Government asked to close all illegal Indian channels
By: Ansar Abbasi
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani defence establishment has demanded of the government to immediately close all illegal Indian channels to check India’s hostile agenda against Pakistan, specifically targeting the young generation, Pakistani culture and its nationalism.
According to Information Ministry sources, the defence establishment had repeatedly conveyed its extreme concern to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) and Information Ministry over the onslaught of Indian propaganda and its hostile agenda against Pakistan and its institutions through illegal television channels.
According to these sources, the defence establishment has at least thrice approached the Pemra and Information Ministry in the post-Musharraf era with the demand that the private CD channels showing banned Indian channels must be closed down without getting into economics as such ventures go against the national interest.
“Hostile agenda of Indian media is presently being facilitated by weak monitoring and implementation system in Pakistan,” one of these letters conveyed the defence establishment’s concern, adding that such channels have deep ingress in all cities of Pakistan.
The subject of all these letters has been ‘Indian channels on cable network and Pemra’. The civilian authorities received one of these letters in July 2009, the second was delivered in December 2011 and the authorities received the third letter of extreme concern over this situation early this year.
The sources said the defence and security establishment of the country has informed the authorities concerned on various occasions that cable operators were airing Indian channels despite existing code of conduct for media, which forbids them from showing anything which is “against basic cultural values, morality and good manners” and “contains material which is against ideology of Pakistan.”
The Indian entertainment channels, these letters conveyed, are following a subtle propaganda campaign, specifically target the young generation, our culture and nationalism. Weak monitoring and implementation system in Pakistan are presently facilitating hostile agenda of Indian media. These channels have deep ingress in all cities of Pakistan.
On another occasion, it was conveyed to the government that Pemra takes action and closes such channels but within weeks and months the illegal Indian channels are again aired through in-house run CD channels. The private CD channels showing banned Indian channels must be closed without getting into economics because such ventures go against the national interest, these letters said.
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