KARACHI: The journalists of print and electronic media will hold a demonstration today at 4pm on the I I Chundrigar Road against putting the Geo TV Karachi on back numbers on the cable network.
Later, the protesting journalists of the print and electronic media will march to the Karachi Press Club where a protest meeting will be held.
Geo News was taken out of the access of people in the provincial capital to the last numbers which have made it totally inaccessible in many areas.
A Geo News spokesman stated that when Geo News was completely shut down in April 2014 and its access became possible after a long time, people took a long time to find the numbers Geo News and its channels were running on.
The spokesman said that the ratings of Geo News had been ahead of the total rating of all other channels before April 2014.
Even after the restoration, the spokesman lamented, distribution and ratings were continuously obstructed due to which the channel could not secure the restoration of its pre-ban rating.
However, with the Almighty’s grace and people’s support, Geo News left many big channels behind once again, he added.
The Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has sought the assistance of the federal government and local law enforcement agencies to act against those cable operators who have resorted to illegal disruption of Geo News in Karachi.
According to a press release issued today by PEMRA, the authority's chairman Absar Alam has invoked Section 33-A of PEMRA Ordinance 2002, seeking "immediate assistance from Federal Government to take action against PEMRA law violators in Karachi".
"PEMRA has requested the Federal Government to direct Law Enforcement Agencies (Sindh Rangers, Sindh Police, Intelligence Agencies) and provincial government Staff to provide immediate assistance to PEMRA to discharge its functions," said the press release.
The statement said that the PEMRA chairman has written a letter to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif asking him to "instruct Sindh Rangers, Sindh Police, Intelligence Agencies and Provincial Government to assist PEMRA in an action being initiated against those Cable Operators who have resorted to illegal disruption Geo News".
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