ACCOUNTABILITY REGIME OF PAKISTAN ELECTRONIC MEDIA REGULATORY AUTHORITY: A PROPOSED CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Abstract

The focus of this study is to assess accountability of electronic media authorities in Pakistan by analyzing the case of Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA). This research aims to investigate the emergence and rationale behind creation of independent regulatory authorities, why they need to be held accountable and what framework can be used for their accountability in the specific context of Pakistan. Extensive exploration of existing literature is used to explain the phenomena and as a result a holistic conceptual framework is proposed consisting of accountability regime of PEMRA which includes vertical, horizontal, diagonal and downward accountability forums. The proposed framework of this study contributes to the existing literature on the accountability of independent regulatory authorities and can also be explored in different sectors where regulatory authorities are operating.