Chairman Punjab Cable Operators Association Mian Amir Masood said the strike call by Cable Operators Association of Pakistan (CAP) had failed.
Talking to Daily Jang he said issues could not be settled through strikes, but through dialogue. He said, "We want dialogue with Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority to reach a mutually acceptable solution. He said the CAP was playing in some special hands and the strike call was given for their vested interests which failed.** He said 32 cable operators were working in Lahore and only five of them participated in the strike. Same is the case in Karachi, he added. He said not even a single cable operator participated in the strike in small cities.**
APP adds: Meanwhile, Federal Information Secretary Anwar Mahmood has reiterated that the government will not allow cable operators to screen Indian channels. Talking to newsmen at a luncheon meeting at a local hotel on Sunday, the Secretary warned that the government would take strict action, including cancellation of licences, against the cable operators violating rules and regulations."It will be unwise to link country’s survival with screening of Indian channels," he remarked. However, he appreciated that certain cable operators had set a positive precedent by not relaying Indian channels and doing good business too. He informed that the government had decided to launch another satellite-based channel of Pakistan television i.e. ‘PTV Home’ shortly with a view to providing healthy entertainment to the families.
All Balochistan Cable TV Operators Association has ignored the strike call issued by Cable Operators Association of Pakistan. In a press release issued Sunday, the President of the Association Sohail Aziz and other office-bearers described the strike call as unjustified and against national interests. Meanwhile the sale of the dish antennas and receivers, which picked pace during the last few days, continued despite the fact that most markets remain closed on Sunday. Jang
so much for the cable operator’s unity and here they were talking about not showing Pakistani and other international channels for one week. I told you, these guys wouldn’t last.
ISLAMABAD, Aug 24: Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on Sunday refused to lift the ban on Indian TV channels despite the cable operators’ move to suspend relaying of all national and international all across the country.
According to a decision taken by the All-Pakistan Cable Operators Association (APCOA), cable operators suspended transmissions of popular television channels while some of them suspended their services altogether to protest against the government’s decision of keeping the ban on various channels intact.
Pemra officials said that the authority had accepted two of the three demands tabled by cable operators regarding determination of tariff for running cable TV channels and charges of Wapda for using its poles for cable service. The third demand, calling for the lifting of the ban on relaying of what they called “Urdu” TV channels operating from countries other than India was, however, not accepted.
“Pemra has no intention to lift the ban on these TV channels,” a Pemra official said. He said Indian TV channels had been banned prior to the formation of Pemra, therefore, the authority was not responsible for the ban.
The official clarified that the main reason behind the ban on Indian TV programmes was to promote local private channels and those new channels which would go on air in the current year. He said about 25 new private channels would begin beaming their programmes in the current year.
He said a tariff had been proposed by the Pemra but it would be imposed in consultation with the cable operators. He said the Pemra and the Wapda were working together to fix charges for using electricity poles by cable operators, supplementing their cable networks in specific areas.
Strike is called off. Govt. has agreed to broadcast all Indian channels based in Hongkong. This would include all STAR channels like STAR movies, STAR PLUS, STAR NEWS, VIJAY TV etc. Next they will start broadcasting all channels based in Dubai like ZEE TV etc.
