Pakistani Military Seeks Shutdown of Leading TV News Channel Geo

Media mogul Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman has played an outsized role in shaping Pakistan's politics in recent years. Now, his empire is struggling for survival after colliding with the country's most powerful institution: the military establishment.

The clash was sparked by the shooting of Hamid Mir, the star journalist of Rahman's Geo TV channel. Geo reporters alleged on broadcasts that the military's main spy agency was behind the attack. The military angrily denied the claim, and is now pushing to shut the network. On May 6, Pakistan's media regulator will begin hearings on whether to close the channel. The controversy is reversing fragile gains made by increasingly assertive Pakistani media over the past decade, analysts and media professionals say.