New media restrictions are dropped
President Gen. Pervez Musharraf withdrew new curbs on media covering Pakistan’s growing political crisis, backing down after nationwide protests by journalists and opposition parties.
The president issued a decree a week ago that sharply increased regulators’ ability to sanction broadcasters who violate a code of conduct that bars programming deemed too critical of the armed forces or likely to undermine national unity.
Musharraf withdrew the restrictions during talks with representatives of Pakistani news channels, an official who attended the meeting said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
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