Geo TV back on the air after talks with army
Pakistan’s largest TV station has been allowed back on the air at some major cable operators after talks with the military on demands it make changes in political coverage, two officials who work for the channel’s media group said on Wednesday.
After Geo TV, Pakistan’s most popular station, was taken off the air across much of the country at the end of March, military representatives pressed the channel to cease favourable coverage of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and stop any criticism of the Supreme Court and the “establishment”, according to the two people, who had knowledge of the negotiations.
The “establishment” is a commonly used euphemism for the military in Pakistan.
‘No reports on Sharif innocence’
Written instructions by Geo management to staff last week spelt out “key editorial points that we have to manage and implement” to be restored to the airwaves.
Besides banning negative portrayals of the “establishment” and any allegations the Supreme Court might be interfering in politics, the instructions said there should be no reports on Nawaz Sharif’s ongoing corruption trial “that helps build a narrative that he and his children are innocent”.
The two sources, employees of The Jang Group of Newspapers, Geo’s parent company, said the company had reluctantly agreed to most of the military’s demands, although there was no final deal confirmed and the situation was in flux.
“As for the deal or tough conditions, we are following them and Geo has been restored. That restoration is the result of obeying those dictations,” one of the sources said on Wednesday.
Geo TV Network President Imran Aslam declined to answer questions about any military involvement in the shutdown or whether any deal had been made or was in the works.
A Geo spokesperson said in a statement: “Geo will always strive to provide both sides of the story and an independent editorial policy for which it has suffered in every regime, military and civilian.
“If we ever surrender on that independence we would rather shut down the channel ourselves,” added the spokesperson, who would not answer questions about any negotiations with the military.
The military’s press office did not respond to written questions and phone calls about whether it had pressured the cable operators. It also did not comment on the allegations that the military, or its powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) wing, made demands on Geo to alter its coverage or secured agreement to make any changes.
Three major cable operators, who spoke on condition of anonymity, earlier told Reuters they had pulled the channel from their rosters after direct instructions from unidentified military officers, even though the army has no official authority over the media.
The cable operators could not be immediately contacted as Geo slowly began to come back on air on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Controlling information
Media executives and analysts say the crackdown on Geo signals the military may be trying to control information in the run-up to a general election due within months, with the aim of preventing Sharif’s PML-N (Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz) party from retaining its parliamentary majority.