ISLAMABAD (AFP) — A global media watchdog Tuesday "deplored" what it said was the Pakistani government's insistence that a top television channel should drop key programmes to secure its return to the airwaves.
Geo News and Geo Sports came back on cable on Monday night, two and a half months after transmission of the popular Urdu-language stations was blocked by President Pervez Musharraf under a state of emergency.
Viewers had only been able to watch them on satellite or the Internet, despite the fact that Musharraf had lifted the emergency -- and restrictions on other broadcasters -- in mid-December.
But Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said that while it welcomed the stations' return, it "deplores the fact that President Pervez Musharraf made it conditional on the suppression of some its programmes."
The watchdog said the agreement between Geo's owners and the government was conditional on the suppression of two key news programmes presented by veteran journalists Hamid Mir and Shahid Masood.
"It is regrettable that the government insisted on the withdrawal of certain programmes," the group said, adding that the two journalists had been allowed to continue working for the station.
"This constitutes yet further evidence that censorship is unfortunately still the rule just a few weeks before the parliamentary elections scheduled for 18 February," the organisation said.
Geo -- whose employees led a noisy protest campaign during much of the station's time off-air -- refused to comment on the two programmes that the watchdog said were suppressed.
"I shall not offer any comment on the issue," Geo President Imran Aslam told AFP. "What I can say is that slowly but surely, things will come back to normal."
He described the government's decision to lift the ban ahead of elections as "wise".
"We have been keen to be the part of the whole election process," he said.
Aslam said that certain "issues" still need to be resolved between the Geo management and the government but would not give further details.
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