Pakistani Army Aims to Ban Major News Channel

Military Spies Argue Channel Airs 'Anti-State Content'

Major Pakistani television news channel Geo News is facing another round of shut-down attempts by the Pakistani military today, receiving notices of the Defense Ministry seeking a ban on them for broadcasting “anti-state content.

Geo News talk show host Hamid Mir was assassinated last weekend, and the station has blamed military spy agency the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency for the killing.

Pakistan is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a reporter, and Geo News and the rest of Jang Media Group are often targeted in government crackdowns, banned off and on over the years.

At present, the military is imposing a blanket ban on all Jang newspapers and Geo TV at Army offices, and the Defense Ministry suggests the goal is to extend that ban nationwide.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.