Pakistan journalists protest closure of two TV channels

Pakistan’s journalists held countrywide protests on Saturday against the closure of Geo TV and ARY One World’s news operations in Dubai.The closure caught both channels unawares, and Geo openly blamed President Musharraf for using his influence with the ruler of Dubai to have the channel shut down.

“Geo TV, Pakistan’s premier Urdu news channel, also seen round the world as the main source of news and current affairs, was shut down at 1 a.m. Pakistan time (midnight Dubai time) on Saturday after President Pervez Musharraf put tremendous pressure to silence a media outlet which had refused to bow down to his dictates,” the private channel said in a statement.

The channels were banned in Pakistan following the November 3 emergency but they continued to broadcast programmes via satellite from their head offices at the Dubai Media Centre.
Few in Pakistan’s media world expected that the Dubai authorities would move against the two channels.

In Islamabad, journalists took out a protest rally, while in Karachi, they held a demonstration outside the Geo office. Protests were also held in Lahore.