WASHINGTON, June 4: The US State Department said on Monday that the Pakistani media should be free to inform the people what their government is doing. But while talking about the coverage of the dispute between the government and the suspended Chief Justice, spokesman Sean McCormack made a statement that can be interpreted both by the government and its opponents as favouring their side.

He said: “I understand that there is a judicial process that is under way, and the media should be free to cover that process.”

The government in Islamabad also says that the media are free to cover proceedings of the Supreme Court but they should not report everything that happens outside the court.

The US spokesman, however, also emphasized that the media’s freedom to report what they see was important.

“It's an important element of making sure that the Pakistani people are informed of what their government is doing, so it is a situation that we're watching closely,” he said.

Mr McCormack was asked to comment on US media reports that Islamabad was censoring Pakistan television stations that have been carrying what government considers excessive coverage of the judicial dispute.

US media reports also said that the government’s attitude had led to self-censorship and various Pakistani channels were refraining from covering demonstrations for past several days because they feared that it might cause a government crackdown on the media.

The reports noted that cable operators had been warned not to carry any programming critical of the government.

“Well, we're watching it closely,” said spokesman McCormack when asked to comment on the situation.

“This is an issue that the Pakistani people and the Pakistani government need to resolve within the confines of their law,” he said.