FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AS-269-2007
November 19, 2007

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

PAKISTAN: Dubai-based TV channels forcibly shut down

Pressure applied by the government of Pakistan has caused officials in Dubai to order that the broadcasts of two popular television channels, Geo News and ARY, be cut as of midnight on November 16. Both channels are based in the UAE but for the most part broadcast news about Pakistan.

According to the press reports from the management of these two channels, the government of Pakistan has used its influence on the authorities of Dubai to stop the transmissions. The statement from Geo, a leading Urdu-language broadcaster, was shut down at 1am Pakistan time on November 17 because it had refused to bow down to the dictates of President Pervez Musharraf. ARY made a similar claim.

After the imposition of emergency rule on November 3 the Musharraf government stopped telecasts of private radio and television agencies through cable operators and simultaneously issued two ordinances against the electronic and print media. Through Pakistan Electronic Media Control Authority (PEMRA) ordinances, it is pressurizing the media to agree to new conditions before they can reopen under provisional licenses, and some private channels had complied.

Geo was further asked to submit all its programmes for monitoring by government officials so that no program would be aired without clearance. When it failed to comply, the authorities put the hard word on the government of Dubai.

The Asian Human Rights Commission strongly regrets the decision of the Dubai authorities to relent to outside pressure and close the transmissions from Geo News and ARY. It greatly undermines their credibility when acting on orders from another state they interfere in the free flow of news and information concerning affairs that are of no concern or threat to their own stability.

The AHRC urges the government of Dubai to restore immediately the transmission rights of both Geo News and ARY without any condition other than those normally attached to such activities in the UAE. It exhorts the people of Dubai not to undermine the aspirations and struggle of the Pakistani people for civilian rule, the restoration of their constitution, the release of arrested judges, and the supremacy of the judiciary and withdrawal of emergency rule.

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About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.