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Islamabad, August 11, 2025 — The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) held a special ceremony today at its headquarters in Islamabad to issue cable TV licenses to successful bidders at the district level. Chairman PEMRA, Muhammad Saleem, welcomed the distinguished guests and license recipients.
This marks the first time PEMRA has introduced district-level cable TV licensing. In the first phase, PEMRA invited applications from interested companies and individuals across 143 districts through advertisements published in national newspapers and on its website in February 2025. The announcement was also widely promoted via television channels, FM radio, and cable TV networks.
As a result, 36 companies submitted a total of 91 applications. Competitive bidding was held for 9 districts, including Mianwali, Sialkot, Swat, Abbottabad, Muzaffargarh, Sahiwal, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, and Attock. In 44 districts, where only one or two applications were received, offer letters were issued directly.
Following a transparent bidding process, 29 companies were provisionally declared eligible for 67 licenses. Out of these, 20 companies successfully completed all documentation requirements and were issued 42 licenses for 37 districts during today’s ceremony.
Chairman PEMRA Muhammad Saleem Baig congratulated the new license holders, expressing hope that they would provide high-quality entertainment and information while strictly adhering to PEMRA regulations. He emphasized the importance of fairness, professionalism, and launching new networks responsibly.
He also informed the attendees that PEMRA has issued a new advertisement for the second phase of license distribution and extended the deadline for applications by 20 days, encouraging wide participation.
The event was attended by several senior PEMRA officials, including:
- Sardar Irfan Ashraf Khan (Executive Director General, Licensing Distribution)
- Wakeel Khan (Executive Director General, Licensing Broadcast Media)
- Muhammad Tahir (Executive Director General, Operations & Public Relations)
- Khurram Siddiqui (Executive Director General, Admin)
- Ikram Barkat (Director General, Punjab)
- Umar Waqas Qureshi (Director General, Licensing Distribution)
- Tamseel Haider (Director General, Chairman Secretariat)
- Rana Ahmed Mustafa (Director General, Executive Member Secretariat)
- Saeed Ahmed Soomro
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