By Augustine Anthony,
Friday, March 16, 2007
ISLAMABAD, March 16 (Reuters) - Pakistani riot police stormed a private television channel's offices and tear-gassed employees after its editors refused to stop broadcasting pictures of protests in Islamabad over moves to sack the country's top judge.
Geo News Bureau Chief Hamid Mir said on television that police broke windows, scuffled with staff and released teargas in the office, as the hearing against Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary resumed in the nearby Supreme Court.
"They tried to drag me out," Mir said. "They're demanding a camera installed on the roof should be removed."
The channel was able to broadcast live pictures of the helmeted police carrying shields and batons bursting into the channel's building, and Geo vehicles parked outside were damaged.
Transmissions from the rooftop ended a short time later.
Strategically located at an intersection covering routes to the Presidency building, the Supreme Court and National Assembly, Geo's rooftop camera had a panoramic view of the anti-government demonstrations, and had been broadcasting pictures for hours.
The neighbouring office of The News daily which, like Geo, belongs to the Jang group, was also damaged by police.
"We hold the president and the prime minister directly responsible for all this. We never expected that the government could stoop so low," said News bureau chief Ansar Abbasi.
More than 100 journalists gathered outside the Geo building shouting slogans against the government.
Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani quickly distanced the government from the police action.
"There was no justification for this action. I condemn this action," he said. "It is our responsibility to take action against those responsible for this."
A storm of protest followed the suspension of Chaudhary last Friday, after vague allegations of "misconduct and misuse of authority".
The government's behaviour has fuelled speculation that the independent-minded judge was being sacked because he might oppose any move by President Pervez Musharraf to retain his role as army chief, which under the constitution he should relinquish this year.
A panel of Pakistani judges hearing the case against Chaudhary later ruled on Friday that all restrictions on him should be removed, the judge's lawyers said.
The extraordinary scenes will severely damage any notions the media operates freely in Pakistan, even though the media industry has flourished since Musharraf came to power after a military coup in 1999.
Many new television channels, including Geo, have opened up, but editors still sometimes come under pressure over reporting.
The GEO television's nightly current affairs show "Aaj Kamran Khan key Saat", or "Today with Kamran Khan", was taken off the air on Thursday, a day before the Supreme Judicial Council resumed hearing the case against Chaudhary.
The media, lawyers and opposition politicians have lambasted the government over the treatment of the judge, accusing it of acting unconstitutionally. Chaudhary has been kept incommunicado at his residence.
Pursuant to Title 17 U.S.C. 107, other copyrighted work is provided for educational purposes, research, critical comment, or debate without profit or payment. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for your own purposes beyond the 'fair use' exception, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Views are those of authors and not necessarily those of Canada Free Press. Content is Copyright 1997-2024 the individual authors. Site Copyright 1997-2024 Canada Free Press.Com Privacy Statement