The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has shown that, under the present government, it will exercise its powers arbitrarily. This was proven by the massive million-rupee fines slapped on Waqt TV and Samaa TV for allegedly broadcasting an interview of Mumtaz Qadri, the killer of Punjab Governor Taseer, without examining whether or not an interview had actually been carried out. It thus became obvious that PEMRA, instead of being an independent regulator, was comfortable with the role of a tool of the government for suppressing the freedom of press and the free flow of information. This exercise of discretionary power was particularly blatant because it should have been obvious to PEMRA that the supposed interview consisted of existing video footage put together. It is frightening enough to learn that PEMRA lacks the expertise to make such a distinction, and it is even more frightening that the government has found itself in the position of such lack of intelligence. That it is badly advised is one thing, but that it is so badly served in this electronic age is not just disturbing for news channels, but also for the viewing public, to whom these channels try to convey the truth, which the government, thinking in pre-electronic terms, wants to suppress. The government would do well to keep in mind that the Pakistani print media has not only won its freedom by hard struggle, but also the right to enter the electronic field. With that tradition in the immediate background, the electronic media will also not accept this repression, but will resist these attempts to curtail their freedom. Since that freedom is restrained by the same tired old methods only marginally updated, they are bound to fail, and that too badly. It would be in the fitness of things if PEMRA was to rescind the fines once it is established that the footage was not of any interview. The government must also cease its attempts to suppress the truth being told by these channels, which includes stopping the misuse of PEMRA.