President General Pervez Musharraf tightened the regulation of Pakistan's media yesterday, the latest move against dissent in a growing political crisis over his suspension of the chief justice. Under an emergency ordinance that takes effective immediately, Musharraf made a raft of amendments to regulations governing the electronic media, including private television channels that the general has accused of anti-government bias. The ordinance says authorities can seal the premises of broadcasters or distributors breaking the law, and raises possible fines for violations from 1 million rupees (US$16,665) to 10 million rupees (US$166,650). The Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority can also suspend the license of an offender.
About 100 journalists, opposition party members and pro-democracy activists demonstrated against the tougher rules, marching from the Islamabad office of the Geo channel to the nearby federal parliament building on Monday evening. The protesters chanted "Musharraf: we don't accept your laws" and "Go, army, go!" - despite warnings from government officials that badmouthing the army would not be tolerated. They were also defying a ban on demonstrations in the capital announced last week. Two dozen police with shields and sticks diverted traffic away from the intersection but didn't intervene.
Musharraf has fostered unprecedented media freedom since he seized power in a 1999 coup. However, he has grown exasperated with extensive coverage of the crisis triggered by his March 9 ouster of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry. The turnaround has been accompanied by a spate of threats and beatings against prominent journalists for which authorities have denied responsibility. Government officials have accused the TV channels of sensationalizing the crisis in talk shows and with live coverage of rallies around the country attended by Chaudhry.
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