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Geo TV channel is back as Musharraf leaves for Europe

ISLAMABAD: Hours before leaving a turbulent Pakistan on an eight-day tour of Europe that could see him face tough questions on his credibility, President Pervez Musharraf issued orders to restore Geo Television back on the cable network.

Geo Television announced on Sunday that on the eve of his departure to Europe, the President issued orders for the channel to be restored. It will be back on cable from Monday morning after being banned for more than 10 weeks. It went off the network along with all other private television channels on November 3 when General (retd.) Musharraf imposed the Emergency.

While the other channels limped back to the cable network after signing a “code of conduct” that has seen many popular current affairs programmes either taken off or modified considerably, Geo held out, broadcasting via satellite from its Dubai headquarters but remained unseen in Pakistan, where most viewers do not have access to satellite dish television.

On Sunday, General Musharraf left for a four-country swing of Europe on Sunday that will take him to Brussels, headquarters of the European Union, France, Davos for the World Economic Forum and, finally the United Kingdom.

Analysts see him using the visit to rebuild his international credibility that has plummeted in recent months, and especially in the aftermath of Benazir Bhutto’s killing, and reiterate his indispensability to the future of Pakistan. Aside from rubbing shoulders with world leaders, he will also make a pitch to influential Euorpe-based think-tanks, many of which have openly begun to describe him as “part of the problem” in Pakistan. The Brussels-based International Crisis Group asked that he step down. The European Union, particularly, was forthright in its criticism of the Emergency, and remains disapproving of his steps against the judiciary and the restrictions on the media, which could affect the credibility of the February 18 election.

Geo’s comeback on Pakistan’s cable network on the day of the Pakistan leader’s departure on a crucial trip may be pure coincidence, but it will help him stave off some, if not all, uncomfortable questions about the freedom of the Pakistani media, which he projects as one of the biggest achievements of his eight-year rule.

In a statement published in The News, the English-language daily that comes out of the same stable as Geo, the channel said “that many issues have resolved between [Geo and the government] but some are still left and it is hoped that they would be resolved soon.

A senior journalist at Geo said the channel had agreed to abide by the code of conduct and “a couple of programmes” had been dropped “at least for the time being.”

These programmes are believed to be Capital Talk, hosted by Hamid Mir, and Mere Mutabiq (According to Me) hosted by Shahid Masood.

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