Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, PEMRA has taken notice of Gala Biscuit featuring Mehwish Hayat.
The notice from PERMA comes a day after the commercial went on air. TVC of Gala Biscuit released on October 4. As soon as Hayat shared it on her Twitter account, it caused an uproar on social media. Many people took it to social media demanding the PEMRA to look into the matter. Moreover they highlighted the fact that how the visuals went against the “norms” of Pakistani society.
Let me take you on a majestic journey of our #des, as the most awaited #deskayqissay is unveiled. It has been an absolute pleasure to be part of this masterpiece by #Gala #deskabiscuit, where we cherish the cultural diversity of our des bcoz “apnay des ka har rung hai Niraala” ♥️ pic.twitter.com/BBb6IQ0IMp
— Mehwish Hayat TI (@MehwishHayat) October 4, 2020
Since this issue was trending on Twitter so finally PEMRA issued an official notification in this regard. It directed all channels to get visuals of advertisements approved by the monitoring committee prior to their telecast.
Celebrities on Twitter:
In a tweet, columnist and journalist Ansar Abbasi dubbed the advertisement a “mujra”. Moreover, he also called upon Pemra to take action against it.
بسکٹ بیچنے کے لیے اب ٹی وی چینلز پر مُجرا چلے گا۔ پیمرا @reportpemra نام کا کوئی ادارہ ہے یہاں؟ کیا @ImranKhanPTI اس معاملہ پر کوئی ایکشن لیں گے؟ کیا پاکستان اسلام کے نام پر نہیں بنا تھا؟؟
— Ansar Abbasi (@AnsarAAbbasi) October 4, 2020
Replying to the journalist’s tweet, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan added that the premier was against such “anti-Islamic stuff” which goes against cultural norms and has “damaging effects on the youth”.
PM @ImranKhanPTI Sahb is totally against such anti Islamic stuff on media which is against our cultural norms & has damaging effects on our youth.
No place for such absurdity in an Islamic state, which was made on the Kailma Tayyabaلا الہ الا اللہ محمد رسول اللہ https://t.co/0nVDOGRKsC
— Ali Muhammad Khan (@Ali_MuhammadPTI) October 4, 2020
Others on social media, however, pointed out that the advertisement did not merit the type of backlash it received.