People outraged, want Geo restored
KARACHI: “What has happened is ridiculous,” says Shakeel, who owns a shop in Saddar. “I was saddened initially to see that the news channels have been taken off air, but I had hopes that they would be restored soon.”
The banning of two most important TV networks in Pakistan has not only come as a shock to people, it has also rudely jolted them out of their everyday lives.
What problem the government sees in airing the entertainment channels, asks a housewife, Shaheen. “We kill time at home, watching drama serials, or other programmes”. “I think that these channels that have come on air again have made some kind of deal with the government. But I stand by Geo and ARY for not bowing down and making the deal, because these are the most important channels,” she added.
Whenever there is something happening, I always watch Geo TV and I find it the most satisfying, says another young man, Adil who studies at Islamia College.
The fact is that private TV channels especially Geo TV has become part of people’s everyday live, almost a part of their system, and even sometimes a basic necessity for being informed.
With the cutting down of this medium of information, the government has not only rendered many unemployed, it has also affected negatively the people of the country. Karachiites, who have outwardly become passive regarding current events, still remain interested in what is happening, and for them the forced closure of these two channels has been something that was unfair, shocking and wrong.
“I have not heard of any other country in the world where TV channels are banned like this,” says a student of Urdu Science College.
“These are the channels which have been sidelined since the very beginning because they were showing us the true picture of what was happening. The government is scared that the masses will know what is happening. Still they cannot stop us from being informed. We will know one way or the other what they are doing to us,” says Akmal, who works in a private company.
A mixed feeling was found among the people of different walks of life over the stoppage of Geo TV channels and a majority of them demanded that the channel be restored as early as possible.
Dr Umar Jang, a cardiologist, said he remained busy so unable to see TV and could not comment. Amir, Raffique and Javed, regular viewers of TV channels, said they got interested in politics just because of Geo TV.
A vegetable vendor, Ustad Razzaq, said he was illiterate but when he went home in the night, he regularly watched Kamran Khan ke sath. Arfa Siddiqui, a senior citizen, said she was a regular reader of Daily Jang and viewer of Geo TV. “I like almost every talk show but missing Kamran Khan very much.”
She said anchorpersons should be polite with political leaders and do not confront with them. Engineer Jamshed Rizvi said there should be freedom of expression in the country and all TV channels should be restored immediately.
Source: The News
Date:11/18/2007
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