The new government in Pakistan had raised hopes of more press freedom, but at the moment this is remaining a pipedream. The privately owned television station Geo, one of the hardest hit by media restrictions during the previous regime, was hounded by the Supreme Court in May. Supreme Court Justice Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi accused Geo of having irresponsibly reported on a meeting that was alleged to have taken place between Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Interior Secretary Kamal Shah and other judges – including himself. Justice Abbasi claims such a meeting never took place. Absar Alam, Geo's Islamabad bureau chief, marvelling at the situation's resemblance to Alice's Wonderland, asked how the honourable judge could decide a case in which he was himself a party. With all of the blows that continue to rain down on the media, no wonder the Pakistan Daily published a doomsday article on 12 May, arguing that another "crackdown on the media is around the corner".
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With the media increasingly emerging as an influential platform in which to air conflicting political views in Southasia, the following news does not make Chhetria Patrakar bat an eyelid. Four channels – PTV World, Geo, Aaj and ARY – were banned on cable TV in Srinagar District in late April. The ban probably had to do with the Pakistani media highlighting human-rights violations in Kashmir, particularly the recent discovery of 1000 unmarked graves. This led to calls for investigations in the weeks leading up to the ban. But foreign channels were not the only ones to be targeted; several local channels have also been yanked off the air, reportedly for "inciting separatist sentiments". The Indian babus took refuge in bureaucratese, however, claiming that these channels failed to adhere to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's rules. All remain blacked out except for PTV News, the Pakistani state-owned news channel, which is back on air for reasons unknown. A cable operator's retaliatory refusal to air Indian channels subsequently fell flat, with subscribers, especially cricket aficionados, demanding reconnection in order to see the Indian Premier League matches.
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