Media under attack in Pakistan

The current crisis in Pakistan is having a profound effect on the freedom of the country's media.

Back at the end of April,a private television company was accused of inciting by the Pakistan Electronic media regulatory body and was threatened with closure.

Yesterday another private channel came under fire whilst covering disturbances:

Aaj’ TV, a leading television channel of Pakistan, came under gunfire attack for almost six hours on May 12 during clashes between government supporters and opposition activists that took the lives of 36 persons in Karachi, the country’s largest city.The attackers also set ablaze vehicles in the parking lot of the television network. Elsewhere in the city, a number of journalists and cameramen came under attack from security forces and activists.Pakistan has been facing civil unrest since March 9, when president, General Pervez Musharraf, suspended the country’s Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. The incidents of violence on May 12 were sparked by the visit of the Chief Justice to Karachi, where he was to address the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Sindh High Court.Aaj TV was broadcasting live footage of activists brandishing guns and firing at their rivals in front of the offices of the television network. This infuriated the activists who turned their guns on the offices of the television channel, shattered windowpanes causing panic among the staff. Camera operators and journalists in building had to take cover under their tables.
(via Pakistan Press Foundation)