Darwaish
UPDATE: Nov. 3, 2007: Emergency Declared in Pakistan.
UPDATE: Nov. 4, 2007: Media Gagged. Listen to Geo News here.
In my last post, I mentioned that Electronic Media is under siege and many programs are likely to be banned. But I was not expecting it to happen so soon. Geo News transmission have been completely shut down in most parts of the country and Aaj TVvhas disappeared from my cable at least (WorldCall Cable, Lahore).
I don’t know if Aaj TV has been completely banned or not. It happened while I was watching Dr. Shahid Masood’s Mere Mutabiq. Muslim League (Q)’s own Vice President Kabir Wasti was strongly criticizing General Musharaf, holding him responsible for the judicial crises when suddenly Geo News was shut down. I thought that its a temporary ban and transmission will be back as soon as Dr. Shahid’s program is over but its been several hours now and still no signs of Geo or Aaj coming back on my cable. A friend of mine sent me this SMS from Karachi that Geo News disappeared from most parts of the Sindh around 8 o clock too during Imran Khan’s interview in another program Jawab De.
Geo News website has this to say:
The government has blocked the transmission of the Geo News TV channel across the country due to the reasons best known to them. The viewers calls flooded the Geo office to ask that why the transmission of Geo News TV channel was suddenly suspended when the famous programme, “Meray Mutabik” was going on air.
The calls from the viewers were received from various parts of the country. According to Geo News sources the government has blocked the transmission of the Geo News. Geo transmission was blocked in various parts of Islamabad, Lahore, Hyderabad, Karachi and other areas. The citizens, social and political circles have condemned the ban on transmission of Geo News and they have demanded of the government to immediately lift ban on the transmission of the Geo News and give complete freedom to media in the country.
I am unable to understand why this step has been taken but lets wait and see the official reason which will surely be Afwaje Pakistan ke khilaaf baat ki gaye hai. I suspect the title of Dr. Shahid’s program Idaro Ka Takrao – Fatah Kiski Ho Gi (Clash of Institutions – Who Will be Victorious) must have caused concerns among people sitting in Information Ministry aka Mr. Ghalat Biyani.
Whatever government says but I thought it was a very interesting program and a healthy discussion going on when some wise men decided to shut it down. I hope the ban is lifted soon and government shows some common sense. Like they say in Urdu, Kuch Hosh Ke Nakhun Lo Bhai. Whatever happened to those free media and freedom of press claims :). This is yet another direct attack on freedom of expression and truly a shameful act and should be strongly condemned. I am afraid Dr. Shahid Masood will be in trouble once again for not being afraid, for speaking his mind and saying what is in hearts of millions of ordinary Pakistanis.
following is the article which was published in the famous england news paper on sunday, do read it ,
you can also check it on following link
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2093572,00.html
The Karachi ruling party ‘run like the mafia’ from an office block in London
· MQM accused of planning carnage which left 42 dead
· Khan calls for leader in UK to face anti-terror charges
Declan Walsh in Karachi and Matthew Taylor
Saturday June 2, 2007
The Guardian
Outside may be Karachi but inside the discreetly guarded room all minds are focused on London. The clock is set to British summer time and a pair of telephones connect to an office 5,000 miles away, from where a controversial Pakistani leader runs his political empire.
Altaf Hussain leads the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) – a powerful, popular and, critics say, thuggish political force that has a vice-like grip on Karachi. At “Nine Zero”, the party headquarters in a middle-class suburb, his presence looms large. A giant poster hangs over the entrance and reverential acolytes speak of “Altaf bhai”, or brother. But the great leader is missing.
The Karachi ruling party ‘run like the mafia’ from an office block in London
· MQM accused of planning carnage which left 42 dead
· Khan calls for leader in UK to face anti-terror charges
Declan Walsh in Karachi and Matthew Taylor
Saturday June 2, 2007
The Guardian
Outside may be Karachi but inside the discreetly guarded room all minds are focused on London. The clock is set to British summer time and a pair of telephones connect to an office 5,000 miles away, from where a controversial Pakistani leader runs his political empire.
Altaf Hussain leads the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) – a powerful, popular and, critics say, thuggish political force that has a vice-like grip on Karachi. At “Nine Zero”, the party headquarters in a middle-class suburb, his presence looms large. A giant poster hangs over the entrance and reverential acolytes speak of “Altaf bhai”, or brother. But the great leader is missing.
Article continues
For the past 16 years Mr Hussain has lived in self-imposed exile in the UK, first as an asylum seeker and now as a British citizen. Based in an office block on Edgware High Street in north London he rules by phone, directing his closest lieutenants in long, late-night conversations. But in Pakistan that arrangement has become a matter of controversy – one about to land at the British government’s door.
Yesterday the cricketer turned politician Imran Khan arrived in London to try to have Mr Hussain prosecuted under British anti-terror laws. Three weeks ago gunmen opened fire on a rally in support of the chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, triggering a day of bloodshed that left 42 people dead. Mr Khan – as well as lawyers, human rights activists and opposition parties – accuse Mr Hussain of orchestrating the carnage from his sofa in London.
“The whole thing was planned. No British citizen is allowed to sit in London and direct terrorist operations abroad. So why should Altaf Hussain?” said Mr Khan who described the MQM as “a fascist movement run by criminals”.
If Pakistan has to arrest al-Qaida operatives then Britain has an obligation to pick up Mr Hussain, added Mr Khan, who plans to bring a petition to Downing Street. “There’s a war on terror going on but here we have Pakistan’s No 1 terrorist being given sanctuary by the British government,” he said.
The MQM denies the charges, and insists it was the victim and not the perpetrator of May 12. The party says 13 of its own activists were among the dead, and last week it produced a video from May 12 showing apparent supporters of the rival Pakistan People’s party firing their guns in the air. “This is a conspiracy against us. Our decision to hold a rally on May 12 may be open to criticism, but we were not involved in armed attacks,” said Dr Farooq Sattar, head of the party in Pakistan.
But Mr Hussain has little to say. At the MQM’s “International Secretariat” on Edgware High Street – a red brick office block opposite a supermarket – a party official said the leader was not available for comment. But he was happy to show the Guardian around the offices, which he confirmed was Mr Hussain’s London headquarters, and he vowed to repel any court action by Mr Khan.
The fight is getting personal. Back in Karachi graffiti slurs against Imran Khan appeared on walls and the MQM-dominated local government has banned him from the city for one month.
The MQM was founded in 1984 by Mr Hussain, a former Chicago cab driver, and won broad support among the “mohajirs” – Muslims who fled India after partition in 1947. The party prided itself on its well-oiled machine and its secular, liberal outlook. But it was also linked to extortion, gun smuggling and South African crime networks, according to a senior police officer speaking on condition of anonymity. “That’s what happens when a political party is run like the mafia,” he said.
Local reporters have a rich store of-tales from the 1990s. One said she found a severed hand as a warning in her front garden, another was kidnapped from his home.
But since it entered a coalition government with President Pervez Musharraf in 2002, the party has projected a different image based on secularism, economic development and support for the “war on terror”. Moderates such as the Karachi mayor, Mustafa Kamal, boast of new roads, sewage systems and billions of pounds in fresh investment. “MQM believes in every sect and religion. We are against extremism. We were the first people on the streets after 9/11,” he said.
But since May 12 the party’s aspirations of becoming a national force lie in shreds, and there are worrying echoes of past tactics. On Tuesday, three Karachi journalists with foreign news agencies found unmarked envelopes containing a single bullet on their car windscreens. Two of them had earlier been denounced as “anti-mohajir” by the MQM-linked Muhajir Rabita Council.
Will Mr Hussain ever come home? At Nine Zero, where beefy young men with baseball caps stand guard, there is little sign. “We do not want him to come back to Karachi; it is too dangerous here,” said parliamentarian Faisal Subzwari.
But there is always hope. A few doors down Mr Hussain’s deserted terraced house is waiting, protected by blastproof metal shutters. For now, though, it has just one occupant – a 24-hour telephone operator.
think following steps can be taken to fight the PEMRA / CABLE MAFIA
1. Buy a Dish Antena and a Reciever(a unit costs less than 5000 Rs) and share it with Mohalla / neigbours. Even better is to inject the signal in your cable connection :)
2. Geo / Aaj / ARY may make available the hourly news and all talk shows in a format where people can download them to their mobiles and share with friends via bluetooth etc.
well it is true that geo news transmission was blocked on sunday 3rd june 2007, after the start of program “meray mutabiq”. i am from rawalpindi cantt.and even today on monday when the same program was going to repeat geo news was off air, when i contected my cable operator , he told me that pemra has given strict orders to stop the transmission of geo news.its a shame, dr.shahid is doing a great job, and youth of pakistan is with him.he is unveiling the truths which were previously not discussed.we support our army, they are defending our country,but we dont support those who are involving in politics.i request to president of pakistan that for the best interest of pakistan ,he should leave the post of army chief, i request him to please dont involve our beloved army into politics and please please dont try to rule on the basis of gun,i am very much sure if you leave the post of cheif and participate in election as a civilian i tell u that youth of pakistan will surely 100% support u and make you the prime minister of pakistan.please president musharraf you are our elder , and i request you to please please leave the post of cheif of army!
well it is true that geo news transmission was blocked on sunday 3rd june 2007, after the start of program “meray mutabiq”. i am from rawalpindi cantt.and even today on monday when the same program was going to repeat geo news was off air, when i contected my cable operator , he told me that pemra has given strict orders to stop the transmission of geo news.its a shame, dr.shahid is doing a great job, and youth of pakistan is with him.he is unveiling the truths which were previously not discussed.we support our army, they are defending our country,but we dont support those who are involving in politics.i request to president of pakistan that for the best interest of pakistan ,he should leave the post of army chief, i request him to please dont involve our beloved army into politics and please please dont try to rule on the basis of gun,i am very much sure if you leave the post of cheif and participate in election as a civilian i tell u that youth of pakistan will surely 100% support u and make you the prime minister of pakistan.please president musharraf you are our elder , and i request you to please please leave the post of cheif!
Here is the link (Urdu); http://jang.com.pk/jang/jun2007-daily/04-06-2007/up42.gif