The blockage of the popular video-sharing website, YouTube, which was shut down in Pakistan on September 17, 2012, to prevent access to a blasphemous video continues. Video excerpts from the aforementioned movie sparked protests and violence across the Muslim world. During one of the spates of violence, the US ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, was […]
In March 2014, Pakistani columnist Raza Rumi was injured in a gun attack that killed his driver. Weeks later, Hamid Mir, star journalist of Geo TV, Pakistan’s biggest TV station, was shot six times. Luckily, both survived, and managed to avoid becoming part of a bleak statistic. Since 1992, 30 journalists have been murdered in […]
Karachi: The Sindh High Court issued notices to the information technology secretary, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority chairman and others on Tuesday on a petition challenging the ban on video-sharing website YouTube. Saadullah Khan and others petitioners submitted that the PTA had banned over 1,000 websites including YouTube since September 2012 because of blasphemous contents. They […]
Last month, we harshly criticized Twitter for responding to questionable legal orders from Russia and Pakistan to take down content. We argued that the company that once called itself “the free speech wing of the free speech party” had caved in the midst of corporate expansion. We are therefore pleased to see that Twitter has […]
It is never a good sign for freedom of speech when those meant to uphold and defend it consciously campaign in favour of arbitrary censorship for the sake of business interests and petty enmity. Media houses have only themselves to blame for the position they now find themselves in; vulnerable in the face of a […]
The military has in the past been unassailable and now faces increasingly vocal challenges especially from the Jang group. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regularity Authority (Pemra) suspended the license issued to Geo News for a period of 15 days for defaming the ISI and the channel was also fined Rs10 million. As time progresses more […]
GUJRANWALA: Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) President Afzal Butt has warned that the newspaper industry workers would not tolerate any move against the freedom of press and urged that all extrajudicial and illegal tactics against the press should end forthwith. He said the PFUJ had decided to uphold the freedom of press and would […]
ISLAMABAD: Imran Khan’s declaration in Sialkot that ban on Geo was too less shows that the PTI chief is following a particular line. Imran Khan and co might be celebrating their small victory of economically strangling the Jang Group without knowing the fact that closure of Jang Group would only affect tens of thousands of […]
Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on June 6, 2014 suspended Geo TV’s license for 15 days and imposed a fine of Rs10 million (US$ 100,000) , on a complaint filed by the Ministry of Defence on April 22 against airing unsubstantiated allegations against the chief of Pakistan military Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI). The five-member committee […]
KARACHI: The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has ordered the Geo News to shut down for 15 days. This goes against the sentiments of civil society, parliamentarians, political parties as well as all journalist associations, including the APNS, CPNE and PFUJ besides international human rights and freedom of speech advocacy groups like the Amnesty […]
ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and the All Pakistan Newspaper Employees Confederation (APNEC) have expressed reservations over the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority’s decision to suspend the Geo News for 15 days and impose Rs10 million fine, terming it disastrous for the freedom of the press. According to a press release issued […]
KARACHI/LAHORE/PESHAWAR: Media watchdog Pemra’s decision to suspend the Geo TV licence for 15 days on Friday drew strong criticism from political leaders and lawyers. PPP Sindh General Secretary Taj Haider on Friday said it was very unfortunate that private TV channels were being shut down. He said the government should have stepped in much earlier […]
ISLAMABAD: Geo News has sued the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for defamation over accusations of being anti-state, it said on Friday. Geo News, part of the privately-owned Jang Group, has also given the ISI 14 days to issue a public apology. “Geo and Jang Group (have) served a legal notice on the Ministry of Defence, Inter-Services […]
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s most popular and most loved media group Geo and Jang Group has served a legal notice on the Ministry of Defence, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) for defaming and maligning the group by accusing it of working on an anti-Pakistan agenda, inciting and fuelling violence against the group, […]
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