Freedom of Expression | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) | Page 347

Pakistan Press Foundation

Freedom of Expression

Geo challenges media ban: SHC issues notices to PEMRA, Info secy

KARACHI: Pre-admission notices were issued for Nov 16, Friday, by a division bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday to the chairman of PEMRA (Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority), the Federal Secretary of Information, the Attorney General of Pakistan and the Advocate General of Sindh for Nov 16 in two identical petitions filed […]


Banned TV channels

THE government has banned all private TV news channels, including the BBC and CNN. It wants us to see only the official version of the news, commonly known as ‘spin’, on the PTV. The citizens began circumventing the ban by installing satellite dishes but the government did not like that and ordered the police to […]


Ban on channels continues

GENERAL Musharraf’s Government shredded whatever goodwill it had earned for liberalising media policies when it shut down independent news channels, including the foreign ones, who enjoyed a brief comeback for a few hours before having the plug yanked on them again. The continual ban on TV channels has done no one any good, including the […]


Gagging the media

Peace evolves through knowledge, which is power. And knowledge when combined with enlightenment leads to wisdom that beholds the balance. It is easier to make a war than to make peace. Teaching peace, compassion and empathy through the force of arms is not the solution of the miseries the people are facing. Honour the will […]


Newsmen slam emergency, press curbs

KARACHI, Nov 13: Dawn Unit of the Karachi Union of Journalists has condemned imposition of emergency in the country and restrictions on the press, especially news channels. A meeting of the unit on Tuesday slammed harassment and detention of media persons and the threats being issued to them by government functionaries. It also deplored the […]


Quetta Journalists protest

QUETTA: Journalists held a protest demo against the imposition of emergency, and amended ordinance against the media and closure of private news channels in front of Quetta Press Club here Sunday. Journalists wore black bands around their arms and hoisted black flags on the press club. They raised slogans in support of freedom of media […]


Journalists’ protest enters 5th day

ISLAMABAD: Journalists of the twin cities continued their peaceful protest for the fifth consecutive day on Tuesday against the media curbs imposed by the government. Over 400 journalists gathered in front of a newspaper office in the afternoon to press the government for acceptance of their demands. Civil society members and politicians also joined the […]


Int’l organisations concerned over curbs on media

KARACM (PPI) – Twenty seven leading international freedom of expression organizations have expressed deep concern at the ‘draconian curbs’ imposed on the Pakistani media as part of the state of emergency declared on 3 November 2007. They have expressed concern in a joint letter addressed to President General Pervez Musharraf on November 12 noting that […]


Pakistanis feel clamp on independent media

Many Pakistanis are illiterate and depend on television for news. So many are at a loss without TV QAYYUM Khan flipped through the TV stations, past music videos, a bike race, an Indian soap opera and a cooking show. “The same old thing”, he muttered. Khan, who sells TV and video equipment, missed his news […]


Pemra deprives people of satellite signals

ISLAMABAD: The government, in a bid to keep the masses away from information regarding ongoing political developments and activities of the opposition, has placed a spanner on the import of equipment, pertaining to satellite transmission and broadcasting facilities in Pakistan. The Ministry of Commerce through an SRO issued on Tuesday banned the import of all […]


Cable business fate hangs in the ‘balance of emergency’

GUJRANWALA, Nov 13: Cable network owners and operators are facing heavy financial losses in the wake of imposition of emergency as a significant number of subscribers have declined to pay their monthly bills for not showing private news television channels. They are also worried about the future of their business, as citizens now prefer getting […]


Man killed in Peshawar Internet cafe blast

PESHAWAR: One person was killed and a shop was damaged when a bomb went off in an Internet cafe near the Gulbahar police station on Tuesday afternoon. The explosion was fifth in a row in as many days, triggering a fresh wave of terror among the Peshawarites. The explosives had been placed in Fancy Netcafe, […]


HR alliance plans campaign

PESHAWAR, Nov 13: The Alliance for the Protection of Human Rights (APHR) on Tuesday announced that it would launch a campaign against the imposition of the state of emergency and for the restoration of the Constitution. The alliance, comprising civil society organisations, including the Aurat Foundation, Sungi, Strengthening Participatory Organisation, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, […]


Stop press

ANY colour as long as it is black. The Fordian stance that the military regime is taking towards the media is thick with doublethink. The inherent contradiction in the government’s oft-declared love for freedom of speech and expression while clamping down on media establishments in the name of the national interest is not lost on […]