Pakistani president withdraws law imposing curbs on media

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- President Gen. Pervez Musharraf on Saturday withdrew new curbs on media covering Pakistan's growing political crisis, backing down after a week of nationwide protests by journalists and opposition parties.

The president issued a decree last Sunday 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 Saturday with representatives of Pakistani news channels, an official who attended the meeting said on condition of anonymity.

Arshad Zubairi, secretary general of the Pakistan Broadcasters Association, welcomed the move and said colleagues had informed him after attending the meeting.

"It is a good decision," he said. He provided no further details.

The official said Musharraf withdrew the decree only after the broadcasters assured him that they would "prepare a code of conduct to avoid any abuse of media freedom."

"President Musharraf welcomed their suggestion, and told the broadcasters that he believed in the freedom of press," the official said.

Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup and became a close U.S. ally against al-Qaida after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, has granted unprecedented freedoms to Pakistan's media, which now includes several privately owned news channels.

That policy has won him much praise at home and from his principal foreign backer, the United States.

However, he has complained of bias in their coverage of the crisis spawned by his March 9 decision to suspend Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry.

Several journalists have been threatened or beaten and officials have pressured TV stations to stop their exhaustive coverage of rallies by Chaudhry that have drawn tens of thousands of lawyers and opposition protesters.

The ordinance gave regulators the power to suspend the licenses and seal the premises of broadcasters or distributors. It also raised possible fines for violations from about $16,000 to about $166,000.

Journalists staged demonstrations across the country, including in Islamabad, defying a recently announced ban on rallies in the capital. Police filed a preliminary complaint against about 200 reporters, a move that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz then ordered withdrawn.

Critics say Musharraf has become increasingly authoritarian as he seeks to extend his nearly eight years in power with a new five-year presidential term this fall. Some claim Musharraf has tried to sideline the independent-minded judge in case of any legal challenges to his bid to for another term.

Musharraf, however, has said he has evidence that Chaudhry abused his office.