Geo TV, one of the most popular independent Pakistani television stations, has broadcast from Dubai since 2002 precisely to avoid the periodic crackdowns on media, such as the one just instituted by Gen. Pervez Musharraf when he declared martial law in Pakistan on Nov. 3.

"It was on short notice, just two hours before, from a Dubai Media City official who said that transmission has to stop at midnight," said Shahid Massood, Geo Group executive director in Dubai.

"I was the last voice our viewers heard yesterday -- 15 minutes before blackout, I went on air and informed viewers about this sad moment in media history in Pakistan," he added.

Massood attributed the decision to close his TV by the government-owned Dubai Media City, which hosts dozens of media organizations, including CNN and a number of Arab satellite channels.

"The pressure was so intense from Gen. Musharraf," he said. "It's an unfortunate moment in Pakistan's history, especially considering the country is in such turmoil."

Emirati government officials as well as those from the Dubai Media City could not be reached for comment, but the code of the media city prohibits organizations it hosts to interfere with the politics of another country.

Other news organizations in the tax-free zone, which was built in effort to turn Dubai into a regional media hub, declined to comment about Geo's shut down. Domestic media, in the booming emirate, is strictly controlled.

"We picked this place because we were free to work from here," said Massood, noting that together with CNN they were one of the first television stations to set up shop in the media zone. "This is total censorship, a total blackout.

Later Saturday, he told AP that the TV's staff were still in the office, waiting for a written notification from Dubai authorities confirming the media's shutdown and giving a motive.

"It's a very confusing situation," Massood said. "It would only take one button to push to bring back the signal."

GEO news is now broadcasting a continuous video of a thunderstorm at sea, with its logo floating on the choppy waves. It said in a statement that it had made the decision after receiving word that the Pakistan government had used its influence with a foreign country to close it down.

"We reported everything," said Massood. "People relied on our coverage from Dubai."

He also estimated the station was losing millions of dollars a day in lost advertising revenue.

The Paris based media rights group Reporters Without Borders urged the Emir of Dubai to rescind the decision to shut the TV "in the name of press freedom and free enterprise."

"Pressure by Gen. Musharraf, a notorious press freedom predator, on the Dubai authorities constitutes outrageous interference," the group said in a statement.

It said a second Pakistani TV, Ary One World, had also been ordered to close in Dubai.

Pakistan's television news landscape has changed dramatically since Musharraf seized power in a 1999 coup, when the only available option to viewers was state-run Pakistan TV. Twenty independent stations have sprung up since then.

The move to shut Geo TV came even as the Pakistani government engaged in a number of face-saving measures ahead of a senior U.S. diplomat's arrival, including the release of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto from house arrest and allowing several opposition television news stations back on the air.