I’m no fan of censorship, but its strange that western media is condemning this move when Al Jazeera has been blacklisted by cable companies in the US.
Pakistani cable television operators have begun blocking the BBC’s international news TV channel, BBC World News.
The operators say that the move is in response to a documentary broadcast by the channel, entitled Secret Pakistan.
Other foreign TV channels found guilty of broadcasting “anti-Pakistan” content will also be blocked.
The BBC said it was deeply concerned by the move, and called for its channel to be speedily reinstated.
“We condemn any action that threatens our editorial independence and prevents audiences from accessing our impartial international news service,” a BBC spokesperson said.
“We would urge that BBC World News and other international news services are reinstated as soon as possible.”
The two-part BBC documentary questioned the country’s commitment to tackling Taliban militancy.
It argued that some in Pakistan were playing a double game, quoting US intelligence officials as saying that they acted as America’s ally in public while secretly training and arming the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The decision to block BBC World News and other international news channels comes after a media uproar in Pakistan over a Nato air strike that killed 24 Pakistani troops near the Afghan border at the weekend.
The All Pakistan Cable Operators Association announced on Tuesday that all foreign news channels airing “anti-Pakistan” content would be barred from Wednesday.
The operators called on the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) “to revoke the landing rights of foreign channels” if they are found to be “propagating” information harmful to the country.
Relations between Pakistan and the US in particular and the West in general have been strained by the raid - as well as by continuing US drone strikes in Pakistan, the killing of Osama Bin Laden in May and a row over a CIA contractor acquitted earlier this year after killing two men in Lahore.
Correspondents say it is not possible to see BBC World News in most Pakistani cities, with the ban expected to be extended to rural areas by Wednesday.
Cable Operators Association spokesman Khalid Arain said that no foreign anti-Pakistan channel would “ever” be broadcast in the country.
“We want to send them a strong message to stop this. If they don’t stop this, then it is our right to stop them,” he said.
Correspondents say the Pakistani government is likely to have put pressure on the operators to impose the ban.