Govt orders shutdown of over 30 channels in the State

Nissar Shaheen Shah

The Jammu and Kashmir Governor Narinder Nath Vohra, has asked cable operators in the State to shut down over 30 channels which include Pakistani channels GEO, ARY, QTV, and Peace TV. This comes after 22 social media sites were banned in Jammu and Kashmir, stating that anti-national and ‘inimical’ elements were spreading objectionable information through these platforms.

Here is the list of channels that have been banned in Jammu and Kashmir:

Peace TV English
Peace TV Urdu
ARY QTV
Madni Channel
Noor TV
Hadi TV
Paigam
Hidayat
Saudi Al-Sunnah Al-Nabawiyah
Saudi-Al-Quran Al-Karim
Sehar, Karbala TV
Ahli-biat TV
Message TV
Hum TV
ARY Digital Asia
Hum Sitaray
ARY Zindagi
ARY Musik
TV One
ARY Masala
ARY Zauq
A TV
Geo News
ARY News Asia
Abb Takk News
Waseb TV
92 News
Duniya News
Samna News
Geo Tez
Express-News
ARY News
Apart from religious and news channels, the list has one sports channel, two culinary channels and one music channel.

In a letter that was written to all Deputy Commissioners, the State Home department directed the DCs to act against transmission of a few channels. The reason given was that “they have the potential to encourage violence and can disturb law and order situation in Kashmir, and are not permitted for transmission”.

Furthermore, Principal Secretary Home R K Goyal’s letter directed all DCs to clarify as to what action is being taken on media reports about the transmission of non-permitted channels in the State. The DCs have been directed to submit a compliance report on the matter by Monday.

The directives came after the government asked the State to take immediate steps to stop the broadcast of alleged unauthorised Pakistani and Saudi Arabian channels in Jammu and Kashmir. The measures were taken two days after the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting spoke with J&K Chief Secretary over the issue and ordered action to be taken immediately.