The District Bar Association, Islamabad, has challenged dismissal of their application against the TV channel for blasphemy in the IHC. On Monday, CJ Anwar Kasi accepted the Bar’s application.

During the hearing, Bar president Nasir Ahmed Kayani and others were present in the courtroom while lawyer Raja Khalid Mehmood representedthe government. Kayani argued that additional district and sessions judge, justice of peace, Muhammad Jahangir Awan, had ordered FIR against Geo TV and not against ARY TV on the Bar’s application against blasphemy committed by the both. He appealed that the court should order Margalla Police Station to lodge the FIR against the private TV channel.

Standing Council Raja Khalid Mehmood contended that a channel aired blasphemous content once and then apologised but the other channel aired the same repeatedly. After completion of arguments, the court reserved the short order for a while before announcing it. It may be mentioned that the Bar moved court for registration of cases against TV channels after the police refused to lodge the cases.

The News

Justice Siddiqui was hearing the writ petition of Shuhada Foundation of Pakistan Trust (SFPT) that it had filed against the ARY television channel for airing defamatory programmes against the superior judiciary judges. It was on June 11 when the same court through an interim order directed Pemra to ensure that “Mubasher Lucman shall not be allowed to conduct any programme on any TV channel till final decision of the instant writ petition”. The said order was later vacated by the Supreme Court (SC).

While hearing the matter, IHC judge observed that “ridiculing judiciary is tantamount to violation of the Constitution and no compromise could be made on prestige of the judicial institutions”. IHC judge further remarked that the judiciary was being criticised without any reason; if anyone had an objection or complaint against a judge, he could file the matter before Supreme Judicial Council (SJC). If a television channel aired a ‘Qawwali,’ five other channels also did the same. Justice Siddiqui remarked that there was a censor board for the films but no censor board for the television dramas and advertisements. In advertisements, there was much being aired for the sale of different items.

During last hearing, IHC bench had noted in its order “Let secretary ministry of information, Islamabad and Pemra chairman be directed to appear in person to explain as to whether there is any code of conduct for electronic media and anchorpersons who found ridiculing the institutions of country like judiciary, Army and other sensitive institutions and how many complaints have been filed against such persons and TV channels and what action has been taken so far.”

In compliance with the court orders, Pemra chairman and secretary ministry of information was there in the court today.

SEPT petitioner while nominating federation through secretary ministry of information, secretary ministry of interior, Pemra chairman, Ammad Khalid of Geo TV Channel, and Anchor ARY TV Channel Mubasher Luqman as respondents has contended before the court that some anchors particularly Mubasher Luqman are conducting such programmes which are prejudicial to the integrity, honour, respect and independence of the superior judiciary.

The petitioner contended that the Pemra had taken no substantial steps to implement a previous court order and Mubasher Luqman on the ARY TV channel was continuing extending the campaign against former chief justice (R) Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and judges of Supreme Court particularly Justice Jawwad S Khawaja in a clandestine manner.IHC bench after issuing the above order put off hearing in this matter till July 9.

The News

A three-judge bench headed by Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk suspended the high court’s order when senior counsel Irfan Qadir representing Mubasher Lucman of ARY News argued that the verdict was “arbitrary and whimsical”.

The apex court also issued notices to Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), Shohada Foundation and Geo TV channel. Date for the next hearing will be fixed later.

Taking note of a series of talk shows which were critical of a judge of the Supreme Court (Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja), the IHC had slapped the ban on Mr Lucman on June 11.

The restraining order was passed by the high court on a petition filed by Shohada Foundation through Advocate Tariq Asad which alleged that Mr Lucman had launched a campaign against the judge.

Mr Lucman pleaded in his petition that the impugned order was “grossly illegal” because it undermined the independence of Pemra and negated the spirit of Articles 189 and 190 of the Constitution, particularly when his show ‘Khara Such’ was “subject matter of proceedings presently pending in the Supreme Court”.

The petition said the Supreme Court, despite having seen a video clip of the show, had exercised restraint, being conscious of the importance of freedom of speech.

DAWN

The attack and shootout in April this year, left Mir, seriously injured. Mr. Hamid Mir, one of Geo TV’s most famed anchor-persons has directly accused the ISI chief for the attack and conspiracy to assassinate him and to silence any critique of the ISI or its agents.

Although Geo TV has tendered an official apology several times, following the airing, reports revealed that the ISI forced the hand of both the PEMRA and the Ministry of Defence to take punitive actions against Geo TV, and to send out a powerful message that no criticism of the ISI nor any of its agents will be tolerated in Pakistan.

The AHRC has learns that, the regulatory body PEMRA, under virtual coercion by the ISI , has taken the decision to close down Geo TV with only members from government being called by the PEMRA’s Chairperson and just hours before the announcement of the ban.

The AHRC notes with concern that this issue is seen as a serious threat to media freedom in Pakistan by the Government, the army and the intelligence agencies. According to reports, Geo TV and its sister channels have been taken off air by cable TV operators, under pressure from the military, that four of the company’s vehicles were burned in different stations across the country and that a journalist, has been beaten up by unidentified assailants in the city of Multan in central Pakistan, even before Friday’s ban was announced.

Further, the federal minister of Defence in a televised interview had issued a warning to all media institutions in the country, threatening that if any person or institution found maligning the armed forces would be strictly dealt with. He had added further that the punishment meted out to Geo TV was not severe enough. The attacks on media and press freedom had escalated to highest proportions following these recent events that other government Ministers too, have been reported to have baselessly criticised media institutions in reporting the recent attacks on the Karachi airport, for exposing the weaknesses and failures of the military and the government authorities in handling these terrorist attacks.

The deterioration of media freedom in Pakistan is fast transforming into a deeper crisis as the judiciary too has been reported to have joined the intelligence services and the government military and intelligence apparatus in restricting media freedom in Pakistan. In another incident a Judge of the Islamabad High Court, a well-known vigilante for his affiliation with fundamentalist groups and was had been biased in favour of killing of the former governor of Punjab on blasphemy, has banned an anchor-person, Mr. Mubashir Luqman, from yet another TV channel in Pakistan, the ARY TV, from conducting any programmes on air due to him exposing to a fraudulent land deal by a wife of a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

The attacks on media freedom in Pakistan do not end here. According to sources, the Pakistan government is in the process of drafting a code of conduct for the media which will drastically limit the space and scope of freedom of expression. The code of conduct declares that no media house will be allowed to criticize the armed forces and their intelligence agencies without prior confirmation and worse will not be allowed to criticize any decisions of the courts.

The freedom of expression in Pakistan is in a perilous state and continues to worsen every day, by constantly being under government’s close watch , by constant military interference and by constant threats by the intelligence services. No criticism, even credible allegations against any of these government establishments are met with heavy reprisals against the media.

The fragile state of the country’s media freedom is further demonstrated by the constant harassment of journalists, which even go beyond harassment and take their lives. Publications are being constantly censored, websites are being blocked, and legislation is being passed in total disregard of all fundamental rights.

Legislations such as the Official Secret Act of 1923 and other blasphemy laws have generated much disgust among the people of Pakistan. Pakistan’s Constitution enshrines in Article 19 the freedom of speech and expression – which the state has miserably failed to uphold. Pakistan is also obliged under Article 19 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [ICCPR] to ensure freedom of expression and speech – none of which is presently being followed by the Pakistan government. Article 19 of the ICCPR also makes it mandatory for the countries to guarantee the undiluted freedom of expression even during times of war or war like conditions.

In this backdrop the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urges the government of Pakistan to ensure and respect the very constitutional guarantees of freedom expression and speech to all citizens. We also urge the government of Pakistan to adhere to its international obligations and to actively desist any moves by the military and its intelligence agents to curb the freedom of expression and speech in Pakistan.

The AHRC urges the government to restore the three channels of Geo TV immediately and guarantee freedom of expression for the media institution, order PEMRA to have a credible, transparent and democratic process in all its regulatory functions, take disciplinary action and conduct an impartial inquiry on the conduct of Justice Shoukat Siddiqui, judge of Islamabad high court for usurping the right of freedom of expression of journalist/anchor-person Mubashir Luqman – with immediate effect.

Asian Human Rights Commission

IHC Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui passed the restraining order on a petition filed by the Shuhada Foundation through their counsel Tariq Asad. The petitioners maintained that Lucman had launched a campaign against Supreme Court judge Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja and former Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

Justice Siddiqui observed, `It is amatter of great concern that Mubasher Lucman… has been found crossing all the limits of decency, morality and respect for the institutions and limits prescribed by the organic law of the hatred against the institution of judiciary`.

The court termed the anchor`s remarks `uncalled for` and observed that `surprisingly, neither the government nor the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) had taken any action against him` `In view of the matter, it is hereby directed that Pemra shall ensure that Mr Lucman shall not be allowed to conduct any programme on any TV channel till (a) final decision of the instant writ petition and if any channel (is) found accommodating him, strict action in accordance with the law may be taken against that channel,` the court directed.

Justice Siddiqui also directed the secretary of the Ministry for Information and Broadcasting as well as chairman Pemra to appear in person to explain, `as to whether there exists any code of conduct for electronic media and anchorpersonswho (are) found ridiculing the institutions of country such as the judiciary, army and other sensitive institutions and how many complaints have beennledagainstsuchpersons and TV channels and what action has been taken so far?` The matter will now be taken up in the last week of June.

`We will not air (Mr Lucman`s show) until the court vacates its restraining orders or the petition is disposed of,` ARY Television Director Programmes Ammad Yousaf told Dawn. `The programme Khara Such, however, will continue without Mr Lucman. We are changing the host of the show, who will host the programme during Lucman`s absence,` he said.

The petitioner`s counsel, Tariq Asad, argued that Mr Lucman`s show was prejudicial to the integrity, honour, respect and independence of the superior judiciary.

He alleged that Lucman has ignored ethical limits and was targeting Justice Khawaja and the former chief justice Chaudhry, as well as other citizens.

DAWN

In their last meeting, the private members had resolved to suspend the licences of three Geo TV channels; Geo News, Geo Tez and Geo Entertainment. The decision was followed by a statement by a Pemra spokesperson who termed the meeting illegal and said that the private members did not have sufficient numbers or the authority to summon a meeting.

The five private members who attended Wednesday’s meeting included Fareeha Iftikhar, Mian Shams, Israr Abbasi, Zeba Hassan and Shama Parveen Magsi.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Abbasi said the members had decided to push for the implementation of their earlier decision. “We will work to get the decision of May 20 meeting implemented,” he said.

None of the seven government members of the Pemra board attended the meeting and a Pemra official told Dawn, “Today’s meeting, just like the meeting of May 20, was not notified by the authority, therefore no invites were issued, nor were minutes of the meeting taken down.”

An official meeting of the regulator was scheduled to be held on Tuesday, May 27, but was cancelled on the orders of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) when the appointment of Kamaluddin Tipu as an executive member was struck down.-

“The next meeting will be held on the order of the high court,” the official added.

In the absence of a chairman and executive member, a meeting of the Pemra board can now only be called if six or more of the 11 members agree to it. The five private members do not have the necessary numbers to summon a meeting without cooperation from official members.

DAWN

A two-member bench of the IHC, comprising Chief Justice Anwar Khan Kansi and Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, took up for hearing the application of Geo against Pemra.During the hearing, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui remarked: “It seems as if Geo has taken upon itself to reform the entire country.”

Akram Sheikh, counsel for the petitioner said: “Pemra is conducting illegal investigations against the media group while Pemra is running without its chairman.”Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui remarked: “The learned counsel has not even challenged the IHC single bench decision.”

Akram Sheikh Advocate said: “I beg pardon. It is my mistake. I accept it. But I request the court to grant me relief.”

Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui remarked: “Pemra has solicited opinion from Law Ministry for conducting investigation against Geo TV. Pemra is not taking any action against you. Proceeding will be initiated after Law Ministry decision.”

Akram Sheikh said: “Pemra inquiry committee has been divided and Pemra chairman has also not been appointed. Council of Complaints is there for investigations.”Justice Shaukat Siddiqui remarked: “If order comes in your favour then it is good and if goes against you then you don’t like this decision.”The counsel prayed the court to keep their case pending indefinitely. The court, grating his plea, kept the case pending for an indefinite period.

The News

The petitioner named the Federation of Pakistan through secretary Ministry of Defence, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) Mir Ibrahim Rehman, chief executive officer Geo TV, Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman, Amir Mir, Ansar Abbasi, Imtiaz Alam, Najam Sethi, Muneeb Farooq, Idrees Bakhtiar, Umar Cheema, Iftikhar Ahmad, Asma Shirazi and Dr Amir Liaquat as respondents.

The petitioner through his counsel adopted before the court that it is necessary for the safety and security of the country that the spy agencies keep working in an efficient way. That the functioning of electronic media is very important due to the fact that most people in this country are illiterate and cannot read newspapers.

He said that according to Pemra rules the judiciary and armed forces could not be criticised over television networks.The petitioner alleged that Geo Television has violated Pemra rules while criticising the armed forces of Pakistan after an attack over its anchor person Hamid Mir. He prayed to the court to cancel Geo TV’s licence.

The court however dismissed the petition without hearing.Our correspondent from Lahore adds: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday dismissed a petition filed by anchorperson Mubashar Lucman for high treason proceedings against the administration of Geo and Jang Group.

The judge remarked if the petitioner wanted to initiate proceedings against the respondents under Article 6 of the Constitution, he should approach the federal government because under the relevant law, only the federal government was competent to start treason proceedings.

Lucman had also sought cancellation of declaration of the Jang and The News and cancellation of licence of Geo TV for leveling baseless allegations against ‘the most respectful and credible institution of the country’.

The News