Pakistan's private Geo TV back on air
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Broadcasts of Pakistan's private Geo television network resumed in Pakistan on Monday more than two-and-half months after its transmission was blocked following the imposition of a state of emergency.
Geo News and its sister sports channel came back on the air at 6 p.m. (1 p.m. British time), hours after President Pervez Musharraf began a four-country trip to Europe where he expected to face tough questions on media curbs and human rights.
"We're cranking up the whole system again," the president of Geo News, Imran Aslam, told Reuters.
Geo, Pakistan's most popular television station, was the last channel to come back on the air of several that were blocked when Musharraf imposed emergency rule on November 3, citing rising militancy and a meddling judiciary.
Musharraf lifted the emergency in mid-December but Geo, which made a name for itself with hard-hitting political talk shows, remained blocked on cable channels.
Its broadcasts out of Dubai were available on satellite and via the Internet, although authorities in the United Arab Emirates had blocked its satellite broadcasts for several weeks in November and December.
Information Minister Nisar Memon said on Sunday the channel's broadcasts had been given the go-ahead after it signed a government code of conduct.
But Aslam said the channel had not yet signed the code of conduct, which he described as "draconian", but he said Geo would have to abide by it. Continued...
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