In support of Geo and ARY

Members of the LUMS student movement express their admiration for the fortitude displayed by Geo TV and ARY in not knuckling down to the government's paranoid demands. We consider the enforced closure of Pakistan's most popular news channels as a grave milestone in the course of this emergency rule. This is yet another sign of an increasingly insecure government's fear of criticism. The fact that this move has been carried out by a leader, who had actually helped to bring about the Pakistani media's most liberated days is what makes this event even more tragic. If the government seriously imagines that after years of such unprecedented freedom of speech, access to information and freedom to form one's own opinions, the Pakistani media and public would give up their rights so easily, it is gravely mistaken. The regime cannot mould the citizenry into a robot army, incapable of independent thought and action. President Musharraf proclaims that he will not let the politicians, judiciary and the media derail Pakistan's train of progress. He should really reassess - is steering this train to a glorious future really worth it when so many of the protesters are being gagged, blinded and brutalised to achieve the proclaimed objective?