After the suspension of 15 days, Geo News started its transmission once again at midnight of Friday and Saturday.Impartial channels flashed this news as ‘breaking news’.

Pemra has forwarded the notification of restoration of Geo News to all its regional offices with strict direction that the country’s cable operators should obey the order of the Supreme Court according to which the position of Geo News on cable TV network should be the same as was in the second week of April, 2014.

Similarly, Pemra has directed its regional offices to present reports for implementing its orders. The regulator has also formally issued a press release to all the newspapers, news agencies and channels regarding its notification.

Before the suspension of Geo News, some of the cable operators illegally kept the transmission of Geo Kahani, Geo Entertainment, Geo Tez and Geo Super off air for 45 days. Other cable operators shifted the Geo channels to the last numbers on the cable network.

Geo News also obeyed the order of Pemra and paid a fine of Rs10 million. In addition, the shift in position of the channel cost billions of rupees to the Geo Group.

All the viewers were of the opinion that they were missing the news and analysis of Geo News. They prayed for reinstatement of Geo News and expressed pleasure after its restoration on the night of June 20, 2014.

The News

The participants of the camp urged the government to lift the ban on the favourite channel and curbs on the largest media group of the country. A large number of journalists from print and electronic media, members of the civil society and representatives of the non-government organisations visited the camp set up by the Khyber Union of Journalists (KhUJ) to express solidarity with the Jang Media Group.

The participants of the camp chanted slogans against the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) for blacking out the transmission of the most popular TV channel of the country.

Arshad Aziz Malik, Mahmood Jan Babar, Shamim Shahid, Farmanullah Jan, Tahir Hussain, Azeem Khan, Imdad Ali Qizilbash, Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz leader Arbab Khizer Hayat, Saima Munir of the Aurat Foundation and others turned up at the camp.

Speaking on the occasion, the participants resented closure of the Geo TV. They said that the suspension of the licence of the channel had deprived the viewers of watching their favourite channel.

They asked the journalist community to unite against the curbs on the channel. They said that other television channels would be targetted in future if the ban on the Geo channel was not resisted.

The speakers said that muzzling the press would pose a threat to the democratic system in the country. They said that Jang Media Group was the largest media group in the country and its workers rendered matchless sacrifices for freedom of the press.

They said the group suffered financial losses, but didn’t bow to any pressure and continued to disseminate authentic and correct information to its viewers and readers. The participants threatened to launch a countrywide protest if the ban on the Geo TV was not lifted.

The News

Several journalists from the print and electronic media, political workers, members of the civil society, artistes and trade union representatives visited the camp being arranged by the Khyber Union of Journalists and Peshawar Press Club jointly. The participants flayed the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) for taking Geo TV channel off air for 15 days.

Those present at the camp asked the government to lift the curbs on the largest media group of the country. The protesting journalists also asked the government to provide protection to Jang Media Group workers and its installations.

The speakers flayed the attacks on senior anchorperson Hamid Mir and Resident Editor of Jang in Multan, Zafar Aheer. They resented attacks of vehicles carrying thousands of copies of The News and Jang.

President Khyber Union of Journalists Nisar Mehmood, former KhUJ president Arshad Aziz Malik, Farmanullah Jan, Shamim Shahid, Mehmood Jan Babar, Lala Aftab Ahmad, Khalid Kheshgi, Tauseef-ur-Rehman, Tahir Hussain, Arsalan Khan, Gohar Ali, Abdur Rehman, Adeel Saeed, Muhammad Fayyaz Khalil, Muhammad Munir, Shah Faisal, Azeem Khan and others were among the participants.

A nationalist politician, Dr Said Alam Mehsud, visited the camp along with other colleagues to express solidarity with the journalist community. Recording his views, he said the attempts to gag the free media were detestable. He praised the Jang Media Group for searching for and presenting the truth. He said an independent media was a must in a democratic society. A budding artiste Mudasir Zaman also participated in the protest camp by representing singers and artiste community.

The News

Pakistan’s Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) suspended Geo TV, Pakistan’s largest television network, on June 6 for a period of 15 days and fined them 10 million rupees (approx. €75,000) after receiving a complaint from the Ministry of Defence. If the fine is not paid before the end of the suspension period, the suspension of the license will continue.

The complaint related to Geo News’ coverage of an April 19 Opens external link in new window attack on news anchor Hamid Mir. His brother, Amir, told the station on air that Pakistan’s intelligence agency, ISI, was responsible for the attack on his brother and that the agency had threatened the journalist in the past.

Following Amir’s statement, Geo TV repeatedly aired the allegations over the following eight hours without providing a clear basis for the accusation against the intelligence agency, Secretary General of Pakistan Press Foundation Owais Aslam Ali told IPI in an interview.

Geo TV and Jang Media Group, a Geo affiliate, subsequently Opens external link in new windowapologised to Pakistan’s armed forces and the ISI, admitting that its coverage of the attack on Mir had been “excessive, distressful and emotional”. Nevertheless, the broadcast not only led to tensions between Geo and the military, but also caused an outcry by other media outlets that believed Geo’s actions were anti-state and anti-army.

“The biggest threat we face right now is that this is the first time for many decades that there has been a split between the media organisations themselves,” Ali, who is also a member of the IPI Executive Board, said. “The internal division in the media is a bigger threat to press freedom than the external threats.”

That challenge joins a host of others that journalists in Pakistan face, Ali told IPI.

Before this instance, he noted, there had never been success in blocking a media outlet to such a heavy degree.

The current sentiment against Geo TV has also led to a rise in physical attacks and threats against journalists working for the station and its affiliates. Several attacks on newspaper delivery trucks have also been reported in recent weeks.

In one incident, journalist Zafar Aheer was returning home from work on June 1 when six armed men attacked and severely injured him. Aheer was quoted in Opens external link in new windowlocal news reports as saying that the attackers had called him a traitor because he works for Jang Media Group.

“The media has not been able to generate support for press freedom,” Ali said. “Now the public support for press freedom has dwindled to an extent not seen in my lifetime.”

To fix the current situation in Pakistan, Ali said, the country needs to return to normalcy and media organisations need to begin to work on healing the wounds.

In the long term, he continued, media outlets need their own code of conduct, as well as professional editors to decide what airs on TV to avoid a situation akin to the current Geo crisis. Ali also suggested the creation of a self-regulatory complaint system for media content, something Pakistan does not yet have in place.

IPI Press Freedom Manager Barbara Trionfi echoed Ali’s comments, adding: “The suspension of a broadcaster as a consequence of an editorial mistake, for which they have publicly apologised, is an entirely disproportionate remedy. Pakistan is failing to keep true not only to its constitutional and international press freedom obligations, but also to the recent promise expressed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on March 19, when, in a meeting with a Committee to Protect Journalists delegation, he Opens external link in new windowpledged to expand press freedom and to speak out in support of the safety of journalists.”

For more information, contact: Barbara Trionfi, IPI Press Freedom Manager, at +43 (1) 512 90 11 or by e-mail Opens window for sending emailbtrionfi[@]freemedia.at

International Press Institute

The participants chanted slogans in favour of Geo and the Jang Group and condemned the unilateral decision of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) without even hearing the viewpoint of the largest media group of the country. They demanded lifting of the ban on Geo TV and an end to the attacks on the vehicles carrying copies of the dailies The News and Jang.

Besides others, senior journalist Rahimullah Yusufzai, Khyber Union of Journalists (KhUJ) President Nisar Mehmood, Peshawar Press Club President Nasir Hussain, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Arbab Khizer Hayat. Property Association president Mazhar Wakil Durrani, former leader of the PTI lawyers wing Hidayatullah Khan, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists vice-president Shamim Shahid, daily Jang Peshawar editor Arshad Aziz Malik and bureau chief of Geo TV in Peshawar Mehmud Jan Baber attended the camp.

The speakers on the occasion termed as unjust the Pemra decision to ban Geo TV for 15 days and impose fine of Rs10 million against it. They said the Jang Group workers and editors were being harassed and intimidated and the copies of The News and Jang were being burnt. They said that the Geo TV was, in fact, already put off air for 45 days through the use of force and threats. They said the Jang Group had suffered huge financial losses, but it had refused to bow to any undue pressure and threats as it believed in the freedom of the media.

They wondered what would happen after 15 days if the Geo TV still couldn’t telecast its programmes independently. The journalists and newspapers employees at the protest camp pledged to continue their campaign until Geo TV was allowed to operate freely and the newspapers of the Jang Group were allowed to be distributed all over Pakistan.

The News

Justice Qureshi decided to hold joint hearing of all petitions filed in the IHC on the Pemra issue on the said date when the court would take a decision about the appointment of Pervez Rathore as acting chairman of the authority.

The court issued the directives on a petition filed by two private members of Pemra against the appointment of Mr Rathore.

A day after his appointment as acting chairman on June 5, Mr Rathore ordered suspension of Geo News for 15 days and imposition of Rs100 million fine for ‘defaming’ the director general of Inter-Services Intelligence.

The court will take joint hearing of all petitions on Pemra issue

Earlier, show-cause notices were issued to the private members, Israr Abbasi and Fareeha Iftikhar, after they had announced on May 20 suspension of licences of three television channels owned by the Geo TV network. But Pemra’s executive member Kamaluddin Tipu disassociated himself from the announcement.

The petitioners pointed out that there was no provision of appointment of acting chairman in the Pemra ordinance, 2002.

They said the previous government had appointed Dr Abdul Jabbar as acting chairman of Pemra but in 2012 the Supreme Court set aside the appointment and observed that “it is to be noted that Pemra ordinance does not provide for the position of acting chairman”.

On May 26, the same court had suspended show-cause notices issued to the private members and a notification about appointment of Kamaluddin Tipu as member of Pemra’s executive body.

Additional Attorney General Tariq Mehmood Khokhar who represented the federal government told Dawn that the court did not stop Mr Rathore from working as Pemra’s acting chairman.

He said that after the court’s order for maintaining the status quo things would remain the same as of Monday (June 9) till June 17.

According to him, Mr Rathore is working as Pemra’s acting chairman and the court did not accept the plea of the petitioners for restraining him from functioning.

DAWN

CPPC Convener Arshad Ansari held an emergency meeting with the presidents of other press clubs of the country in a conference call. They pledged that the CPPC would resist the illegal decision to suspend the licences of Geo News, Geo Entertainment and Geo Tez.

Those who discussed this alarming situation included National Press Club President Shaheryar Khan, Karachi Press Club President Farhan Ahmed Khan, Peshawar Press Club President Nasir Hussain, Quetta Press Club President Raza Rehman, Skardu Press Club President Nisar Abbas, Okara Press Club President Munir Chaudhry, Rajanpur Press Club President Engineer Amjad Farooq, Faisalabad Press Club President Shahid Ali, Chaman Press Club President Noor Zaman Khan, Badin Press Club President Tanveer Ahmed, Hyderabad Press Club President Ishaq Mangreo, Khuzdar Press Club President Ayub Baloch, Kohat Press Club President Fazl Mahmood and others.

Addressing the meeting, Arshad Ansari said the journalists community would not tolerate any attempt to snatch the freedom of press. He said the decision of private Pemra members had put the jobs of thousands of workers of the Jang Group at stake and this would be resisted at all costs.

He said the ban on any media house, including Geo, was not acceptable and the CPPC would launch a movement to foil any such attempt.Meanwhile, the CPPC has decided to ban the entry of private members of Pemra into the press clubs of the country. The CPPC office-bearers said this decision had exposed the Pemra designs against the independent media. They urged the owners of other media houses to remain united at this critical juncture. They warned that other media houses might face the same situation if they didn’t stand united at this crucial point.

The News