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Keeping Pakistanis in the Dark
A man rolls his newly purchased satellite dish through traffic in Lahore. Broadcasts by private TV stations have been blocked since Saturday.
(By K.m.chaudary -- Associated Press)
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"They're even checking the houses where they use satellite dishes and removing them," said Inamullah, 27, who has been told by plainclothes security forces that he's no longer allowed to sell dishes at his electronics shops in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
Ironically, private TV stations flourished under Musharraf, who years ago took credit for bringing a free press to Pakistan. But he has turned sharply critical of the stations, saying their coverage has been "irresponsible."
The government has been pushing station owners to sign a new "code of conduct." Many journalists say it would cripple their ability to report and have refused to go along with it.
"They say that if we sign it, we go back on the air," said Talat Hussain, an anchor with Aaj Television, one of the main news channels.
Now journalists fear for their lives.
The chief executive of the largest independent television station in the country, Geo, was recently taken to a safe house operated by the country's intelligence service, the ISI, where he was held for several hours, according to station anchor Hamid Mir. Later, the executive received a follow-up e-mail in which the writer threatened to kill the executive's family.
At other stations, reporters have been detained; some have seen family members arrested because of reporting that was deemed overly critical by the government. Some journalists rarely -- if ever -- sleep at home, for fear of government raids.
Hasan Khan, director of news at AVT Khyber Television, said he had been threatened by a high-level official of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority.
"Don't cross the limits, otherwise we will be tough," Khan quoted the official as saying.
Musharraf was deeply unpopular in Pakistan before he suspended the constitution. But the TV blackout has made Pakistanis even more unhappy.
"I'm losing business because customers want their news, and that's part of why they visit our tea shop," said Liaqad Ali, 30, ladling the steaming brew into cups in Lahore. "Plus, I miss the news. Who knows what is going on beyond my shop? We feel afraid."
Special correspondent Shahzad Khurram in Rawalpindi and Imtiaz Ali in Peshawar contributed to this report.
