Gunmen on a motorcycle attacked activist Sabeen Mahmud, the director of The Second Floor (T2F) on April 24 in the Defence area, as she was leaving her cafe, where she held art exhibitions and talks, just after hosting a discussion on disappearances in Balochistan.

The investigators found spent bullet casings at the scene but drew a blank.

“That suggests that a new group or new weapon has been used in the killing,” said a law enforcement official, requesting anonymity.

Police said their only witness is Ms Mahmud’s mother, who was with her and was wounded.

The investigators suspected that the killers had a back-up team of two men on a motorcycle and the police were examining the CCTV footage.

Desperate for clues, they were monitoring social media in hopes that loose talk could provide a lead, said another senior law enforcement official.

Ms Mahmud had told friends that officials of the Inter-Services Intelligence visited her in 2013 to ask about her work and finances, the law enforcement official said.

She had recently asked friends if she should go ahead with the Balochistan talk, he added.

The army condemned her killing, saying its intelligence agents would help in the investigation.

Human rights workers have not been reassured.

“There’s a lot of fear among the people, about whoever speaks out about Balochistan, what’s going to happen,” said Rukhsana Shama of the rights group Bedari. “It’s easy to point fingers at the agencies but no one knows.”

Third party

The first law enforcement official said her killers might have taken advantage of the tension between the authorities and Ms Mahmud over her Balochistan activism.

“Our hunch is that some third party exploited the standoff,” he said, suggesting India.

The case was unlikely to be solved if any security agency was behind it, the first official said.

Suspicion that Pakistan’s intelligence community was somehow responsible for the killing, in a bid to silence dissent, is dangerous to national security, said political commentator Moeed Pirzada.

“It is of vital importance that intelligence agencies work hard to expose the murderers, to restore trust between the state and its most aware citizens,” Pirzada added.

Series of protests from Thursday

Civil society on Tuesday decided to organise a series of protests from Thursday against Ms Mahmud’s killing, adds our staff reporter.

Participants in a meeting held at the Karachi Press Club decided to campaign for the fair and speedy investigation into Ms Mahmud’s murder.

“We the concerned citizens for peace held a meeting at the KPC in protest over the assassination of Sabeen Mahmud, a champion for love, peace and free speech,” said a statement. “The participants at the meeting also decided to hold a series of protests, first of which will be held on April 30 outside the KPC at 4pm.”

The people demanded justice for Ms Mahmud and that her killers be arrested and brought to trial, said the statement.

It added that a series of protests would take place every evening from 8-9pm at Clifton’s Teen Talwar.

“We appeal to all those who believe in justice and peace and are concerned about the violence in the city to participate in large numbers,” it said.

Daily Dawn

2014 has been one of the most difficult years for the Pakistani media. Due to the alarming, yet familiar, threats from militant groups, law enforcement agencies, and political parties, the Pakistani media remained bitterly divided.

The annual press freedom report released here by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) said that 2014 saw media professionals paying a heavy price in blood. Their strived to keep Pakistani citizens informed in an increasingly polarized and violence prone country. Eight media personnel, including three journalists, were killed during the year. At least thirty-five media practitioners were injured during 2014.

The unprecedented reversals in media freedom include divisions between media organisations, which isolated the local media group. The ensuing viscous propaganda between said group and rival media badly tarnished of the image the media among the public. Having isolated the group, the distribution of the group’s newspapers and television channels was disrupted to an extent not previously seen in the history of the country.

The bickering between media groups overshadowed the loss of life they were collectively suffering. For instance, the fatal shooting of reporter Shan Dahar on December 31, 2013, in Larkana, Sindh, did not garner the attention it should have. He was short in the back and taken to a hospital where he remained unattended to until he succumbed to his injuries the next day. Only a handful of days later another private channel’s DSNG van was attacked on January 17, 2014 resulted in the death of three media workers.

In March, Raza Rumi faced a deadly attack – while he survived, his driver died in the attack. On August 28, 2014, unidentified assailants barged into the offices of a news agency in Quetta and murdered Bureau Chief Irshad Mustoi, reporter Abdul Rasool Khajjak, and accountant Muhammad Younas.

The largest number of injuries occurred on August 31, 2014, when 28 journalists, camera operators, and other media workers, were injured while covering the clashes between the police and the protesters during the demonstrations led by the opposition Pakistan Tehrik Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT).

The next day on September 1, 2014, protestors belonging to PTI and PAT attacked the offices of state owned Pakistan Television (PTV). They took over the control room and running broadcasts were disrupted for a few hours. Supporters of PTI also continued to harass and intimidate the staff members of a private news channel after PTI Chairman Imran Khan alleged that it was complicit in the election rigging that took place in 2013.

Perhaps the only positive aspect in all this could be the realization among the media that effective codes of conduct are needed for a more ethical and peaceful working environment. There is also a greater realization among media organizations of the need to cooperate with civil society and political groups. This is so the issues of media safety and stifled freedom of expression can be addressed.

On the positive side, the killers of Wali Khan Babar, a Pakistani journalist, were convicted by the criminal justice system on Saturday March 1, 2014. A Pakistani court convicted six men for Babar’s murder. He was shot dead in Karachi in January 2011.

Pakistan Today

Pledging their wholehearted support and expressing solidarity with the Geo TV network and Jang Group, Punjab Jamaat-e-Islami General Secretary Nazir Ahmed Janjua and Farooq Chohan expressed solidarity with the Geo/Jang Group workers and their families.

Janjua said despite a 56-day ban on it, the Geo TV was still the best and his favourite channel. He said it was quite strange that Federal Minister Khawaja Asif was calling Geo an-anti Pakistan channel despite singing praises for it for years.

Jang Workers Union Senior Executive Body Member Malik Phul Bahar said it was the responsibility of the governments to provide livelihood to the people instead of snatching it. He said the government was taking away the livelihood of thousands of families belonging to the Geo and Jang Group.

PPP leader Shahida Jabeen, human rights leader Chaudhry Naseer Ahmed, Zubair Bokhari from Canada, Iftikhar Shahid Advocate, Abdullah Mailk, Nasir Jalib, Maryam Zulfiqar, Arif Zafar, Mohammed Yasin and others also spoke.

The speakers demanded the government take immediate steps to resume the Geo transmission since the Geo News is not only the biggest and bravest national channel but also the harbinger of positive change in the society.

The News

The protesters, carrying banners, placards in favour the Geo/Jang Group, and terming the ban on Geo against fundamental rights, said that any such action would be tantamount to economic murder of around 50,000 workers of the largest media house.

Among the prominent persons who attended the protest were senior journalists Nasrullah Malik, Khawar Naeem Hashmi, Maqsood Butt, Bedar Bakht Butt, Sadia Sharif, Ameen Hafiz, Jang Workers Union President Rukhsana Nazli, General Secretary Waseem Babar, Fakhira Tehreem, Shahzada Irfan, Jamaat-e-Islami general secretary Ameerul Azeem, Sadia Jabeen of the PPP, Shahid Aslam, Imdad Qureshi, Zahid Rafique Bhatti, Sabir Awan, Zahid Ali Khan, Ijaz Manzoor, Ijaz Mirza, Farooq Chohan, Naseer Baig, Azhar Maqbool, Sadia Aziz, Huma Mir Hassan, Naveed Aslam, President Civil Society Pakistan Abdullah Malik, Sohail Butt, Muneer Khokhar, Adeel Khokhar, Shafqat Imran, Asim Naseer and Waheed Butt.

Nasrullah Malik said he had come to join the protest as defending freedom of press was the duty of every journalist. He said our (media) victory lies in defending our freedom against all dictatorial acts. Which Constitution allows to forcibly snatch copies of newspapers and to threaten the cable operators to shut a channel (Geo), Malik asked, adding that some black sheep exist in our community which need to be thrown out now.

Allama Siddique Azhar said it was a matter of grave concern that Geo TV is off air as employment of thousands of workers is attached with this largest media house. He said nefarious designs with the help of some other channels have been made to discredit the most reliable source (Jang/Geo) of information for the public only to serve some vested interests.

Bedar Bakht Butt said the attack on senior anchorperson Hamid Mir was not an attack on him alone, rather the whole community came under attack from some powerful quarters who do not want free speech and freedom of the media. He said a planned conspiracy has been put in place after the attack on Hamid Mir to cause unbearable loss to the Geo/Jang Group to oust democracy from the country. He said the time has come to join hands to fight with the ‘angels’ and dictatorial mindset if we want to continue telling the truth to the general public.

Maqsood Butt said by attacking Hamid Mir it seemed that a serious campaign has been launched to eliminate all those journalists who speak the truth and stand in front of all wrongs.

Yousaf Shah and Khursheed Shah while condemning the ban on Geo said all labourers and worker’s unions of the country are with the workers of the Geo/Jang Group at this crucial time, adding that Geo is being targeted only for raising a voice for the poor and the needy.

In his speech, Ameerul Azeem demanded all illegal actions initiated against the Geo/Jang Group be stopped immediately, saying that the media house is the pride of Pakistan. He said Geo and Jang are the voice of millions of Pakistanis and efforts were underway to malign their favourite channel and newspapers which is highly condemnable.

Shahida Jabeen said by discrediting the Geo/Jang Group through such malicious campaigns, some forces want to again impose martial law in the country by throwing out hard-earned democracy. She also asked her leadership to throw persons like Israr Abbassi and Mian Shams out of the PPP as they were dancing to someone else’s tune while sitting in the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra).

Nisar Safdar Advocate and Iftikhar Shahid Advocate said religious elements are being used by some quarters to settle scores with Geo and Jang as this media house always stood against the high and mighty of the country. He said the media along with the lawyers’ community fought for the independence of the judiciary and now the lawyers will support the media in their fight for freedom and justice.

A representative of the Baloch Ittehad said that it was Geo and Jang alone which highlighted and raised the issues of Balochistan. He said the Baloch nation stands with the workers of the Geo/Jang Group in their fight for truth and freedom.

Abdullah Malik said Geo and Jang always promoted truth, harmony, equality, rule of law in the country. He said damaging this largest media organisation of the country means damaging democracy as every one knows that the independent media would not allow any unconstitutional act in the country again. He said all other channels and media houses should learn some lessons from the management of Geo/Jang Group as they accepted suffering a huge loss in the past one month or so but they never surrendered their freedom to the ‘angels’. He demanded that the government should intervene by finding a solution to the whole mess, otherwise things may go from bad to worse.

Meanwhile, the governing body of the Lahore Press Club on Saturday held its meeting with the chair of LPC President Arshad Ansari and expressed their serious concerns over the ban/suspension of Geo TV across the country.

In a statement issued here, the members of the governing body, while terming the ban on Geo as the economic murder of thousands of employees of the largest media house, said that such action against the Geo/Jang Group on any pretext would not be acceptable to the journalists’ community. “We will not let anyone ban/suspend any channel or media house of the country. If such actions were initiated against any group, the whole community would resist the move with full force,” they said.

The participants of the meeting asked the cable operators to restore Geo TV’s transmission throughout the country otherwise protest rallies would be taken out in all parts of the country.

Besides Arshad Ansari, LPC Secretary Shahbaz Mian, Afzal Talib, Farzana Ch, Asif Ch, Zahid Rafique Bhatti, Qamar Zaman Bhatti, Rizwan Khalid, Khwaja Naseer, Mehboob Ahmed, Imran Sheikh and Bilal Ghauri participated in the meeting.

The News

In a joint statement on Sunday the labour and civil society organisations announced to join the PFUJ’s dharna (sit-in) in front of the parliament in Islamabad on January 28 and demanded of the government to accept all demands of the working journalists. The organisations including the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER), Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF), National Trade Union Federation, Muttahida Labour Federation, Hosiery Garments Workers General Union Sindh, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Port Workers Federation and others expressed serious concern over the failure of the government to look into the serious issues confronted by the journalists.

Pakistan Press Foundation