Pakistani authorities briefly took a private news channel off cable networks in several cities as it was airing a show hosted by an anchor who has been critical of president Pervez Musharraf's [Images] regime, the TV station said on Thursday.

Aaj Television went off the air in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and several nearby areas without any prior notice being given by the government at 10.30 pm on Wednesday night, an official of the channel said.

"There was no intimation or warning of the blackout," he said.

The channel was restored to cable networks early on Thursday morning. This was the second time Aaj was taken off the air, the first being after Musharraf proclaimed emergency in November 2007.

Aaj vanished from cable networks while it was beaming the popular news and current affairs show 'Live With Talat' hosted by Talat Hussain, an anchor who had earlier run afoul of the military regime for his criticism of Musharraf. One of the guests on Hussain's programme was senior journalist Nusrat Javed, whose show 'Bolta Pakistan' has already been taken off the air by the authorities.

Despite its name, Hussain's programme is no longer aired live and is beamed after being recorded. Aaj reportedly rebuffed pressure from the Pakistani authorities to take Hussain off the air.

Musharraf shut down all foreign and Pakistani news channels after he imposed emergency on November 3, 2007. The Pakistani channels were allowed to return only after signing a government-mandated code of conduct.