Geo News Defends Asha Bhosle Coverage After PEMRA Notice

Pakistan’s media regulator PEMRA sent a show-cause notice to Geo News after the channel aired tributes to legendary Indian singer Asha Bhosle, who died in Mumbai on April 12, 2026, at 92. The notice invoked a 2018 Supreme Court of Pakistan order that bans Indian content on Pakistani television. PEMRA summoned Geo News CEO Mir Ibrahim Rehman for a hearing on April 27.

Geo News managing director Azhar Abbas pushed back publicly. Abbas, who also heads the Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors, said it is natural to revisit and celebrate an iconic artist’s work when reporting on their death. “For an artist of Asha Bhosle’s stature, we should have done more — not less,” he wrote, criticising PEMRA for choosing to restrict such coverage.

Why Abbas Argued Art Crosses Borders

Abbas made a broader case for separating art from politics. “In times of war and conflict, art and artists should not become casualties,” he wrote. He pointed out that Bhosle herself admired Pakistan’s legendary singer Noor Jahan, calling her an elder sister. Bhosle also collaborated with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and brought Urdu poets like Nasir Kazmi’s work to wider audiences.

The notice landed against a tense backdrop. India and Pakistan had engaged in military exchanges following a terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. India subsequently carried out Operation Sindoor against terror bases in Pakistan. Abbas argued that musicians and creators are often the voices that bring people closer, not push them apart.

Wider Backlash Inside Pakistan

The reaction to PEMRA’s notice spread beyond Geo News. Political commentator Rauf Klasra invoked the military rule of General Zia-ul-Haq in the 1980s, a period marked by cultural restrictions and censorship. “Don’t take us back to the draconian years of the 80s,” Klasra wrote, adding that banning content in the age of Netflix and AI made Pakistan look foolish.

Another critic, X user Umer Farooq, questioned how the government planned to stop people from listening to Bhosle’s songs on YouTube. Pakistani artists had already paid public tributes to Bhosle before PEMRA issued the notice. The regulator’s move drew criticism as an overreach that conflated a cultural moment with a political stance.