Source: The New York Times
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — With the notable absence of two hard-hitting political talk shows, Pakistan’s most popular private television news channel was allowed to resume cable broadcasts within the country on Monday, ending a blackout that had lasted more than two months.
The channel, Geo, and other television networks, were taken off the air after President Pervez Musharraf imposed a state of emergency in the country on Nov. 3 as he suspended the Constitution, fired the Supreme Court and blocked all independent news media.
Almost all of the news networks were allowed to resume broadcasting by December as Mr. Musharraf lifted the emergency, and after the networks had agreed to sign a controversial “code of conduct.” But executives at Geo, known for its aggressive news coverage, refused to sign and so it remained off the air in Pakistan.
President Musharraf said he was allowing Geo to resume broadcasting in a decision officially announced Sunday, which came as he was about to leave on an eight-day visit to Europe. The announcement was widely seen in Pakistan as a move to thwart criticism he might have faced abroad about attempts to muzzle the news media.
It was unclear whether Geo had agreed to sign the code of conduct as a condition for the resumption. But the network did agree to keep two popular political talk shows off the air at least temporarily because of Mr. Musharraf’s objections to them, said a Geo official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the issue.
Geo executives did not comment on any specifics of the negotiations. The network said in a statement that “many issues have been resolved between the two parties, but some are still left and it is hoped that they would be resolved very soon.”
In an interview on Monday evening, Mir Ibrahim Rahman, the chief executive of Geo, said the network had “resumed its broadcast with a message of tolerance.”
He said Geo had lost $25 million because of the cable broadcast suspension in Pakistan and it was “just thankful to be back on air.”
The cable ban in Pakistan did not affect the Geo network’s broadcast out of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which was available on satellite and over the Internet. However, a majority of Pakistan’s population uses cable systems to view private television networks and could not watch Geo during the ban.
Mr. Musharraf was initially credited with liberalizing the independent press after he took power in 1999.
The news media flourished under his rule as more than a dozen private networks started up and became popular.
However, strains appeared between President Musharraf and news media organizations last spring over the legal and political wrangling surrounding Mr. Musharraf’s suspension of Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the chief justice of the Pakistani Supreme Court.
Critical political talk shows, extensive coverage of opposition lawyers and political rallies, live broadcasts of Mr. Chaudhry’s speeches and vitriolic criticism of Pakistani military angered Mr. Musharraf.
Government officials accused independent news media of becoming an opposition mouthpiece, indulging in sensationalism and insulting the Pakistani military.
Many viewers and analysts say the television news networks have lost their sting and criticism of the government is diluted since the networks have been allowed to resume broadcasting.
Mohammed Mian Soomro, the caretaker prime minister, denied that the government was restricting any news media organization, and said that the government “would continue to work closely with representatives of media organizations in the country to further strengthen their positive role.”
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2 responses so far ↓
1 Ch Arshad Ali // Jan 23, 2008 at 12:13 pm
*Plz clear your mind and think *
I think you are not aware of GEO…
its been funded by usa govt……
just think, what an unknown lobby want…..
the basic , idea is to promote frustration, and despondence in a nation so
they start to demoralized and the future can be mapped as they want to
project in the minds of 50 percent Illiterate population….
that are born muslim ,,, can’t read, but can see….
why on earth USA is concern with only GEO ,why cnn bbc and bush quote GEO?
why not other tv channels in china ? japan, CUBA ,Indian channel,arab,
france ….. ?
why only pakistan ???? ??
- why Geo showed peoples body without head ,only fingers parts,
people dying after bomb blast ,?does any other channel show these
thing????
- Just think……
- (in India more then 2000 muslims were killed in Gujarat for
three months!!!!
- any 36 hours live coverage of these killing have any one seen
on ZEE or star or sony, etc any Indian channels????
Babri masjid was destroyed by hindu any live coverage ????
nuns in tamil nado of India were burn alive in church and for next 6 hours
the church was burning did any Indian or cnn or bbc showed that ?????in
france 700 cars were burn in one day ) ,,,
- There are 89 separatist movement in India in 2007 …from bihar to
Kashmir assam etc….
- Do you see on any Indian channel showing …250 million people
sleeping
on footpath???? ?
- (zee India never showed killing of Kashmiris and the attack on
GOLDEN TEMPLE ,killing of Sikhs in Indian soil…..
- how many Israeli channel show killing by Israeli soldiers ????when
they kill Palestinians? ????
- have you ever seen Indian president or politician been given GALEE
on tv channel during live coverage????
- any killing by irish republican army
- 30,000 rape cases in USA do you see them reported on any tv ????
- but you see muktaran maee case on evrey other channel but on
geo/cnn/bbc cause the image has to of an unlawful
- Why geo was not concerned with benazir wealth and property (i got
this mail before her death and now as she has been killed so hence we need
to respect cause she is not there to clarify anymore and hence its a little
unjust too)??
- And Nawaz sharif property (a popular leader in Pakistan but another
with serious allegations of corruption)??
WHO is GEO ????
just think ????
they telecast a false news about emergency and stock markets crashed in
Pakistan …
- do you know Kamran khan was getting RS 25 (20,000 US $ ) lakh per
month,
- do you know DR shahid masood, was a member of NSF student party (
a political left wing student party against Pakistan and its social
infrastructure working through Russian aid in Afghanistan and
Pakistan….) with
RS 22 lakh (around 18000 US $) per month and home in dubai and karachi
,,multiple visa …
- ..same amount been paid to hamid meer editor ausaf……even nadia
khan with Rs 6 lakh per month…. Such huge amount just to for free
???????
- when they were not able to broadcast the 8 hour cricket match they
said they lost 1 billion rupees (6,000,000 + US $) ,and just imagine
without any money just for free they were broadcasting judge activity
in peoples party car for free, Nawaz sharif for free and benazir for
free……
- All 36 hour coverage just for free?????
- by a private channel !!!!!!!!!!!!
- alim online where mr amir Liaqat sitting in grave and dramatizing
islam ..he translated the dua of imam kaba and .broadcasted by his
name on tv.
- Audience 50% jahil people in pakistan
- geo did not showed any good news like Islamabad, Peshwar motorway but
instead it showed dead people in karachi ….they never discuss
5.1billion dollar of oil refinery in pakistan instead they showed
beheading
of Pakistani people… never discuss why America is telling musharf
to take his uniform????
- why USA is interfering in our business internal politics..!!
A COUNTRY WHERE 60 percent of population cannot read and never been to
school , media must be free……?
You Decide…..
2 ilyas // Apr 20, 2008 at 4:19 pm
y not geo super f t afor pakistani people
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