DUBAI: Geo Television has been ordered to quit Dubai within 48 hours, according to United Arab Emirates (UAE) sources. The UAE authorities have cancelled all the visas of Geo TV staffers and ordered them to leave within 48 hours. Geo Television President Imran Aslam told Reporters Without Borders that the Dubai authorities had informed him that the station would lose its licence if “Capital Talk,” a show hosted by Hamid Mir, and “Meray Mutabek,” hosted by Dr Shahid Masood, were not taken off the air. “The order is inexplicable,” said Geo sources. Officials at Dubai Media City, where the Geo TV group is based, said these programmes threatened UAE’s relations with a friendly country. Pakistan’s Information Minister Sherry Rehman said her government was not involved in the decision. Reporters Without Borders and the International Federation of Journalists called on the governments of Pakistan and UAE to explain how Geo News was forced to drop two very popular talk shows under threat of losing its licence to operate in Dubai.
Source: Daily Times
H/T: Shariah Finance Watch
Posts
