Pakistan army ‘blocks sales of country’s oldest newspaper’

PAKISTAN’S authorities are accused of blocking a leading newspaper from sale after it angered the military with comments from an ousted prime minister suggesting Pakistani militants were behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Distribution of the English-language daily Dawn has been hit since Nawaz Sharif used an interview to criticise the country’s handling of the attack, a media freedom watchdog said.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the block on the country’s oldest paper was the latest example of Pakistan’s military trying to tame the media ahead of July’s general election.

The country’s most popular television channel, Geo TV, was temporarily taken off air at the end of March under pressure to stop favourable coverage of Mr Sharif and end criticism of the military. The interview by Dawn with Mr Sharif this month caused a political storm and he faced condemnation after saying the militants crossed the border from Pakistan before killing 166.

“Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me. Why can’t we complete the trial?” he said, referring to stalled court cases against suspects. Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-taiba is accused of masterminding the attacks. India has long alleged “official agencies” in Pakistan were involved, but Islamabad denies the charge.

The circulation of Dawn has been curbed since May 15, RSF said. It added: “It is clear that the military high command does not want to allow a democratic debate in the months preceding a general election.” Pakistan’s army called a meeting of the National Security Council after Mr Sharif ’s remarks, announcing the body “unanimously rejected the allegations and condemned the fallacious assertions”.