Islamabad: The South Asia Media Commission and South Asian Free Media Association have resented the shutting down of Pakistani news channels Geo News and ARY and asked President Pervez Musharraf and the emir of UAE to allow them to resume broadcasting.

"This is outrageous that having silenced Geo TV and ARY One World in Pakistan, General Musharraf has now pressured the Dubai authorities to suspend the two stations," said a statement issued by SAMC chairman N Ram and secretary general Najam Sethi, SAMC Pakistan chairman I A Rehman and SAFMA president Laxman Gunesekera and secretary general Imtiaz Alam.

Extending support to the staff of the two channels that were forced to shut their broadcasts from Dubai for not accepting a government-mandated code of conduct, they dubbed the move as the "economic murder of hundreds of journalists and other staff".

"We call on President Musharraf to immediately rescind this decision, which is contrary to free enterprise and the freedom to report the news," they said. The statement noted with alarm the "rapidly deteriorating environment of freedom of expression and freedom of press in Pakistan" following the imposition of emergency. Musharraf has placed strict curbs on the media following the emergency, and violations can be punished with stiff fines and prison terms of up to three years.

Source : PTI