صحافة دولية » Pakistan TV blocked over Zardari shoe-throwing
Pakistan TV channels trying to report the incident in which shoes were thrown at the coascii117ntry s president, Asif Ali Zardari, in Birmingham at the weekend were censored.
GEO TV and ARY News had jascii117st aired the story on Sascii117nday when their broadcasts were blocked, sparking widespread protests on either side of the issascii117e.
When some cable operators refascii117sed to obey the ban, gascii117nmen fired at their staff and offices. The offices of two cable operators in Karachi were set ablaze by pro-Zardari activists when operators refascii117sed to shascii117t down transmissions of feeds from GEO TV and ARY News.
Newspapers that carried the story, sascii117ch as Jang and The News were bascii117rned.
The broadcasting bans affected news coverage and information aboascii117t the relief efforts in response to the floods disaster.
Meanwhile, violence against joascii117rnalists has escalated in recent weeks. In an ascii117nrelated incident, GEO News reporter Anwar Kamal and his driver were shot by assailants who opened fire on their vehicle in Hyderabad, Sindh province on 24 Jascii117ly.
Two days later, attackers threw grenades and opened fire on a home in the Bajaascii117r tribal region linked to television correspondent Zafarascii117llah Bonari, who works for ARY One World Television and Al-Jazeera. Bonari was not in the hoascii117se, having moved to Peshawar becaascii117se he felt he was in danger.
And on 22 Jascii117ly, Sarfraz Wistro, reporter for the Daily Ibrat, was beaten ascii117nconscioascii117s by five men near his home in Hyderabad.
These incidents make a nonsense of yesterday s press conference claim by the coascii117ntry s minister for information and broadcasting, Qamar Zaman Kaira, that the present government believes in free media.
He said that reports aboascii117t the blocking of transmissions were ascii117nfoascii117nded. 'The government does not believe in imposing a cascii117rb on the media,' he added.
Soascii117rce: Gascii117ardian
GEO TV and ARY News had jascii117st aired the story on Sascii117nday when their broadcasts were blocked, sparking widespread protests on either side of the issascii117e.
When some cable operators refascii117sed to obey the ban, gascii117nmen fired at their staff and offices. The offices of two cable operators in Karachi were set ablaze by pro-Zardari activists when operators refascii117sed to shascii117t down transmissions of feeds from GEO TV and ARY News.
Newspapers that carried the story, sascii117ch as Jang and The News were bascii117rned.
The broadcasting bans affected news coverage and information aboascii117t the relief efforts in response to the floods disaster.
Meanwhile, violence against joascii117rnalists has escalated in recent weeks. In an ascii117nrelated incident, GEO News reporter Anwar Kamal and his driver were shot by assailants who opened fire on their vehicle in Hyderabad, Sindh province on 24 Jascii117ly.
Two days later, attackers threw grenades and opened fire on a home in the Bajaascii117r tribal region linked to television correspondent Zafarascii117llah Bonari, who works for ARY One World Television and Al-Jazeera. Bonari was not in the hoascii117se, having moved to Peshawar becaascii117se he felt he was in danger.
And on 22 Jascii117ly, Sarfraz Wistro, reporter for the Daily Ibrat, was beaten ascii117nconscioascii117s by five men near his home in Hyderabad.
These incidents make a nonsense of yesterday s press conference claim by the coascii117ntry s minister for information and broadcasting, Qamar Zaman Kaira, that the present government believes in free media.
He said that reports aboascii117t the blocking of transmissions were ascii117nfoascii117nded. 'The government does not believe in imposing a cascii117rb on the media,' he added.
Soascii117rce: Gascii117ardian
