Pakistan suspends anti-government TV channel

Latest act of censorship draws condemnation from activists, journalists.

Islamabad:  Pakistan's media regulator on Monday suspended the license of a top news channel widely known for its anti-government coverage and support for protest leaders Imran Khan and Tahir-ul Qadri.

Khan and Qadri have been encamped in the capital city of Islamabad since August 15 to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over alleged election fraud.

ARY News, one of the country's most popular news channels, was suspended for 15 days and fined US$100,000 by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority for criticizing the courts and judiciary, the authority said in a statement.

The suspension came two days after the media regulator banned Mubasher Lucman, an outspoken commentator associated with ARY News. Lucman was barred from appearing in any capacity on any channel in Pakistan.

ARY News said it was taken off air in most parts of the country following the authority's order.

The move drew strong condemnation from social media, journalists and human rights groups.

“We strongly condemn the suspension of ARY's license. Such a decision is unacceptable under any circumstances,” Akhtar Baloch, a senior member of Pakistan's Human Rights Commission, told ucanews.com.

In a separate statement on Monday, Amnesty International called the ban a politically motivated decision and a violation of the right to freedom of expression.

"ARY TV must be immediately allowed back on air. There is simply no justification for the Pakistani authorities to silence sections of the media solely because of their political leanings," said Mustafa Qadri, Pakistan researcher at Amnesty International.

The decision comes against the background of an increasingly confrontational political tussle between the elected government, the military and some opposition political groups.

In June, the authority suspended Geo TV, one of the country's major TV networks and ARY's main competitor, for 15 days, reportedly under pressure from the military, after the channel accused a senior intelligence official of orchestrating the attempted killing of one of its journalists.

“Journalism is an incredibly dangerous profession in Pakistan. Instead of trying to control what journalists say, the Pakistani authorities should do more to protect them so they can carry out their legitimate work,” Qadri said.

Source: ucanews.com