Press Releases 2007
U.S. Ambassador Visits Geo TV Office In Karachi; Urges Lifting Of Curbs On Media
11/19/2007
Karachi – The U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, Anne W. Patterson, visited the office of Geo Television Network here today and expressed the U.S. Government’s “grave concern” over the orders of the Government of Pakistan to suppress the news media, including Geo TV.
“Such extreme and unreasonable measures are clearly not in Pakistan’s best interest, and contradict the progress Pakistan has made toward becoming a fully democratic society,” Ambassador Patterson said during her meeting with the senior editorial staff and management of the network. “Not only is it an issue of freedom of speech and the independence of media, such measures are also economically punitive for the effected news organizations.”
The top American diplomat urged the Government of Pakistan to quickly lift the curbs on media and immediately permit broadcasters to resume their programming.
“The media must be free to report on events and share their opinions with the public,” Ambassador Patterson emphasized.