By IANS
Brussels : The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) action of shutting down the Dubai uplink stations of two Pakistani TV channels in what it called “a censorship pact” with Islamabad.
Dubai authorities shut down the uplink facilities Pakistan’s independent channels Geo TV and ARY TV on midnight Friday.
The IFJ in a statement Sunday said the political leadership in the UAE has bowed to pressure from the Musharraf government in a “censorship pact” that has helped Pakistan reach outside its borders to stifle independent media.
“This is a shocking and craven act on the part of the government in Dubai,” said Aidan White, IFJ general secretary. “Not only does it show that the Pakistan government are prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to censor journalists, it reveals the weak attachment to press freedom within Dubai itself.”
Geo TV, one of Pakistan’s most popular independent TV stations, has been broadcasting from Dubai since 2002 to avoid periodic crackdown on media. Now it is operating only through its website, the press body said.
The IFJ is the world’s largest journalists’ group with more than 600,000 members in 115 countries.