Adil Najam
News is that GEO Network is closing down. I hope the news is a false alarm, but I am told that this has been announced on Geo TV itself. An email making the rounds from someone at GEO itself reads:
At this moment we here at Geo are extremely SAD as Geo network is forced to shut down due to Govt pressure on UAE our base country.
Insha Allah we will fight. We are proud that the management of Jang Group never made compromise and prefer to fight till death.
I would rather wait to hear more details and to see reaction to this from the government, from the people of Pakistan and also the rest of the world before I comment in detail. But my first reaction is, yet again, one of disgust. The things that we coudl have been most proud of in recent years and months – an assertive judiciary, a free media – are being snatched away one by one. I hope it turns out not to be so. But if so, then who next?
Original Post (Nov. 4, 2007):
The emergency declared by Gen. Pervez Musharraf yesterday was not surprising. But that does not make it any less disturbing. Amongst the many unspeakable actions that have resulted from this is a clampdown on the media, especially the electronic news media. In response, GEO News has made the audio stream of its transmissions available on line.
You can listen to GEO News by clicking on image below.
Windows Media Player or VLC is required to play this live audio.
Anonymous says:
“I request all of you to stand up and raise your voice. This must NOT be tolerated. Count yourselves among those who are protesting. This man has snatched our freedom to information, to truth, to a mine of knowledge about the wrong-doings of government.”
Anyone see an inconsistency in the above, or is it just me?
I feel devastated that freedom of speech is being halted in a so called Islamic Country, why is it that there is more freedom of speech in western countries than our own Islamic countries. How can you stop news, current affairs in the twentieth century is beyond belief.
It seems that General Musharraf is trying to salvage is leadership- wish him all the best!
Missing desperately GEO NEWS and current affairs.
Dr ajaz Chief Editor Scene Magazine UK
ajaz50uk@yahoo.co.uk
Wow…wow…wow…. Dear friends I want to share some thing after reading replies I suddenly felt some thing there is a very old saying “Jaisa Moo Waisa Hi Thapar”. People of Pakistan are so ignorant that they deserve Musharraf.
People media is free to criticize any body, we live in 21 century people, all of you who are criticizing Geo and Ary and want to listen to PTV NEWS and feel kay SAB THEEK HAY remind me of Pigeon that shuts eyes and think Cat doesn
Geo’s airing of the net cafe videos which resulted in the deaths of those girls has come back to haunt them in other forms. Irresponsible reporting and coverage such as showing dead bodies and pieces of bodies after bomb blasts are also signs of immaturity which exists in Geo. When was the last time Geo actually aired something positive about our country. Gloomy and negative, one sided accounts and the list goes on. I myself stopped watching Geo news and returned to good ol PTV for some sane reporting. I am totally against the shutting down of GEO but i think its about time Geo cleans up its own house and brings it in to order….
I believe GEO and ARY is worst then FOX. Looks like they carried the hidden agenda of polarizing our nation, and God damn it; they have done a good job. I couldn’t imagine our “son of soils” giving their lives and media were sabotaging their move by talking to Lal Masjid Imam. Where in the world you find a media like that? Of course in Pakistan, where so called the champion of “democracy” thinks “being liberal” means not holding any responsibility. I strongly believe that Pakistani army and the relatives of our soldiers who died in “Lal Masjid” incident should sue GEO and ARY of being so careless and tipping off the sensitive information that might caused more lives then what it supposed to be.