CAP threatens to shut down ‘anti-state’ TV channels
KARACHI: The Cable Operators Association of Pakistan (CAP) on Saturday announced to shut down the transmissions of those TV channels which, according to them, are showing negative programmes against the solidarity of Pakistan, the armed forces and the judiciary.
Addressing a crowded press conference at the Karachi Press Club, the chairman of the association, Khalid Shaikh, central president Malik Furqan, Khalid Arain, SM Akhtar and Ghufran Mujtaba said they cannot become a party to the campaign of TV channels against the state, the armed forces and the judiciary.
Khalid Shaikh said the cable operators were facing severe public criticism for showing these programmes and receiving calls from their subscribers to stop these channels. He said some political parties were also threatening cable operators to follow their directions or face attacks on their transmission system.
When the mediamen insisted to name the political party, Khalid said it was the MMA. He pointed out that cable operators were patriots and “cannot telecast anti-state programmes.” He said the monitoring of such programmes has begun from Saturday (June 2) by provincial committees of the CAP.
Referring to the decision of the CAP to stop such programmes, he said the members of association themselves monitored those programmes on the complaints of subscribers and found that the complaints were true. Citing an example, he said TV channels gave live coverage of the seminar at the Supreme Court, where the lawyers had made objectionable speeches.
Khalid urged the Pemra to provide protection to cable operators and their transmission systems all over the country. He said more than 0.5 million families earn their livelihood from cable operators’ network.
To a question whether they were taking this decision on some pressure from the government, CAP’s central president Malik Furqan categorically stated that they had taken this decision in the public interest and on the advice of their subscribers. He maintained that neither the cable operators were against any TV channel nor they preferred one channel over the other. “We are service providers and keep the interest of our subscribers supreme while TV channels follow the policies of their owners,” he added. He said it was not mandatory for the cable operators to show specific TV channels on their network.
He lauded President Pervez Musharraf for regularising cable TV network, which had encouraged scores of private TV channels in the country and created enormous job opportunities. Furqan hoped that as Pemra was now under the control of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, their longstanding problems will be resolved. He urged the minister to withdraw the subscription fee of Rs 24, the federal excise tax on cable operators and the licence for in-house channels.
Source: The News
Date:6/3/2007
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