Islamabad: Pakistan has taken 156 FM radio stations off the air to stop the spread of religious extremism and anti-state sentiments, notably among Pashtun tribes near the Afghan border, a spokesman for the regulator said on Wednesday.
The raids have been conducted by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulating Authority (PEMRA), working in tandem with local officials in the semi-autonomous tribal areas during the last six months.
''Our regulations do not extend to the tribal areas. But we are coordinating with local authorities and police to jam or shut down these illegal stations,'' a spokesman for PEMRA said.
He said 94 stations had been operating illegally and had been transmitting their own religious and political views.
''The rest of the stations were closed down by the local authorities after they got complaints some were fanning sectarian hatred and anti-state feelings,'' he said.
At least 26 people were killed in the tribal region in March after clashes between factions led by rival Muslim clerics.
The clashes occured after a cleric, Mufti Munir Shakir, used a radio station to incite tribesmen to attack Afghan families settled in the Khyber area.
Tribal militants and clerics sympathetic to the Taliban and al Qaeda have also been making anti-government broadcasts, often using mobile units that broadcast over an area of up to 15 kilometre.
''These elements buy or smuggle in cheap mobile radio devices and don't need any permanent building or place to transmit anything. They keep moving around,'' the PEMRA official said.
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