Rights groups chide Pakistan over media freedom

ISLAMABAD, Apr 25 (Reuters) International rights groups lambasted Pakistan today for trying to throttle media critical of the government's move to sack the top judge, after a television news channel was warned it could be taken off the air.

President Pervez Musharraf's March 9 suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has been criticised by the media and the legal community as an attack on independence of judiciary.

Pakistan's Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on Monday asked the Aaj Television to explain why it violated an order of the Supreme Judicial Council, which is hearing the case against Chaudhry, by telecasting news and talkshows on the sub-judice case.

The watchdog threatened Aaj that it could be taken off the air if it failed to respond withing three days.

''This is a blatant attempt by the government to curtail media freedom and freedom of expression,'' the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) said in a statement.

''It is quite evident that the government is unhappy and irritated with the openness with which Aaj has allowed various opinions to be aired.'' The high court of Pakistan's southern Sindh province on Wednesday suspended the PEMRA notice and fixed May 16 as the next date for hearing a challenge by Aaj.

The New York-based ''Committee To Protect Journalists'' also saw the pressure on the medias as part of a larger pattern to silence critics of the government.

The government on one night last month stopped Geo Television broadcasting a popular current affairs talk show which had been focussing on the judicial crisis.

Days later police ransacked Geo's Islamabad office as its editors had refused to stop transmitting live pictures of an anti-government demonstration.

Musharraf quickly made amends, apologising on air to Geo and condemning the police actions, and he also gave an interview to Kamran Khan, the talk show host whose programme had been blocked.

CPJ released a copy of a letter sent to Musharraf, in which it also referred to an accusation by the Dawn Group of Newspapers that the government was withholding a television broadcast license, and had stopped placing advertisments with the group because of the newspaper's critical coverage.

''The action taken by your government against Aaj and the Dawn Group, along with the attack on Geo, appear to be part of a pattern of intimidation to silence your critics,'' Joel Simon, CPJ's executive director, said in the letter.

Pakistani media has flourished and many new television channels, including Aaj and Geo, have opened up since General Musharraf came to power in a bloodless coup seven years ago.

Musharraf often credits his government with allowing far greater media freedom than existed under Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister he ousted in 1999, but editors would like to see him stand by his words.

''To prove his true commitment, he must ensure that media is allowed to do its job in an environment of freedom,'' Dawn said in an editorial today.

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