As a result of several complaints, Pakistan’s Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) ordered local television broadcasters to “stop airing kiss and hug scenes” in dramas.
“A large strata of society,” according to PEMRA, believes that Pakistani plays don’t portray a “real picture” of Pakistani society.
Hugs/caress scenes/extramarital interactions are being glamorised in complete contempt of Islamic teachings and Pakistani society’s tradition, according to the notification.
As a result of this development, legal and human rights expert Reema Omer stated: “PEMRA finally got something right: intimacy and affection between married couples isn’t the “real picture of Pakistani culture” and must not be ‘glamourized.”
According to the legal expert, “our ‘culture’ involves control, abuse, and violence, which we must fiercely preserve against the intrusion of such alien ideals.
With regard to caress/hug moments in dramas, PEMRA has instructed all Satellite TV channels in the notification to desist from airing them while also conducting an in-house monitoring committee review to alter or amend them in light of viewers’ reservations and concerns.
All satellite TV licensees are ordered to stop airing such content in dramas from now on and guarantee that PEMRA laws are followed to the letter and spirit, according to the statement.