KARACHI, Aug 5: Federal Secretary Information and Media Development Syed Anwar Mahmood has said that incentives to private enterprise were necessary to prompt competition among television channels.

Mr Anwar Mahmood, who arrived here from Lahore, was informally talking to senior journalists at the reception in a local hotel on Tuesday.

The federal secretary made it clear that encouraging private channels did not mean giving protection to them.

However, diversity of views could only be possible when there would be a variety of channels, which could only function if they were economically sustainable and viable.

“Our economy is small as compared to our eastern neighbour and without providing them (private channels) incentives they will not be able to bear losses,” he remarked.

He dispelled the impression as if the implementation of ban on showing Indian channel was a fresh directive to the cable operators, saying that it was only the enforcement of an old decision following the reports of its violations by the cable operators.

Mr Mahmood also pointed out that the decision to allow print media to launch their TV channels was in accordance to the ongoing development in the world, where ban on cross media was being removed with certain conditions.

The government was also framing necessary rules and regulations for allowing print media to operate television channels to see that there should not be exploitation of their staff.

When his attention was drawn at promos of Pakistani products on the banned channels, Mr Mahmood said that if it was so, the responsibility rest with the manufacturers of such products.

Regarding the telecast of a drama by a Pakistani TV channel in which ideology of Pakistan and Islamic traditions were violated, he said that the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) would certainly take notice of such programmes.

About screening of Indian music programmes on another Pakistani channel, he said that the channel was not operating in Pakistan.