“I ask my party workers to show regard for all media workers, including those of Geo News, because my party believes in the freedom of expression. I would like to evolve a mechanism to stop the attacks on media workers during the coverage of sit-ins,” he said during a meeting with a three-member delegation of media persons headed by President Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) Afzal Butt.

The delegation also included General Secretary of the National Press Club (NPC) Tariq Chaudhry, Finance Secretary Waqar Satti and General Secretary of Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ) Bilal Dar.

PTI MNAs Shafqat Mehmood and Asad Umar and in-charge of PTI Media Cell Chaudhry Rizwan were also present on the occasion.

Imran Khan said they would set up a separate desk at the D-Chowk and form a special committee that would provide full protection to media workers.

Since the start of the two sit-ins, the Geo staff has come under attack a number of times. A woman reporter, Farhat Javed, covering the Dharna was attacked with empty bottles and other staff was also harassed.

The mike of a Geo reporter was snatched and other staff members were also intimidated. Repeated attacks on Geo News clearly show that the anti-government demonstrators are intolerant of media’s role in reporting these events and are resorting to unjustifiable undemocratic acts.

Imran Khan also asked why the police were not protecting the Geo News premises as more than 30,000 cops had been deployed in the capital to maintain law and order.

“I think someone else is involved in attacks on Geo News to defame the PTI in the eyes of the public.”

The PTI chief said he would visit the NPC and show solidarity with the media workers because he strongly believed that a strong media could guarantee a strong Pakistan.

The News

He said that the sit-ins of the PTI and PAT had inflicted huge losses on the country.He said that the government would not allow anyone to crush Geo and the Jang Group as the illegal closure of Geo and the continuation of attacks on the offices of Geo TV echoed in the joint sitting of both the houses of parliament.

Senator Mushahidullah Khan said that Mehmood Ghaznavi had not attacked the temple of Somnath as many times as the Geo offices had been attacked in recent days.“What Imran Khan is today it is just because of Geo, which painted him as a hero,” he said.

Senator Mushahidullah said Geo would rise again and the powers that be would also see its rise.He said, “Geo and the Jang group are the biggest media group of the country and have been rendering services for Pakistan for the last 70 years. All the institutions have committed mistakes but this did not mean that mistakes should never be pardoned. If anyone commits mistakes, they could be challenged through legal and constitutional means not through the use of force.”

Senator Mushahidullah Khan said that parliament had to play its role in support of Geo as it was not only an issue of Geo but also a national issue. ‘The offices of Geo are being stoned on a daily basis, the vehicles and newspapers of the Jang group are being burnt. We will not allow anyone to use force if anyone has made a mistake,” he added.

He said institutions should resolve those issues that were tasked to them. He said he was critical of Geo, as what Imran Khan was today was due to Geo which gave him wide coverage in the past.He said that the government would not allow anyone to crush Geo and the Jang Group.

He said issues could be resolved if every institution performed its duty. Senator Mushahidullah said that the sit-ins had inflicted $1 billion loss to the country. He said that the PAT chief had come to Pakistan as part of a great game. He said that Imran Khan and Dr Tahirul Qadri were following a secret agenda. After becoming part of a great game being followed in the world, they had succeeded in getting the Chinese president’s visit to Pakistan postponed.

He paid rich tributes to the people of Pakistan as they did not become part of the civil disobedience movement launched by Imran Khan.The PML-N Senator said that the abusive language used during the 34-day sit-ins had not been used in the 68-year history of the country.

He also paid homage to the opposition parties for siding with the government in saving democracy and the Constitution.He said that rigging and Model Town tragedy were not part of their agenda. He said Dr Qadri came to the federal capital in 2012 but he returned after minting a lot of money.

Senator Mushahidullah expressed his belief that conspiracies against democracy and parliament will die down and the so-called champions of revolution and independence will have to bite the dust.“Imran Khan and Dr Tahirul Qadri are carrying forward the hidden agenda of their foreign masters to ruin the country’s economy and are misguiding innocent people in the name of a ‘new Pakistan’ and a revolution,” he said.

Senator Mushahidullah Khan said the entire parliament is united for its supremacy and democracy despite all of political differences and it is a clear message for all those conspiring against parliament and democracy.He said despite the fact that dictators hanged or killed political leaders, they remained alive in the form of their followers and parties. “But dictators have been forgotten long ago,” he said.

He said today once again conspiracies are being hatched against parliament and democracy openly or secretly. “But the conspirators must know that they will fail. No one will be allowed to cast an evil eye on parliament and it will stay intact and continue to function,” he added.

He said, “Sit-ins and protests are an eyewash as there is a hidden agenda of these two leaders who have mistaken parliament for a cricket ground.”

The senator said if every institution of the country starts working within their constitutional jurisdiction, there will be no problem in the country. If columnists start politicking and politicians start writing articles and if other institutions start conspiring against democracy, it will worsen the situation, he said.

He said these so-called leaders should learn a lesson from history and understand that whenever any force conspired against democracy, parliament and politicians survived.

He alleged that Dr Qadri is inciting innocent people in the name of Model Town killing. “But I say that whenever a genuine investigation of that incident is held, Qadri himself will be found involved in the incident because it was part of the plan to derail democracy.”

He said, “People have rejected the demands of Imran Khan regarding non-payment of bills, civil disobedience and submission of remittances through Hundi and for this we salute Pakistanis living within the country and abroad.”

Mushahid said both Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri have received money for all this drama from their foreign masters and its plan was chalked out at secret meetings within the country and abroad.

He also objected to the language used at the sit-in and asked what message they are sending to the youth of this country. They are victims of their ambitions and are least bothered that they have caused billions of losses to the national economy.

He said their focus was to ruin the economy and hamper the visit of Chinese president wherein the agreements of billions of dollars were to be signed, he added.He said the political leadership deserves appreciation for showing unity for the sanctity and dignity of the parliament.

While expressing resentment over lingering and result-less negotiations among Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and the government, Senator Saleh Shah said a tribal jirga could resolve the issue within a week.

Senator Shah said the issue of sit-ins should be resolved as soon as possible as country’s leadership and democracy were being disgraced by Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri.

Lauding patience and political acumen of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and opposition to deal with sit-ins, he said all parties were unanimous to protect democracy and constitution.

Criticising PTI chairman Imran Khan for using derogatory language against political leaderships of the country, he said dirty talk must be avoided. “Government must take care of internally displaced persons (IDPs),” he said.

Abdul Rahim Mandokhel of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) said the nation and political parties were united for protecting the constitution of the country. He said the parliament being the supreme body will protect the constitution as well as the rights of the people.

He rejected allegations of rigging in 2013 general elections and said the demands of those staging sit-ins for resignation of prime minister are not democratic and constitutional.

He said the army should not be dragged into politics as it has no links with the current political turmoil.

Rashid Godail of the MQM called for early resolution of current crisis saying it is adversely affecting the economy.He said Pakistan Army is engaged in war against terrorism and we should all stand behind it. He said more provinces should be created and local bodies system enforced for bringing prosperity in the lives of the people.

Ayaz Soomro of the PPP said attacks on the national institutions amount to attack on the whole nation.He said those having contradiction in the words and deeds cannot be the leaders of the poor people.

He said the conspiracies of protesting leaders against the constitution and the system stand exposed before the nation. He said PTI and PAT will get nothing from the sit-ins except failure and disappointment. He said negotiations should be continued with the two parties for amicable solution of the matter.

Disgruntled legislator of the PTI Nasir Khan Khattak said the House should pass a resolution to condemn those elements whose acts led to the postponement of the Chinese president’s visit. He said today China and India are writing a new chapter in their relations while Pakistan appears to be standing alone in the world.

He said the parliament should send a message through resolution that Pakistan values its relations with its old and time tested friend China and looks forward for the visit of the Chinese President.

During the debate, the parliamentarians continued expressing their support to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and dubbed Imran Khan and Dr Qadri conspirators against democracy.

Senator Saleh Shah criticised Imran for using derogatory language against the political leaderships of the country.He said “dirty talk” must be avoided. “Perhaps Imran wants to introduce a new leadership in his new Pakistan by discrediting the existing leadership,” he added.

Ayaz Soomro of the PPP said parliament stands with Prime Minister Nawaz and will not allow anyone to seek the resignations of the prime minister.Rasheed Godil of the MQM asked MPs to listen to what the dharna stagers were saying and to resolve the issue.

The News

They said attacks on TV channels are actually attacks on freedom of the press. They said the incidents on the one hand were defaming the country in the world while on the other hand were exposing the inability of the government over controlling the sabotage activity. They demanded of the government to stop the attacks on television channels and get orders of the court implemented by Pemra.

They also urged the Pemra to respect the orders of the court and not to adopt any discriminatory attitude towards Geo TV and end the intra channel rivalries. Certain elements wanted to achieve their nefarious designs and were bent on damaging the press freedom, they pointed out and added that silence of the government over such disgusting acts was raising many questions.

Meanwhile, Central Secretary Information, JUP-N, Dr Muhammad Yunus Danish, termed the attacks on Geo News as terrorism against the media. He demanded the government to take immediate action. He said there have been continued attempts to curb the freedom of the Press, while the government was posing as a silent observer instead of getting the verdicts of courts imposed.

DAWN

Two men disguised as PTI’s workers beat up SAMAA’s cameraman Muhammad Tariq and broke his camera.

Reacting to the assault, Khan said that he would expel his workers if they were found involved in the violent attack. He paid tribute to media workers for their courageous coverage of heavy police shelling on anti-government protesters.

Speaking to SAMAA by phone, PTI’s senior leader Asad Umar also condemned the assault and pleded an internal inquiry.

He said that a disciplinary action would be initiated against PTI’s workers.

SAMAA TV

About 150 rioters came in separate groups, gathered around the Geo offices, and pelted the building with stones, breaking the expensive glass panes of the building. Journalists and other staff present in the building were terrorised as the vandalism continued for hours.

The police were not present when the attack occurred, as the cops deployed to protect the property frequently remain absent. This is insulting for the government. The police come and then leave despite the fact that the Jang/Geo Group management had informed the authorities that their office building is on the route to the sit-in venues and participants frequently resort to stone-throwing on the Geo building because of the provocative speeches by the PTI chief Imran Khan.

Prior to his Azadi March and during the sit-in Imran Khan has said several times that their protest was peaceful and not even a plant pot would be broken. Although no plant pot has been broken but the expensive glass panes of the eight-storey building of Geo have been broken with impunity.

The News

This policy is in practice either with the tacit support or criminal negligence of the leadership that has also been breathing fire at Geo TV for not falling in line. Journalists and technical staff of the network have been attacked several times since the PTI rally landed in the federal capital.

As many as eight reporters, cameramen and drivers have been assaulted by the workers in two days alone. Azaz Syed, a star reporter of Geo TV, was abused; his mike was snatched on Friday when he was about to go on air from the rally venue in order to report on the situation on ground and on the number of people in attendance. Meanwhile, a mob of the ‘change agents’ encircled him and forced him out of the venue. His crime: he works for Geo TV.

Arshad Waheed, a senior reporter of the network, came under attack the same day. He was not alone. A woman reporter, Farhat Jabeen, accompanied him in addition to a driver of the Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) van. Instead of taking the risk of reporting from the place occupied by the PTI, they approached Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattack who was present there. He gave a go-ahead and assigned one of his ministers to help them out.

All security precautions turned out to be a futile exercise when a mob of PTI workers surrounded them. The presence of a KP minister, Amin Gandapur, failed to ease the situation. Shaken by the presence of this crowd that was striking the DSNG van with kicks and batons, the Geo TV staffers locked the doors.

Meanwhile, they were warned to leave the place within ten minutes as the van would otherwise be set on fire. Their crime: they are employees of Geo TV.

On Saturday again, Arshad found himself in an awkward situation as he risked reporting from the PTI venue. A group of workers was about to attack him and the cameraman when two men present there advised them to vanish into the nearby forest to escape the wrath of PTI supporters.

Arshad didn’t lose heart. He approached a group of four party leaders present nearby: Asad Umar, Shireen Mazari, Shafqat Mehmood and Arif Alvi. He appealed to them to urge the workers to stop attacking and harassing Geo TV staffers. His words fell on deaf ears. Arshad kept waiting for some time and reminded them again. Only then, Shireen Mazari made an announcement appealing to the workers not to harass media persons. She stopped short of naming Geo TV, their only target.

The same day, another Geo TV journalist, Saif-ur-Rehman, came under attack by the PTI workers who identified him by the mike carrying the logo of the network. He had to flee the scene to save his life. Shabbir Ahmed, a cameraman of Geo TV, had his camera broken by PTI’s miscreants. Another cameraman, Khurram Shehzad, was beaten and his evo device was broken. Their crime: being staffers of Geo TV.

After these attacks by PTI workers on Geo TV workers, Imran Khan during his Saturday night’s speech severely attacked the management of the Geo and Jang Group affiliated newspapers including Jang and The News saying that “you are making propaganda against me and saving Nawaz Sharif but you will not be able to save him.”

However, the fact is that whatever is being published in the newspapers of the Jang Group is filed by working journalists and these reports also carried the viewpoint of the PTI. Imran intentionally does not name journalists while making his allegations.

If they have any complaint against the reports it is their right to inform the Jang Group about it. If the Group responsible do not listen to them, they can approach the Council of Complaints or the courts but they do not adopt this method because they know that their complaints and allegations have no substance.

The Jang Group has already approached the courts against the allegations levelled by Imran earlier.

In the past, successive rulers had made similar allegations after they failed to control the Jang Group policy of showing them the mirror through the fact-based reports of its journalists. Imran, however, crossed all limits and used uncivilised language while levelling allegations.

He was upset over the poor show of the PTI in its ongoing ‘million march’ but blamed Geo TV for bringing the truth to the public. The tone set by him goes down to the workers level.

Imran’s caravan came under attack in Gujranwala on Friday as clashes erupted between PTI and PML-N workers. He demanded an FIR against Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for allegedly directing this attack. Going by his argument, can we say that the PTI workers attacking journalists enjoy the blessing of the leadership that did not bother to condemn them, let alone taking any action?

Asim Yasin adds: PTI chief Imran Khan’s remarks against the Jang Group are seemingly tantamount to instigate his charged workers against the Jang Group, putting the lives of its workers and reporters who are covering his Dharna (sit- in).

The allegations were made against the Group in a charged atmosphere and PTI workers already charged against the fact-based coverage of the event by the Jang Group.

Last Friday night, PTI workers had already terrorised and misbehaved with the Geo News team that comprised reporters, cameramen and technical staff and even in the day misbehaved with the other reporters of Geo News who were covering the event.

Now with the latest hate campaign against the Jang Group while addressing the charged rally, PTI chief Imran Khan has further instigated his workers who have already given threats to the workers of the Jang and Geo Group.

The News

Azaz Syed and Farhat Javed Rabbani of Geo TV while covering the event came across an unfriendly crowd of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI), although they hid their identity to avoid the wrath of the enraged PTI workers as their chairman Imran Khan and the TV channel are not at good terms.

Interestingly, the same crowd gave warm welcome to the reporters and supporting staff of ARY News channel.

A PTI activist, Gulfam Khan Pathan, a joint secretary of union council Hamsheeran district Mansehra of Kyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP), said that since their leader Imran Khan had boycotted Geo TV therefore its staff deserved the treatment.

Amjad Ali Khan Sarkheli, another PTI activist from KP, said Geo TV was distorting facts about the Azadi March and had resorted to character assassination of their leader Imran Khan therefore the workers were annoyed.

Faisal Javed, deputy secretary information of PTI, however, played down the incident.

DAWN

Among the prominent who attended the demonstration included PML-N Parliamentary Secretary Rana Muhammad Arshad, Pakistan Justice Party Chairman Advocate Mansab Awan, Civil Society Network Pakistan President Abdullah Malik, senior journalists Khawar Naeem Hashmi, Maqsood Butt, Bedar Bakht Butt, Sadia Sharif, Ameen Hafiz, Jang Workers Union President Rukhsana Nazli, Fakhira Tehreem, Imdad Qureshi, Advocate Noor Sarfraz, Muhammad Yasin, general secretary of Jang Workers Union, Waseem Babar, 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, Sohail Butt, Muneer Khokhar, Shafqat Imran, Asim Naseer, Waheed Butt and Adnan Malik.

A large number of women along with their children while carrying placards and banners inscribed with slogans in favour of the Geo/Jang Group and Hamid Mir attended the demonstration.

Addressing the participants, speakers including Rana Muhammad Arshad, Advocate Mansab Awan and Abdullah Malik said the U-Turn Khan, an indirect reference to PTI Chairman Imran Khan, was betraying the largest media house of the country, adding that people would make him accountable for his baseless allegations against the owner of the Geo/Jang Group. They said some people, who were thinking to curtail the independent media, would eat dust at the end as people had become much more aware than in the past about their rights and independence. They also condemned conspiracies being hatched to involve the media groups in an internal fight.

Muhammad Yasin said that the Geo/Jang Group could not be banned as it consisted of the most favourite newspapers and TV channels of the country. He said the whole civil society of the country was with the Geo/Jang Group and would not tolerate any action against the largest media house.

Maqsood Butt said culprits, who attacked Hamid Mir, were still at large, which was a sign of serious concern for the whole journalists community. He said all conspiracies against the Geo/Jang Group would be foiled with the collective effort of the workers and the journalists community.

The News

Also, he added, the army and the government stand united over the issue of national interests.

Talking to the media here on Saturday, the minister said the cable operators were not authorised to ban any TV channel and warned that strict action would be taken against those who violated the law and banned channels.

Pervaiz Rashid said the Pakistan Army is standing by the government to improve ties with India. He said it was not the army but an individual Pervez Musharraf who took the decision on Kargil and then had to go down on his knees before the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

He said the army as an institution had never intervened to sabotage Pakistan-India relations and stated he was hopeful it would not be done in future.

Senator Pervaiz Rashid said we as a nation should look forward and put behind the past bitterness with India, adding that Narendra Modi had been elected by the Indian people and we respect their decision.

About the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan’s protest call against rigging in the last general elections, he said bringing some people on the streets did not mean a protest. He said the Election Commission of Pakistan had already rejected Imran’s objections of rigging in Sargodha.

He said the government would hold a dialogue with those who wanted peace and the elements disturbing peace would be dealt with strictly.

APP adds: Pervaiz Rashid said talks with the Taliban had not ended yet, adding that few people did not want talks.

He said Pakistan could not ignore changes in its neighbourhood as it would have to deal with the new government of India, adding the elected people would formulate foreign policies for the next five years.

The minister said: “Pakistan is responsible for its deeds and India for its own and we should keep our deeds correct.”

The minister said it was unfortunate that big media houses had given ‘scissors’ in the hands of cable operators, adding cable operators could not be allowed to violate the law. “It is good news that cable operators are reverting,” he added.

The minister said Pemra had initiated action and hoped that cable operators would do their own job and let the authorities do theirs.

“People want a completion of the journey to success and prosperity and they have brought Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to the government for it,” he added. He said no one could derail the government as such attempts remained unsuccessful in the past by some people, adding, statements of PTI Chairman Imran Khan should be ignored. “How could he criticise us when he was unable to run the KP government properly?” he added.

To a question about the transfer of the CCPO Karachi, he said Shahid Hayat was a good officer who had maintained law and order in the city and Sindh ministers had appreciated his role and it would have been better if he had remained the CCPO.

The News

These deliberate (or not) endeavours meant to curb the press by those from the media are shocking. If any private TV channel or newspaper has violated the rules, they may be tried at the proper forum through a transparent process without any sort of outside pressure but there should be no exception in similar cases as pick and choose while serving justice is not allowed in any case and that practice has unfortunately remained common in Pakistan. The prevailing protest demonstrations being staged to curb the freedom of the press by some elements including Sunni Itehad Council and others are condemnable. I also advise Imran Khan, chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) that he should not behave in a way that may give the impression that his efforts are finally meant to curb freedom of the press in the country.

Mohammad Khan Sial
Karachi

Daily Times