The transmission of private TV news channels was suspended in Quetta and certain areas in Balochistan, Pakistan after the nationalist Baloch Students Organisation threatened the cable operators.
The transmission of private news channels has been suspended in Quetta and the Baloch-dominated areas of Balochistan province since December 3, 2014 due to threats issued against cable operators by the nationalist outfit, Baloch Students Organisation (BSO).
Earlier, BSO held a news conference during which it announced a boycott of all television news channels and asked them to suspend their transmission for an indefinite period throughout Balochistan. The BSO alleged that the electronic media’s converge of Balochistan issues was “pathetically poor”.
The Central Organiser of BSO, Javed Baloch, said the concerned media representatives and officials had been told about this situation. He lamented that the point of view of Baloch nationalists was being ignored.
The President of Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ), Irfan Saeed, and the Balochistan Joint Media Action Committee (BJMAC) have condemned the closure of the news TV channels and urged the government and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to take the necessary actions to resolve the problem.
