Geo TV sues ISI for defamation; Pak media regulator suspends channel for 15 days

[faisal6309]

Geo TV sues ISI for defamation; Pak media regulator suspends channel for 15 days

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani television channel Geo News is suing the powerful spy agency for defamation over accusations of being anti-state, it said on Friday, in a move unprecedented in a country where public criticism of the military is taboo.

In the latest twist in a saga that has captivated the country, Pakistan's media regulator also suspended Geo for 15 days for reporting that the ISI spy agency was behind the April shooting of one of Pakistan's most famous journalists.

"Geo and Jang Group (have) served legal notice on the ministry of defence, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) for defaming and maligning the group," the channel said in a report published in a newspaper owned by its parent company.

"More than 8,000 journalists, workers and professionals attached to the group and their families are not only being harassed but also attacked and tortured across Pakistan."

Geo News has also given the ISI 14 days to retract its accusations and issue a public apology.

The standoff over Geo, part of the privately owned Jang Group, has exposed divisions between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the army which has ruled the country for more than half of its history.

The military has long seen the government's resistance to its efforts to shut Geo News as a sign of defiance and PEMRA's latest move is seen as a compromise solution after weeks of tension.

In April, Pakistan's defence ministry had demanded that the licence of Geo News be suspended after it reported that the ISI was behind the shooting of one of Pakistan's most famous journalists.

The PEMRA media regulator said in a statement on Friday it had formally shut down Geo News for 15 days and imposed a $101,500 fine.

"The authority ... took a strong notice of violations committed by Geo News and unanimously decided to immediately suspend the licence of the said channel for a period of 15 days besides imposing a fine of Rs10 million," the regulator announced in a statement. But even before the PEMRA order, the channel had been taken off the air in several parts of the country since the dispute began, allegedly under army pressure, according to its lawsuit. Distribution of the parent group's newspapers has also been disrupted. Last month, the channel apologized for the allegations against the ISI but temperatures have failed to cool.
READ ALSO: Geo TV apologizes to Pakistan Army, ISI A spokesman for the military was not immediately available for comment. April's shooting of Hamid Mir, a journalist anchoring Pakistan's top political news talk show, sent a chill through the media community weeks after television anchor Raza Rumi was attacked in the city of Lahore. Rumi survived but his driver was shot dead. Although Pakistani media have become increasingly vibrant in recent years, with stories exposing corruption or injustices appearing frequently on the pages of the country's many dailies, public criticism of the army or the ISI is largely taboo. No one has claimed responsibility for the recent assaults, although the Taliban, holed up in mountains on the Afghan border, have made repeated threats against domestic and foreign reporters for portraying the insurgency in a negative light.

Geo TV sues ISI for defamation; Pak media regulator suspends channel for 15 days - The Times of India

An Indian source

 

[Hyperion]

A step in the right direction. No one is above the law. Not even ISI.

 

[mughaljee]

I.S.I, deal them with easy,
then "BUGTOO"

 

[mhacsan]

A step in the right direction. No one is above the law. Not even ISI.

No one above the law, even Geo

 

[Hyperion]

Of course. Not even them. I, however, doubt that there will be a trial.

No one above the law, even Geo

 

[GreenFalcon]

 

[rockstar08]

yeh tu wohi baat hue " Ulta choor kautwaal pe bhonkay "
fcuk Geo
these bunch of traitors will go down like others ... Inshallah

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

Geo n go fk itself .. N they can play bhag bhose DK in the background ..

 

[VCheng]

A step in the right direction. No one is above the law. Not even ISI.

Except that ISI behaves as if it is above the law, and intimidates all opposition to it into silence, and gets away with it. Just like mafia thugs in old Sicily.

 

[mhacsan]

Except that ISI behaves as if it is above the law, and intimidates all opposition to it into silence, and gets away with it. Just like mafia thugs in old Sicily.

My friend, u will get blackmailed if you are vulnerable, and how do you become vulnerable? when you indulge into susceptible activities and gives others a peak to sneak into ur life.

Honest person will never get blackmailed but burglar would. Geivn that ISI has no right to blackmail nobody untill or unless they come into line of duty.

 

[VCheng]

My friend, u will get blackmailed if you are vulnerable, and how do you become vulnerable? when you indulge into susceptible activities and gives others a peak to sneak into ur life.

Honest person will never get blackmailed but burglar would. Geivn that ISI has no right to blackmail nobody untill or unless they come into line of duty.

You said it - ISI has no right to blackmail anybody. What citizens do in their private lives is nobody's concern. Claiming a right to interfere "in the line of duty" is an illegal activity that makes ISI no better than street thugs and criminals.

 

[mhacsan]

Incompetency, Corruption, Favouritism, embezzlements, money Laundering, Nepotism, among others can not be classified as private life. Leaders in public office are public servants, they are role models to be followed but present corruption legacy prevalent in the society is mere glimpse of our past to certain extent and far deep rooted imbalanced future.

ISI has no right to interfere, i second you on that, but Had Jinnah been around, Army personal would have only barracks to cater.

You said it - ISI has no right to blackmail anybody. What citizens do in their private lives is nobody's concern. Claiming a right to interfere "in the line of duty" is an illegal activity that makes ISI no better than street thugs and criminals.

you need to put right people in right place firs.

 

[Secur]

You said it - ISI has no right to blackmail anybody. What citizens do in their private lives is nobody's concern. Claiming a right to interfere "in the line of duty" is an illegal activity that makes ISI no better than street thugs and criminals.

Queen and country as the popular saying goes . ISI both has a right to interfere and blackmail if it is in the national interests , maybe you have started mistaking it for a common institution like the police , its an intelligence agency which collects " intelligence " , that is what they do all around the world and ours is no different . Remind me , what exactly was NSA accused of , recently since well I see the " citizen's private life being nobody's concern " here ?

 

[slapshot]

Queen and country as the popular saying goes . ISI both has a right to interfere and blackmail if it is in the national interests , maybe you have started mistaking it for a common institution like the police , its an intelligence agency which collects " intelligence " , that is what they do all around the world and ours is no different . Remind me , what exactly was NSA accused of , recently since well I see the idealist " citizen's private life being nobody's concern " ?

Its funny when people rant about the morals of intelligence agencies National interest is the only moral and driving force within any secret agency like ISI.

 

[VCheng]

ISI both has a right to interfere and blackmail if it is in the national interests

Would you please tell me how the ISI derives this "right" that you claim for it?