The saving grace for GeoTV and ARYOne was that they were based in Dubai. They uplink from there, so that even though they were unable to broadcast in Pakistan, they could still be seen all over the world.
However, Musharraf has been able to apply enough pressure on the UAE government to actually kick GeoTV and ARYOne off the airwaves in Dubai! This is truly demoralizing, and a huge setback for the two networks. There is at least one protest planned today in Karachi in solidarity with these two journalistic outlets. This is also a setback for Dubai, I think, because the city-state's philosophy has always been live and let live, and to focus on business. This is a signal that the rulers there are willing to play politics, which is generally unsettling to business types. So it's a pretty dumb move on multiples counts.
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