According to media reports four armed men stormed the office located the posh Clifton locality of the city in the evening, forced employees to vacate the office and then set fire to the premise. The fire fighters rushed to the scene and managed to extinguish the fire.

In May, the industry association of cable television operators had decided to suspend transmission of Geo Television Network channels ostensibly for broadcasting blasphemous content. The television network apologised for the programme but also went to court against the decision of the cable operators. The court ruled the suspension as illegal and directed cable operators to resume transmission of Geo. Worldcall and a number of other cable networks restored transmission but many did not. The arson attack seems to be in retaliation against the the restoration of Geo Television. Worldcall again suspended transmission of Geo Television channels after the arson attack.

“Worldcall had received several threats two days before the incident, and it also informed police about it but no security stepa were taken in this regard,” said Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists President Afzal Butt. Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) in a statement strongly condemned the attack and demanded that Rangers, police and law enforcement agencies personnel should trace out the culprits involved in the attack and apprehend them.

Pakistan Press Foundation

Reporters Without Borders condemns the use of intimidation and violence as a new way to silence the embattled TV news station Geo News after unidentified gunmen torched cable TV operator WorldCall’s premises in the southern city of Karachi on 19 July.

WorldCall had only recently resumed transmission of Geo News, which a government agency suspended for 15 days last month.

Police and witnesses said between four and six gunmen stormed into WorldCall’s offices, disarmed security guards, ordered employees to leave and then set fire to the place. The blaze gutted the premises but caused no injuries. It also interrupted transmission of Geo News in several parts of the city.

“This attack was an illegal act of censorship and an unacceptable act of intimidation of cable TV operators, who play a key role in freedom of information,” said Benjamin Ismaïl, the head of the Reporters Without Borders Asia-Pacific desk.

“Cable TV operators have already been the victims of intimidation in the past and now a new threat is hanging over them. The Pakistani authorities have a duty to take this threat seriously and adopt measures to protect them.”

WorldCall had received threats and had reported them to the police but no special measures were taken to protect the company.

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) suspended Geo News for 15 days on 6 June after it broadcast claims by its leading anchor, Hamid Mir, that the intelligence agencies were behind the shooting attack in which he was badly injured on 19 April.

Although the 15-day suspension ended a month ago, Geo News still cannot be seen in many parts of Pakistan because threats are deterring cable TV operators from restoring it to the range of channels they offer. On 18 July, for example, an attempt was made to set fire to a cable TV operator in Rahimyar Khan, in the eastern province of Punjab.

Pakistan is ranked 158th out of 180 countries in the 2014 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.

Reporters Without Border

The court further said it was yet to be seen what course could be adopted if the cable operators did not broadcast transmission of a channel on a specific slot.Justice Ijazul Ahsan was hearing a petition of the Independent Media Corporation against not restoring the Geo News transmission on the specific slot in line with the Supreme Court’s orders.

Geo News Lahore Bureau chief Khawar Naeem Hashmi, Electronic Media Reporters Association President Asim Naseer, Electronic News Camera Association President Waheed Butt, Jang Workers Union President Rukhsana Nazli, Vice-President Muhammad Arshad, General Secretary Waseem Babar, civil society representative Abdullah Malik, PPP leader Iftikhar Shahid, LHC Bar Association Finance Secretary candidate Amina Ajmal and a large number of senior journalists were present in the courtroom.

At the outset, Pemra informed the court that show-cause notices had been issued to cable operators who did not available on cable network.Geo News counsels Behzad Haider and Jam Asif argued that the transmission had not been completely restored and it was totally closed in many areas. They pointed out that the cable operators had not restored Geo News transmission on its slot as it was on April 19.

At this, the Pemra counsel said Geo News had been restored but the bone of contention between cable operators and Geo News was its restoration on the previous slot. He suggested that the cable operators and Geo News could strike a deal on the issue.

The Geo News counsel contended that the Geo News transmission had not been brought back in compliance with the apex court’s order which was tantamount to an offence. “Now, PEMRA has come up with a plea that Geo’s transmission has been restored after issuance of show-cause notices to cable operators. The Have cable operators become saint?” the counsel questioned.

He said the Pemra had not taken action against the cable operators for violating the court orders. He requested the court to direct the cable operators to restore Geo News to its previous slot.The court, however, said it was a legal issue that would have to be determined.

During the hearing, Azam Nazir Tarar appeared on behalf of Pakistan Broadcasters Association and requested the court that the association wanted to become a party in the case. He said the association had 127 members and they might be affected by restoration of Geo News to its previous slot. The Geo News counsel opposed it; the court, however, adjourned the hearing till July 25.

The News