By Muhammad Najeeb
Islamabad (IANS) : While the federal cabinet Tuesday started deliberations to ease restrictions on electronic media, information-starved Pakistanis are scrambling for dish antennas to check news updates on TV.
The federal cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz discussed methodology to ease restrictions on electronic media, which are out of reach of the citizens, a senior government official said.
Though most of the private television channels are continuing their transmission, cable operators have been instructed by the government not to relay any national or international news channels.
The only sources of current information for people are hearsay and cell phone messages apart from blogs on the Internet and access to news channels through dish antennas.
Though the state-run Pakistan Television gives hourly bulletins, few are ready to believe it.
Before going into Tuesday’s meeting the prime minister told PTV that the cabinet would discuss the election schedule and efforts would be made to prepare the timetable for the polls.
The prime minister said an understanding was also now needed for the holding of transparent elections peacefully.
He said the federal cabinet would also take up the issue of media restrictions.
“Media needs to be very very careful and responsible,” he said.
The restrictions on viewing private television channels have boosted sales of dish antennas and digital receivers, which otherwise had become redundant because of the cable networks in the country.
“The people are buying dish antenna and digital receivers and the demand has increased tremendously,” a dish antenna seller here told IANS Tuesday.
He said he was continuously receiving orders for dish antennas. “In just two days we have sold 113 dish antennas, which otherwise had remained in stocks for a year.”
The rising demand has seen the prices of dish antennas and digital receivers going up. A dish antenna now costs Rs.8,000 – double last week’s price.