IMRAN AHMAD KHAN NIAZI vs PAKISTAN ELECTRONIC MEDIA REGULATORY AUTHORITY arts

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IMRAN AHMAD KHAN NIAZI VS PAKISTAN ELECTRONIC MEDIA REGULATORY AUTHORITY arts. 17(2), 15, 16 & 19---Political parties---Electoral rights and freedoms---Common election symbol, right to---Political party once formed under art. 17 of the Constitution has available to it the other fundamental rights relating to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of movement etc and the right to obtain a common election symbol which cannot be curtailed under any law except in the case of restrictions mentioned in art. 17 of the Constitution---Electoral rights and guarantees by the Constitution are framed around the right to form and be a member of a political party and all the rights that are collaterally connected thereto including the individual right to vote and the right to stand as candidates in elections---Rights endowed to a political party thus not only include the right to form and function but also all the concomitant rights that those right entail----Rights that are collaterally attached to the right to form or be a member of a political party thus enjoy the same status as the fundamental right under art. 17 itself---any law that curtails those rights is a fortiori unconstitutional and void ab initio. Citation Name: 2024 CLC 584 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE IMRAN AHMAD KHAN NIAZI VS PAKISTAN ELECTRONIC MEDIA REGULATORY AUTHORITY arts. 17(2), 15, 16, 19 & 19a---Electronic Media (Programmes and advertisements) Code of Conduct, 2015, Cls. 4(2), 4(7)(a) & 4(7)(b)---General Elections, 2024---Pre-election period---Coverage of candidates and political parties---Censorship of head of a political party on electronic media---Constitutionality---Informed citizenry, significance of---Ex-Prime Minister and former Chairman of one of the leading political parties was being censored on electronic media---Election processes must contribute to a level playing field in which all the political parties and the candidates feel enabled to communicate their message to the people through all the available medium of communication---If the parties and candidates in the run up to the elections are not provided free and fair entrée to the available public forums the resultant choice expressed by the people shall not fairly reflect the free formation of voter preference---Government has no right to prevent the media from covering certain candidates or political parties---Free and fair election requires freedom of speech, assembly, movement, and information through an independent media---Without these freedoms, no election can be called free, fair and democratic---High Court directed PEMRa to strictly ensure that the petitioner and candidates of all the political parties are given free and unrestricted access to media platforms/channels without any constraints from any quarter. Citation Name: 2024 CLC 584 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE IMRAN AHMAD KHAN NIAZI VS PAKISTAN ELECTRONIC MEDIA REGULATORY AUTHORITY art. 17(2)---Political parties---Right to freely contest elections---Election symbol, right to---Free media---Electoral guarantees the Constitution provides require the Court to interpret the electoral laws in a manner, even where diverse interpretations of a law are put forward, so as to uphold the right to freely contest the elections by a political party and its candidates under the banner of the political party and on its symbol and in an arena where multiple forums of media freely operate without government constraints.

IMRAN AHMAD KHAN NIAZI vs PAKISTAN ELECTRONIC MEDIA REGULATORY AUTHORITY arts — 2024 CLC 584 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE

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