Geo News

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Geo News
Country Pakistan
Broadcast areaIndian Sub-Continent & Middle East
NetworkGeo TV
HeadquartersKarachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Programming
Language(s)Urdu
Picture format(1080p 16:9 MPEG-4 HDTV)
Ownership
OwnerMir Shakil-ur-Rahman
Jang Media Group
Mir Ibrahim Rahman
Sister channels
List
History
LaunchedOctober 2002; 22 years ago (2002-10)
Links
Websitewww.geo.tv
Availability
Streaming media
Geo News LiveWatch Live
Geo News Live StreamWatch Live

Geo News (Urdu: جیو نیوز) is a Pakistani TV news channel owned by the Jang Media Group, formerly known as Jang Group of Newspapers.[1][2]

This TV channel, launched in October 2002 by Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, as the news and current affairs programs channel. Geo News was under its flagship channel Geo TV. Geo TV was the biggest news channel in Pakistan in 2007 and still in 2025.[3][4]

History

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Geo News was launched in October 2002 as Geo TV. According to Dawn newspaper of Pakistan, "Since its launch, Geo TV has tested the bounds of freedom of expression in Pakistan to unprecedented levels in the country's history. This has also put Geo TV in numerous conflicts with the Pakistani government".[1]

In November 2007, under Pervez Musharraf's ruling period, a temporary 'state of emergency' was declared by the government and all Pakistani news media, newspapers and TV channels came under high pressure to tow the government line including Geo News TV channel.[5]

"There has been a marked increase in visits to the website of Geo TV, the first television station in Pakistan to broadcast independent news programmes. It is now reportedly receiving more than 1 million visits a day. Sales of newspapers, especially issues with supplements on the state of emergency, have also soared since the ban was imposed on privately-owned radio and TV stations".[5]

In June 2014, Geo News license was suspended by the Pakistani government for 15 days for their accusation and allegation against the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency and its then-chief Zaheer-ul-Islam for attacking its journalist Hamid Mir.[6]

"The controversy erupted after Mr. Mir's brother accused "certain elements" in the ISI and its chief of orchestrating the attack, a charge denied by the military".[6]

"Geo TV network and Jang Group, which owns the channel, on May 26 had issued an apology to Pakistan's armed forces and the ISI for making the allegations".[6]

In 2018, the employees of Geo News were not paid for three months and the editor-in-chief was summoned to explain the situation. Imran Aslam, an executive of Geo Network said, "This is an attempt to financially cripple the organization into submission." The news channel owner has also been summoned by the court in the past on the issue of non-payment of employee salaries.[7]

Controversies

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According to Delcan Walsh, The New York Times journalist, some militant outfits including Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and MQM-L's alleged militant wing have infiltrated the Geo group that helped them in executing the murder of the jounalist Wali Khan Babar and the PNS Mehran attack in 2011. [4]

Hosts and analyst

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Current

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Former

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Programming

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Current programming

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Former programming

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Geo TV Network". Dawn newspaper. 28 June 2012. Archived from the original on 11 January 2025. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Geo News is an Urdu language TV channel". Sky Media (UK) website. Archived from the original on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  3. ^ a b c "Pakistan's Geo TV on how it was forced to shut down (under Pervez Musharraf ruling period)". The Hindu newspaper. 18 November 2007. Archived from the original on 25 May 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Walsh, Declan (26 April 2014). "Attack on Journalist Starts Battle in Pakistani Press (Hamid Mir of Geo News was attacked and wounded in 2014)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  5. ^ a b "News media resist censorship and crackdown by Musharraf government". Reporters Without Borders website. 8 November 2007. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  6. ^ a b c "Pakistan Suspends Geo TV's Licence for Defaming the Army and ISI". NDTV.com (India) website. 7 June 2014. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  7. ^ Bhatti, Haseeb (16 April 2018). "SC summons Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman to explain non-payment of salaries to Geo employees". Dawn newspaper. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
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