EDITORIAL ; RECONSIDER BAN ON TV CHANNELS

The government’s order of banning several TV channels including those of Pakistani and Saudi Arabia is not going to resolve issues but may turn the already simmering situation from bad to worse as the similar gag on internet particularly the social media in Kashmir last month failed to help authorities in any way. It claimed that the transmission of the banned channels was against cable TV rules and
that such channels have the “potential to encourage or incite violence and create law and order disturbance in the Kashmir Valley.” The move is a direct interference into the religious affairs of Muslims and depriving them of their rights. Moreover, many among the banned channels are not ‘Islamic’ but mostly air dramas; so what according to government will the move lead towards. To deprive people of
the right to information in this technological era is unacceptable in a democratic set-up and totally uncalled for. The government should reconsider the decision lest the latest move snowballs into yet another controversy and adds to the already spiraling protest spree in valley.