ABSTRACT
General Musharraf's liberalization of the media surprised many. The Pakistani media liberalization case contradicts conventional arguments that dictatorships impose repression on the press; that news bureaus in non-democratic regimes often face strict state control; or that military leaders usually adopt media control as a personal policy preference. Contrary to established wisdom, this chapter presents seven reasons which prompted the military dictator to liberalize the broadcasting sector in 2002, and through this case offers arguments on novel and counter-intuitive forms of media control that emerged with dictatorship and economic reforms in Pakistan. In the case of South Asia, media's role in the political process is deeply entrenched in colonial history and nationalism. The paradoxical case of media liberalization under military dictatorship in Pakistan illustrates the complex entanglement of nationalism, colonial regulatory history and the unfolding climate of economic reforms.
