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.
Put your trust behind Mushraf what are other choices? Bhutto who stole money from Pakistan?
that demand for payment from ISI was in response to a smarty pants wondering aloud why so many commentators were supporting the imposition of emergency. And if there was one person posting similar sentiments under different names. There must be just two people on this comment section then. I ask you sir, to please step in the light.
Independent media is an amusing term. The media has had unprecedented liberty to report. Even to comment. But it has frequently crossed all limits that a civil society imposes. In the USA for instance, the FCC has many regulations that restrict what can and what can’t be said on air. In addition there are citizen bodies that pressurize broadcasters and sponsors to change programming. Granted this is usually entertainment programming. Still, running afoul of these restrictions can mean fines of multimillion dollars per infraction.
The americans are even harsher when the news media makes a mistake. Dan Rather, one of the most respected journalists in America with a career spanning decades got fired and lost a lifetime of respect when he unknowingly presented a forged document during a show to prove a point. He should have researched the voracity of his sources. In Pakistani media, these people are running wild with gossip and innuendo. The only one I’ll miss is Jawab Deh, but hopefully, someother channel still on air will pick him up smartly.
ctrl c, ctrl p
We know that our judiciary was corrupt, for over 59 years our judges bowed to the Army generals. They never gave verdicts according to the constitution. They always legitimized the rule of dictators. And then one fine morning , we found a person whom we never thought in our dreams to take up the cause of people. He went in front of the dictator , told him:
Alright from now onwards, all the decisions will be according to the constitution of Pakistan.
And now we find that there are 50 of his brother judges following him.
Why can I not dream that :
One fine morning one of our generals overthrows their boss, issue a one line statement :
I happen to witness a lively and vociferous protest by journalists today outside the Geo building in Blue Area, Islamabad.
Asma Shirazi, a familiar face if you have been watching Geo or ARY, read the famous protest poem by Ahmed Faraz. This was followed by fiery speeches different anchorpersons, Hamid Mir among them, and office bearers of the union of journalists.
What I found most interesting were the slogans. They had the rhyme and the rhythm and were also meaningful. I wish I had a pen and paper to write them down. One slogan, led by a young woman from QAU, went something like this:
Ab ghar pe baith ke ro Musharraf
Go Musharraf, Go Musharrf
This is the first protest I have witnessed since I came to Pakistan a few days ago. I get the feeling that these protests are not going to die down soon.
There is going to be one tomorrow outside the ARY office in F-7/4. (By the way, ARY has also been closed.)