ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party on Wednesday demanded that it should also be given licence for setting up FM radio particularly in those areas where rival political groups had been “allowed” to operate FM radio stations by respective governors or by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) authorities.

In a statement Wednesday, the PPP spokesperson former Senator Farhatullah Babar called upon the NWFP governor to allow the party to set up a FM radio.

He said that the present military regime had “permitted” an Al-Qaeda aide Maulana Fazlullah the son in law of Maulana Sufi to operate an FM radio, which was spreading confusion amongst the people and trying to brainwash them against the democratic forces.

He said that if elections were to be fair, all parties must be given a level playing field and PPP must also be allowed to operate its radio station to reach the masses with its pro-people message.

It may be recalled that Maulana Fazllulah operates a radio station from Swat in a place called Fazagat.

Pemra has said that its ordinance did not extend to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (Pata) and matters pertaining to the electronic media in these areas were governed by the governor’s secretariat.

Babar noted that law enforcing agencies and Maulana Fazlullah a couple of weeks ago reached an agreement on the radio station. “In the agreement, Maulana Fazlullah promised that he would not indulge in any type of activity, which was against the policies of the government, with special reference to polio vaccination and other health services of the authorities concerned,” he added.
Source: The News
Date:7/26/2007