January 20, 2006	Friday	Zilhaj 19, 1426

KARACHI, Jan 19: The Cable Operators Association of Pakistan on Thursday served an ultimatum on the government that it would suspend its cable transmission across Sindh from Monday if the ban on Indian and other channels was not withdrawn.

At a news conference at the Karachi Press Club, the association’s chairman, Khalid Shaikh, told reporters that cable operators had decided to wind up their businesses.

However, cable operators’ representatives who had come from Hyderabad and interior Sindh, and who joined the press conference at the eleventh hour, quarrelled with the chief of the association over the date for suspension of service.

The cable operators from Hyderabad claimed that the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) along with the police had carried out raids on the offices of various cable operators, imposed fines on some of them, and had arrested some others on charges of violating Pemra rules.

They said the raids were illegal and unjustified as Pemra was bound in accordance with the law to issue three notices before carrying out raids.

They insisted Khalid Shaikh to announce an immediate suspension of cable transmission throughout the province including Karachi. Mr Khalid, however, did not agree with the idea of immediate suspension of transmission and said they had to give some time to Pemra so that people also knew that the association was being forced to shut down transmission.

He appealed to President Pervez Musharraf to look into the matter and help 500,000 people associated with the cable TV operator business from becoming jobless.