Pakistan - Ban on BBC Documentry by Cable Operators Association

THE All Pakistan Cable Operators Association announced on Tuesday that it would stop relaying the broadcast of a number of international news channels. The `ban` went into effect the same night in many areas. While the primary target appears to be the BBC, other channels` transmissions have also been sporadically interrupted in different areas.

The APCOA has said it plans the phase-wise curtailment of access to other foreign news channels too. Through such tactics, it hopes to force them to stop `maligning the country`. This is precisely the sort of narrow-minded nationalism that results in making the country a laughing stock. The APCOA is not just censoring access to information which cable operators are committed to providing to their viewers it is also depriving citizens of their right to know what is being said about them in the rest of the world, and amounts to censoring the global discourse on Pakistan.

Secondly, blocking channels can set a dangerous precedent. There have been a number of occasions where attempts have been made by the state aswell as by non-state actors to stop certain information from reaching the public or to influence journalistic output. The APCOA`s move opens the window for other, more coercive tactics. The next target could be local news organisations. Meanwhile, the `ban`appearstohave been triggered in part by a documentary being aired on the BBC which, the APCOA feels, is `negative propaganda` against Pakistan`s state institutions.

Blocking the channel, though, amounts to trying to wish it away. Any journalistic work can easily be countered by providing evidence that it is based on erroneous assumptions.

There is also the disturbing possibility that the APCOA`s hand may have been forced. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority should step in at this stage. The need is to open up Pakistan`s information and media landscape, not restrict it further. The APCOA has called upon Pemra to cancel the landing rights of `channels maligning the country`. In fact, landing rights to news networks ought to be granted across the board so that Pakistanis have access to various shades of opinion.