Legal counsel for IMC, Faisal Iqbal advocate appeared before the court and said that Zaid Hamid leveled false and baseless allegations against Geo and Jang Group on different television channels without any proof.

Hamid started his malicious campaign on July 15, 2013 at an ARY television programme “Khara Sach”. He afterwards continued with his it at Express TV programme “Kal Tak” and Dawn News programme “News Eye” to damage the credibility of the petitioner.

The IMC on July 17 dispatched a legal notice to Hamid who instead of replying the notice, tweeted ridiculous and non-reasonable messages. The IMC then filed this lawsuit on July 30, 2013.

Counsel for IMC produced CDs and transcript before the court as proof of his contentions. The IHC, after hearing the final arguments, reserved judgment in this matter. It is to mention here that IHC bench has already declared this matter ex-parte as Zaid Hamid did not filed his representation before the court despite repeated notices.

The News

Besides their unconstitutional role in suppressing the freedom of expression, the hidden hands are busy inciting religious hatred against the Jang Group — their last and most lethal weapon after failing on all other accounts.

Jang Group has been subjected to such victimization that in the past few days its editor was attacked in Multan and its vans carrying bundles of newspapers in Lahore, Lodhran and Rawalpindi were burnt after a sustained campaign launched by the hidden hands through the rival media groups, the politicians who love to remain in their pockets and the religious clergy whom they have been feeding since long.

The rival media groups, ARY, Express and Saama TV, which have been in the forefront of hurling the allegations of blasphemy at Geo TV for airing the Qawali, had themselves committed blasphemy for airing the same (Qawali) on a number of occasions with dances of girls and other stuff and have never apologized for the blasphemous act. They did this before Geo aired the Qawali once, and afterwards also aired it dozens of time to instigate people. Geo had admitted its mistake, tendered an apology under the Shariah but is still subjected to violence and suppression only because the hidden hands are not happy with Geo, not because of the Qawali issue but on Hamid Mir’s statement.

Among the stooges of establishment, who tried to make their presence felt at Aabpara, is Imran Khan who is the only politician and head of a party who conducted a press conference on the blasphemy issue and only accused Geo of committing it while paying a blind eye to the ARY, Express and Saama TV?

Again, to get noticed before the hidden hands, PTI is the only political party in the country to have moved a resolution against Geo TV in the Punjab Assembly over the blasphemy. Such an attitude of a politician who claims to have gathered eight million votes, has put the lives of thousands of employees of Jang Group in danger, but for Imran getting noticed before hidden hands is important than thousands of lives.

The paid stooges of the establishment who aired the Qawali showed by Geo, dozens of times only to incite religious hatred among the public, also contributed to bring a few people to such a level that they started burning the properties of Jang Group and beating its employees. However, the recent incidents show that all such things were done by trained and professional people. The role of most of religious parties remained exceptionally well in toning down the sentiments of people aroused by the rival media group against Geo. However, a few so-called religious scholars who have known links with the establishment, in a bid to get noticed before hidden hands like Imran Khan, did come forward and issued decrees against the Jang Group.

They did not have the following of more than a few hundred people across the country but they played a dirty role against the Jang Group and their representatives and followers also remained present in front of Pemra offices to close down Geo. They organized protests against Geo despite knowing the fact Geo has tendered apology while other channels did not.

On the other hand, the journalist community stands by the Jang Group as huge rallies were organized in support of Hamid Mir and Jang Group last Friday.

President Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists Afzal Butt said there were names of Allah Almighty, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and Ahl-e-Bait written on the newspapers burnt in Rawalpindi and asked if it was not blasphemy.

He asked if those Ulema who proactively issued decrees against the Jang Group over the Qawali will issue a decree against those who had burnt the names of Allah, Prophet (SAW) and Ahl-e-Bait. “If not, then it will be clear that decrees against Geo were issued at the behest of hidden forces,” Butt maintained.

The News

Previously, it was a civilian institution that wanted the closure of a TV channel (ARY), an informed source told The News, while this time a military organisation is hell bent upon getting another network (Geo News) off-air.

He said that earlier at the height of the pressure, Information Minister Senator Pervaiz Rashid remained physically present in his office till 02:20 hours to make it a point that no closure order was issued in any case.

The source said that while leaving his office, he told the concerned officials that if the channel was shut down by next day morning, he would deal with them sternly.“The obvious underlying reason for not taking the extreme action against the network is not to interfere with the freedom of the press and expression in any way,” he said.

The source said the same conclusion was driving the government to prevail upon the complainant that has filed the petition with the Pakistan Electronic Regulatory Authority (Pemra) not to compel it to go for the overkill.

He said that the Nawaz Sharif government was clear that in case of an extreme action against Geo, everybody would blame it now and in the days to come, not the complainant, that it had stifled the press freedom. “The government is not prepared to earn this bad name.”

The source said that unlike its track record during its previous two tenures, the government was showing utmost patience for the mere reason that it didn’t want to annoy the premier state institution in any way or resort to any confrontation with it.

Venomous propagandists, who are adding fuel to the fire, are relentlessly complaining and urging the government to “show itself” in the row and get the matter resolved rather than becoming a silent spectator. They are constantly complaining with the motive of trggering a clash between the government and the spy agency that the tiff has prolonged because of “inaction” of the government.

However, these instigators don’t know, or they know but are deliberately lying, that the government is engaged at the highest level day in and day out to resolve the conflict amicably.Senator Pervaiz Rashid has been specifically assigned the task and is fervently doing a lot to tide over the crisis. At the same time, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is keeping a complete track of the developments relating to this issue and issuing instructions where necessary. This means that all the relevant quarters are fully preoccupied with the job to extinguish the fire without compromising on the freedom of expression/press or letting down any state institution.

The source said that although Geo News was virtually off-air across Pakistan, a fact that the government fully knows, only because of the angels’ pressure on the cable operators, the government was not assertively, even softly or quietly, asking the Pemra to stop this illegality when there was no official order from the concerned organisation.

This government policy, he said, reflects its approach not to cause even minor disquiet to the complainant that might heighten the conflict. Unlike before, the government is demonstrating an unprecedented patience and tolerance, he said.

The complainant’s insistence is that the network should be shut down to send a message to the “officers” that due punishment has been given.The source said that the government side has made it clear again and again that any extreme action against the Geo News would most possibly be struck down the very next moment by a superior court, as the judiciary is bound to assure the freedom of expression and the press as ordained in the Constitution.

In that eventuality, the source said, not only the government but the complainant would face deep embarrassment apart from earning a bad name.

According to the source, the government side has stressed time and again that the international reaction to any extreme action against the network would be highly negative and that would be very damaging for Pakistan and its democratic dispensation.

However, the source said that the stalemate, which is likely to be broken in the coming days, still persisted.About his efforts to break the logjam, the information minister said that whatever he was doing was his duty, and it was not unusual to meet both the sides. Besides, he was also holding meetings with all the representative bodies and owners of TV channels.

The News