Pakistani government censors 11 Christian TV stations
In its latest crackdown against Christianity, the Pakistani government issued an order declaring 11 Christian TV stations illegal.
The order, issued by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority on Sept. 22, declared the 11 channels as "unauthorized TV." One channel was run by Catholics while the others were operated by Protestant groups.
"All the Regional Directors General are invited to take the necessary steps to immediately stop the illegal transmission of TV channels in their respective regions," the order stated.
A Pakistani monk identified as Fr. Mushtaq Anjum noted that proclaiming the Gospel in the country is illegal. He said that Christians have been setting up cable and web television stations for several years so that they have a platform to speak about their faith.
"Christians have no place in public television channels," he told Agenzia Fies. "We want to understand why they are called illegal. This is another discriminatory law that affects non-Muslims," he added.
According to Express, Christians have been allowed to broadcast publicly for the last 17 years. Father Morris Jalal, founder of Catholic TV, urged people to protest the government order.
Other Christians described the ban as an "act of intimidation" and an "attack on religious freedom."
Alessandro Monteduro, president of the Italian Branch of Aid to the Church in Need, admitted that Catholic TV did not have a permit to broadcast. He told Catholic News Agency that the network had followed proper legal procedures despite the lack of permits. He added that the procedures have changed but they were left unaware of the changes.
Monteduro is not optimistic about the chances of re-opening the station adding that "without a collective indignation I don't think we will be given the possibility of reopening."
Fr. Robert McCulloch, an Australian priest who has lived in Pakistan for 34 years, cautioned Christians not to overreact.
He thought there is a possibility that the crackdown is not aimed directly toward Christians. According to Catholic News Agency, he said to that it might have been caused by the souring relations between India and Pakistan because of the dispute over Kashmir.
Earlier this month, Pakistan banned all Indian television stations after a regulatory body in India banned Pakistani artists and technicians from the Indian movie industry.
