What censorship?

Further to Friday’s post, the BBC reports that the threat to the media was not idle.

On Thursday Pakistan's information minister warned that the government would strictly enforce media laws forbidding criticism of the army and the judiciary.

Two private TV channels have now been prevented from live broadcasting after making alleged criticisms of the army and judiciary.

Aaj [‘today’] and ARY One World rely on cable operators who have said that the country's broadcasting regulator has ordered them to cut the feeds for the two channels.

President Musharraf has blamed the broadcast media for stoking the crisis triggered by the suspension of the chief justice [Iftikhar Chaudhry].

Moreover, the top military commanders issued a statement after their meeting with Musharraf Friday threatening they

"took serious note of the malicious campaign against Institutions of State, launched by vested interests and opportunists who were acting as obstructionist forces to serve their personal interests and agenda even at the cost of flouting the rule of law…Any attempt by a small minority to obstruct the aspirations of vast majority would only derail the nation from its path of progress and prosperity."

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), Dawn’s Amir Wasim reports, has written to the private TV channels banning coverage of the chief justice affair and that it ‘expects maturity and a sense of responsibility from the broadcasters’. Furthermore,

“No programme shall be aired which (i) is likely to encourage and incite violence or contains anything against maintenance of law and order or which promotes anti-national and anti-state attitude; (ii) contains anyRAand integrity of the armed forces of Pakistan; (iv) maligns or slander any individual in person or certain groups, segments of social, public and moral life of the country; and is against basic cultural values, morality and good manner.”

“You are, therefore, advised to refrain/desist from relaying programmes which deviate (from) Pemra laws and Code of Conduct. Non-implementation of the directives in this respect shall invoke legal action under Pemra Ordinance 2002 and rules/regulations made there under,” says the letter carrying the signature of Pemra director-general (enforcement) Rana Altaf Majid.

Meanwhile, Dawn further reports, in response to threats and alleging subscriber complaints, the Cable Operators Association of Pakistan (CAP) at a Karachi press conference yesterday threatened to take offending satellite TV channels off the air

“We have decided that we’ll not become part of any campaign which goes against the armed forces, judiciary and integrity of Pakistan and will virtually boycott the channels, which indulge in such acts.”

In response to the military commanders’ statement released by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) about the meeting endorsing President General Musharraf’s unconstitutional dual role, Dawn reports that opposition parties

The MMA [Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal] and Tehrik-i-Insaaf [PTI] leadership demanded the immediate resignation of General Musharraf from the posts of president and army chief, and said that leaders in exile should return to participate in the election process. They said that a neutral interim national government should immediately conduct free, fair and transparent elections, and that the election commission should be reconstituted in consultation with the country’s major parliamentary parties. They also demanded the complete independence of the judiciary.

Also,

At a Saturday press conference in Islamabad, acting parliamentary leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan accused General Musharraf of presenting the army as a political party and warned that this could lead to a civil war.

The MMA leadership had discussed their response with representatives of the Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement (PONM) and Awami National Party (ANP). In Lahore, MMA president Qazi Hussain Ahmed and PTI chief Imran Khan (yes, that Imran Khan!) told the press the ISPR statement was “unconstitutional and unethical.”

They said that the corps commanders’ meeting constituted an effort to involve the army leadership in the political survival of a ruler who has lost all legitimacy.

The MMA and PTI statement accused General Musharraf of using the armed forces for his own survival and asserted that…it points to a fundamental departure from the role of the armed forces as laid down in the Constitution and the Army Act.