A US-based journalists rights group has asked Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to revoke the suspension of a private news channel and uphold press freedom in his country.
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has written to Sharif to revoke the suspension of ARY News, accused of airing a "derogatory" programme against the country's judiciary.
The channel was suspended for 15 days and Pakistan also imposed a fine of 10 million Pakistani rupees on it.
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regularity Authority (PEMRA) suspended ARY News' licence yesterday, accusing it of "maligning" the country's judiciary in a talk show, 'Khara Sach', which was critical of the court system and senior judges.
"Because of the PEMRA action ARY could be off air until November 11. We are concerned that despite a decision today by the High Court of Sindh to rescind the order, which was reported by news reports and ARY News Senior Vice President Ammad Yousaf, ARY will face the same problems experienced by Geo in getting back on air after the ban is lifted," Joel Simon, CPJ executive director, wrote in a letter to the Pakistan Prime Minister.
"We ask that you do what is in your power to restore ARY News consistent with the pledges you made to our delegation and the people of Pakistan to promote press freedom and open media," he said.
CPJ said ARY's suspension marks the second time this year that a major television news network has been silenced by a government order.
"In June, the privately-owned Geo News, was ordered off the air and fined by PEMRA after the channel aired allegations that the Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan's powerful intelligence agency, was behind the attack on anchor Hamid Mir," it said.
"Since then, Geo has been restored to the airwaves, but its management says that distribution has significantly decreased," according to The New York Times.
