Reuters<\/p>\n
ISLAMABAD\/KARACHI (Reuters) – Pakistan\u2019s largest TV station has been allowed back on the air at some major cable operators after talks with the military on demands it make changes in political coverage, two officials who work for the channel\u2019s media group told Reuters on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
After Geo TV, Pakistan\u2019s most popular station, was taken off the air across much of the country at the end of March, military representatives pressed the channel to cease favourable coverage of ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and stop any criticism of the Supreme Court and the \u201cestablishment\u201d, according to the two people, who had knowledge of the negotiations.<\/p>\n
The \u201cestablishment\u201d is a commonly used euphemism for the military in Pakistan.<\/p>\n
Written instructions by Geo management to staff last week that were reviewed by Reuters spelled out \u201ckey editorial points that we have to manage and implement\u201d to be restored to the airwaves.<\/p>\n
Besides banning negative portrayals of the \u201cestablishment\u201d and any allegations the Supreme Court might be interfering in politics, the instructions said there should be no reports on Nawaz Sharif\u2019s ongoing corruption trial \u201cthat helps build a narrative that he and his children are innocent\u201d.<\/p>\n
The two sources, employees of The Jang Group of Newspapers, Geo\u2019s parent company, said the company had reluctantly agreed to most of the military\u2019s demands, although there was no final deal confirmed and the situation was in flux.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs for the deal or tough conditions, we are following them and Geo has been restored. That restoration is the result of obeying those dictations,\u201d one of the sources said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Geo TV Network President Imran Aslam declined to answer questions about any military involvement in the shutdown or whether any deal had been made or was in the works.<\/p>\n
A Geo spokesperson said in a statement: \u201cGeo will always strive to provide both sides of the story and an independent editorial policy for which it has suffered in every regime, military and civilian.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we ever surrender on that independence we would rather shut down the channel ourselves,\u201d added the spokesperson, who would not answer questions about any negotiations with the military.<\/p>\n
The military\u2019s press office did not respond to written questions and phone calls about whether it had pressured the cable operators. It also did not comment on the allegations that the military, or its powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) wing, made demands on Geo to alter its coverage or secured agreement to make any changes.<\/p>\n
Three major cable operators, who spoke on condition of anonymity, earlier told Reuters they had pulled the channel from their rosters after direct instructions from unidentified military officers, even though the army has no official authority over the media.<\/p>\n
The cable operators could not be immediately contacted as Geo slowly began to come back on air on Tuesday and Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Media executives and analysts say the crackdown on Geo signals the military may be trying to control information in the run-up to a general election due within months, with the aim of preventing Sharif\u2019s PML-N (Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz) party from retaining its parliamentary majority.<\/p>\n
Sharif\u2019s supporters say the military dislikes the ousted prime minister because of his attempts to assert civilian authority over the army, but the military has several times denied any role in his ouster.<\/p>\n
The chief of army staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, recently declared his commitment to a democratically elected government.<\/p>\n
Sharif was removed from office by the Supreme Court last year over an unreported source of income. He has been barred for life from holding public office by the court.<\/p>\n
He and his family also face trial by an anti-corruption court over accusations they improperly used offshore companies to buy expensive London properties in the 1990s without accounting for the source of the funds. A verdict in that case is expected next month.<\/p>\n
Geo has been one of the few broadcast stations giving extensive coverage to Sharif\u2019s defiant rallies around the country criticising his ouster, but it has denied allegations by the opposition that it is a mouthpiece for his ruling party.<\/p>\n
Founded in 2002, Geo News has consistently ranked as the most popular TV news station among Pakistan\u2019s 208 million people. It was rated the number one watched channel in a February report by Medialogic, a ratings provider.<\/p>\n
Geo began reappearing on Tuesday in approximately half the country but had not been restored completely, network president Aslam said on Wednesday. He declined to answer questions about any military involvement in the shutdown or whether any deal had been made or was in the works.<\/p>\n
Aslam had said last week that the channel had been effectively blocked in about 80 percent of the country and had lost millions of dollars in revenue. \u201cThere is no official reason as to who has done it, why it has been done,\u201d he told Reuters at that time. He gave no further details on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Geo TV has remained on the air throughout in much of Islamabad, the capital, where most diplomats, government officials and foreign journalists are based.<\/p>\n