Coulisse

Just when you need more information, your elected leader cuts all of it from you. That’s what took place in Pakistan on Sunday morning.

Elected leader of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, had bragged for years about freedom of the press and media, but then he felt that he was losing power. So he went and cut all of the news channel, radio stations, the news papers, and even internet. It’s like he just went and said, “I think my power is in danger of decreasing. Let’s cut all means of news or communication!”

Now, there is a law that if any editor violates the order can wind up in jail or pay a 5 million rupee fine ($83,000).

For a while after the power cut, everything went haywire. Armed police showed up on the doorstep of Talat Hussein, demanding that they come quietly and hand over their broadcasting equipment. In midday Sunday, telephone lines and Blackberries were jammed in some parts of the capital while internet service flicked on and off. With out satellite phones and unlisted numbers, Zaffar Abbass said, we would not have been able to function.

Though, many Pakistani journalists vowed to keep broadcasting to 160 million people of the nation. Hussein said, “We will stay on the air. This won’t stop us.”