Safar-e-Ishq” which was aired during the holy month of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar.
“Geo News has acknowledged an editorial error regarding the content broadcast during its 10th Muharram broadcast,” the broadcaster said on its website.
It added that the program “featured certain rituals practiced by a limited number of people in Iraq and some other Middle Eastern countries.”
It did not clarify which rituals were depicted in the documentary.
What did Pakistan’s media watchdog say on the suspension of Geo News?
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on Saturday said that “given the religious, cultural and social sensitivities, telecast of such visual representations is a matter of serious regulatory concern,” adding that the program in question was “liable to offend the religious sentiments of the viewers and create a risk of disturbance of public peace.”
Pakistan has increased media regulation during the holy month of Muharram.
The statement also did not provide further details on the content of the documentary.
Some members of Iraq’s Shia Muslim community perform skits and processions depicting early Islamic figures, known as taziyah, a practice generally discouraged by scholars of the more widespread Sunni sect of Islam.
Most Pakistanis are Sunni Muslims, while about 10% are from the Shia minority. Tension between the two groups has led to clashes in the past.
Pakistan also has strict blasphemy laws, which sometimes lead to vigilante violence.
The South Asian country was ranked 158th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders (RSF)’s 2025 Press Freedom Index.
Edited by: Srinivas Majumdaru
Don’t let algorithms hide news. If you trust our team for reliable reporting, please take a moment to select us as your preferred source on Google click here And press the “Star” or “Favorite” button, so you always see our verified news first.