This is another BLACK DAY in the history of Pakistan.

[Ahmad]

This is another BLACK DAY in the history of Pakistan..and our country graph is going downwords and Internatioally our reputation is more spoiled and all the credit goes to our Govt(MuSHERAF)..who is doing all this mess for the sake of thier intersts.....

KARACHI: Under extreme pressure from Musharraf government, Geo News has been shut down late Friday night. This is the latest move by the government to slap the curbs on media especially Geo TV Network, which has been off air with all its entertainment channels since the imposition of emergency.

Earlier, Geo TV network has been ordered to shut down by authorities of the country from where it is being aired. Now, the telecast of Geo News would not be viewed even through dish antenna.

It was told from the authorities of the country where the Geo News is being aired that the news channel would be off air across the globe.

It should be noted that Geo news and its entire sister channels had been closed down across Pakistan after the imposition of emergency.

Earlier, the cable operators in Pakistan were forced to close all channels being operated by Geo Network and the Pakistani viewers were deprived of the great source of information. However, the Geo TV was on air from its Dubai office.

According to Geo News, it was told to the network by the authorities of the concerned country that viewers across the globe would be able to watch the other channels of Geo Network including Geo Entertainment, Aag TV and Geo Super over Dish antenna.

Geo News analyst Dr Shahid Masud said that it is appreciable that Geo administration did not surrender from its viewpoint.

According to Geo TV network, it did not surrender to the will of the government and did not sign any paper of compliance with the government, for which it has been punished that its worldwide telecast is being gagged.

According to Geo News analysts, while nearly all other entertainment channels were allowed to operate freely; however, most discriminately, the entertainment channels of Geo Network were made off air.

On this occasion, Senior Geo News analyst Kamran Khan, Host of Capital Talk Hamid Mir, Dr Amir Liaquat Hussein, Geo News Senior analyst Nasir Beig Chughtai, Justice (rtd) Saeeduz Zaman Siddiqui, Senior defence analyst (Rtd) Talat Masud and British member of Parliament Mohammed Sarwar expressed their grief over this government step regarding closing down the Geo News network and condemned this fresh government attack on the media.

It should be noted that nearly all the news channels of the country were taken off air, as soon as the emergency was announced in the country. PEMRA hammered out code of conduct for the media to follow and it was said only those channels would be allowed to operate if they fall in line with the government wishes.

MUSHARRAF SHUTS DOWN GEO TV
ISLAMABAD: GEO TV, Pakistan's premier Urdu news channel, also seen round the world as the main source of news and current affairs, was shut down at 1 a.m. Pakistan time (12 midnight Dubai time) after President Pervez Musharraf put tremendous pressure to silence a media outlet which had refused to bow down to his dictates.

Informed sources said President Pervez Musharraf himself intervened to stop all GEO news transmissions from Dubai, after a two-week standoff in Pakistan during which all major news channels were shut down by cable operators, who are directly controlled by the Pakistani authorities.

The shutting down of the Geo News was universally condemned by almost every political party and member of the civil society minutes before the anchors, almost in tears, signed off.

PML-N leader Mian Nawaz Sharif told Dr. Shahid Masood on telephone from London it was a tragic moment in Pakistan's history as the Musharraf regime was bent upon destroying every symbol of free speech and democracy in the country.

Makhdoon Amin Faheem, the PPP Vice Chairman told Geo News, in its dying moments, that it would be a tragedy for the country and democracy if Geo went off the air, which it did minutes later.

Lt. General Talat Masood, Retired Chief Justice Saeeduzzaman Siddiqi and many others representing the civil society, who used to appear regular in Geo talk shows, expressed shock and disgust at the decision to shut of Geo TV.

Popular news anchors came on Geo News around midnight Pakistan time to announce that their channel had been ordered to go off the air as result of the continued deadlock between the Pakistani authorities and the media channels, following the imposition of the emergency in the country.

In Pakistan all GEO channels were blocked by the military regime after the imposition of the emergency but on Friday two main channels, DAWN News and AAJ were back on air, with AAJ announcing that two its most popular talks shows, hosted by Talat Hussain, Nusrat Javed and Mushtaq Mihas, were suspended temporarily.

Geo News was shut down because it had refused to budge. After six years of objective and highly professional telecasts, which earned the channel the honour of being the most popular TV channel, the Government of Pakistan put it off the air on Nov 4 after emergency was imposed.

Geo News was under pressure from day one. The government tried to bring it down but the channel became a household name in Pakistan and abroad and was declared by the international observers as the most watched and popular TV channel.

Its role in the judicial crisis, which started on March 9, when the President filed a reference against the Chief Justice, was highly applauded, domestically and internationally.

Geo kept the whole world informed about the developments regarding the events unfolding during the struggle of people of Pakistan for restoration of dignity of the judiciary through its objective reporting by giving all points of view. The programmes, talks shows and commentaries produced by Geo created an impact and awareness among the people.

Sources said the government first asked the Geo administration to stop the most popular programmes of popular TV hosts Dr. Shahid Masood, Hamid Mir and Kamran Khan without offering any tangible reason why they should be stopped.

After the success of the Chief Justice campaign all private news channels were banned from telecasting live programmes and filming outside the studios.

The media workers protested against the move and the government had to accept the demands of the media workers. The shows were allowed to continue but live coverage was banned.

In the meanwhile General Pervez Musharraf kept on resorting to pressure tactics and the Geo channels revenue sources were targeted.