KARACHI, Nov 20: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of a petition against the ban on four television channels to Nov 27 to enable the information and broadcasting ministry to file comprehensive comments.
Deputy Attorney-General Rizwan Ahmed Siddiqui requested adjournment to find out why the Dubai authorities have cancelled or suspended Geo transmissions from their territory.
He said a comprehensive reply could not be submitted without ascertaining the status of the channels’ licence(s) or landing rights.
The government, he contended, fully subscribed to the freedom of media and that was why scores of channels had been allowed to operate a few days after a brief suspension. He wondered what was so special about the Geo channels that they could not agree to a code like other channels. The reopened channels were freely airing news and views, including those critical of the government.
Appearing for the petitioner corporation that owns the Geo News, Geo Super, Geo Entertainment and Aag channels, Advocate Mohammad Ali Mazhar stated that the Dubai authorities had acted only against Geo News, which was based in the United Arab Emirates. The other three channels were based in Pakistan and the Pakistan government was responsible for their closure.
He requested the court to at least order resumption of the Pakistan-based channels as 4,500 jobs were at stake. The DAG said the petitioner was responsible for putting the jobs at stake.
A division bench, which consisted of Justices Munib Ahmed Khan and Abdur Rehman Farooq Pirzada, asked the federal attorney to submit a comprehensive statement in rejoinder till Nov 27, when the petition would again come up for hearing. No lawyer represented the Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority, also a respondent, on Tuesday.
