PTV need not be banned: Sushma

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, OCT. 5. The Information & Broadcasting Minister, Ms. Sushma Swaraj, today said there was no truth in the allegations that the Pakistan Government had ordered a ban on Indian television news channels. Also, she saw no reason in banning PTV in India.

Responding to queries at a routine briefing here today, Ms. Swaraj said the I&B Secretary had consulted the Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan after a section of the press reported that Indian television news channels had been banned in Pakistan for ``propagating against Islam and Pakistan''.

``Our High Commissioner informed us that the Pakistan Government had not banned any Indian news channel. According to him, the Karachi Cable Operators' Association had passed a resolution to block out Zee News, Star News, Jain TV and all Doordarshan channels. Even after this resolution, the channels are available in some parts of the country including Karachi,'' she said; adding that none of the Indian channels had sought the Ministry's intervention in this regard.

As for banning PTV, Ms. Swaraj said there was no reason to do so. Asked whether the PTV allegations that India had stage managed the ``hijack'' of the Alliance Air flight to discredit Pakistan was not reason enough for banning the channel, she said ``this much of anti-India propaganda is routine for PTV. . . We have not yet encountered the kind of anti-India propaganda that we faced during the Kargil war and so there is no need to ban PTV right now''.

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