Dubai could allow Pakistan TVs to resume broadcasting
Media authorities in Dubai said on Saturday they were considering whether to allow two leading private Pakistani news channels to resume broadcasting after shutting them down the day before.
"We are in contact with them... to see if there is a possibility to (allow them to) resume" broadcasting, Amina Rustamani, head of Dubai's media watchdog, told AFP.
The two networks, Geo and ARYOne, said on Saturday that they were shut down the night before amid pressure from Pakistan military ruler Pervez Musharraf.
Geo and ARYOne had been blacked out on cable in Pakistan since November 3, when Musharraf imposed a state of emergency, but had still been available on satellite and the Internet until Friday night when they were fully closed.
Both channels said Islamabad had been pushing them to stop showing their political talk shows.
Rustamani said the channels had long been operating out of Dubai Media City, a free zone where scores of regional and international news organisations are based.
She said it was necessary to explain to the two channels the policy of the United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is part, and guidelines applying to media operating out of the free zone.
But Rustamani, executive director of media at Dubai Media City, declined to go into details of the criteria they would have to abide by in order to resume broadcasting.
The director of the National Media Council which overseas all media in the UAE, Ibrahim al-Abed, said the oil-rich Gulf country pursues a policy of "moderation, neutrality and non-interference in others' affairs."
In keeping with these principles, the UAE is "keen on maintaining total and objective neutrality toward the political events unfolding in Pakistan," Abed was quoted as saying by the official WAM news agency.
"The closure of the two television channels is compatible with the UAE's... foreign policy," he added.
Rustamani was quoted by WAM as also saying that Dubai Media City cannot allow media it hosts to put out material that flouts UAE policies.
Dubai Media City is "keen on safeguarding cooperation with the two channels, and its administration is currently discussing with those in charge of the channels the content of their news programmes," she said, expressing confidence that a settlement can be reached.
Asked if the shutdown might scare off other foreign news organisations whose presence in Dubai has turned the emirate into a regional media hub, Rustamani told AFP: "There are (press) laws in any country."
The UAE has good relations with Musharraf, but was also, along with Britain, an exile home for former Pakistani prime minister and opposition leader Benazir Bhutto before she returned to Pakistan last month.
Bhutto's family still resides in Dubai.
Under emergency rule, the media in Pakistan are barred from publishing or broadcasting material that defames Musharraf, the armed forces or the government. Source
"We are in contact with them... to see if there is a possibility to (allow them to) resume" broadcasting, Amina Rustamani, head of Dubai's media watchdog, told AFP.
The two networks, Geo and ARYOne, said on Saturday that they were shut down the night before amid pressure from Pakistan military ruler Pervez Musharraf.
Geo and ARYOne had been blacked out on cable in Pakistan since November 3, when Musharraf imposed a state of emergency, but had still been available on satellite and the Internet until Friday night when they were fully closed.
Both channels said Islamabad had been pushing them to stop showing their political talk shows.
Rustamani said the channels had long been operating out of Dubai Media City, a free zone where scores of regional and international news organisations are based.
She said it was necessary to explain to the two channels the policy of the United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is part, and guidelines applying to media operating out of the free zone.
But Rustamani, executive director of media at Dubai Media City, declined to go into details of the criteria they would have to abide by in order to resume broadcasting.
The director of the National Media Council which overseas all media in the UAE, Ibrahim al-Abed, said the oil-rich Gulf country pursues a policy of "moderation, neutrality and non-interference in others' affairs."
In keeping with these principles, the UAE is "keen on maintaining total and objective neutrality toward the political events unfolding in Pakistan," Abed was quoted as saying by the official WAM news agency.
"The closure of the two television channels is compatible with the UAE's... foreign policy," he added.
Rustamani was quoted by WAM as also saying that Dubai Media City cannot allow media it hosts to put out material that flouts UAE policies.
Dubai Media City is "keen on safeguarding cooperation with the two channels, and its administration is currently discussing with those in charge of the channels the content of their news programmes," she said, expressing confidence that a settlement can be reached.
Asked if the shutdown might scare off other foreign news organisations whose presence in Dubai has turned the emirate into a regional media hub, Rustamani told AFP: "There are (press) laws in any country."
The UAE has good relations with Musharraf, but was also, along with Britain, an exile home for former Pakistani prime minister and opposition leader Benazir Bhutto before she returned to Pakistan last month.
Bhutto's family still resides in Dubai.
Under emergency rule, the media in Pakistan are barred from publishing or broadcasting material that defames Musharraf, the armed forces or the government. Source
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