But the biggest dilemma of the leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has been that he heavily depends on ‘ill- informed’ media advisers and never applied his own mind before giving such statements.

In the last 34 days at the D-Chowk or Dharna Chowk, he has made so many blunders while accusing people that it often caused an embarrassment to his own party. He made similar kind of mistakes in his interviews before and after the May 2013 elections.

During his Dharna, his best part time hobby is to attack on Geo and Jang Group and the best part-time hobby of his ‘Tiger Force’ is to beat or harass journalists, including female staffers, pelt stones on Geo building, etc.

On the other hand, the police, instead of providing protection, picked their own targets and attacked journalists, mostly belonging to different private TV channels, which is most deplorable.

If the allegations come from a national leader like Imran Khan, it is serious, even if it has no basis or the leader does not have any evidence. But, if he has, I would request him to make it public and then file a petition in the Supreme Court and take legal action against them.

Similar kind of allegations were leveled in June 2012 when a list of 19 journalists was circulated with unnamed source and they were accused of getting plots from the Bahria Town.

Hamid Mir and Absar Alam did the right thing by filing a petition in the Supreme Court and offered themselves for “accountability.” Later, some other journalists named in the list also joined the petition, including myself and Asma Sherazi.

We also took a position that let the Ministry of Information’s “Secret Fund” be abolished and whoever was paid from this fund, his or her name should be made public.

The two-member SC bench not only took up the matter but as a result, appointed a two-member commission headed by Justice (retd) Nasir Aslam Zahid and former information minister Javed Jabbar to look into this matter and come up with recommendations.

The commission’s comprehensive report is also a part of the court record and also available in “book form,” if Imran wants to read it. All those who really want to make this profession clean from all kinds of dirt must also read this report.

The court also sought the details of the secret fund from the minister of information, and one such list may still be available on the SC website and is part of the court record in the petition Hamid Mir-Absar Alam vs. Federation of Pakistan.

As a result of this petition, the information ministry’s “Secret Fund” was abolished. I would be more than happy if the Ministry of Information was abolished like in many democratic countries.

This is the maximum a journalist can do and I must congratulate Hamid Mir and Absar Alam on taking such a bold stance.But, now once again, Imran, a national leader, believes whoever is critical of him and his politics and Dharna are “paid” by the government or intelligence agencies. So, now he should provide solid evidence like a true leader. He also claimed that government advertisements worth 100,000 crore were released since the Dharna to pro-government print and electronic media.

Imran should also assess the credentials of the people who had provided him such “information,” may be in order to save their own neck.Allegations of corruption against journalists are nothing new. It started from the days of the first prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan. Successive governments used the Ministry of Information’s “Secret Funds.” Intelligence agencies also have used their secret funds to seek information or spread disinformation. At times, the agencies used such funds even against the government. But, accusations without any evidence can put leaders like Imran Khan’s credibility at stake and may raise the question of “Sadiq and Amin” under Article 62 and 63.

It was on August 8th, 1990, a few days after the late Benazir Bhutto’s government was sacked by former president Ghulam Ishaq Khan when she called an urgent press conference at the Bilawal House and besides blaming the premier intelligence agency for the dismissal of her government, accused some journalists of being on the payroll of agencies.

Three years later, when she again came to power, I reminded her that as the prime minister, she could ask for the list of journalists working on the payroll and also demanded that she should abolish the Ministry of Information and the Secret Fund. She failed in getting the list and abolishing the ministry or the Secret Fund.

Thus, every mainstream political party whenever criticised leveled such allegations against the media. But, when they come into power, they never release the list of such journalists whom they accuse are on payroll.

Whether Imran’s allegations are based on “facts or fiction,” it has certainly posed a serious challenge to the independent media and professional journalists.In the famous Asghar Khan case, some journalists, including editors, were named in the list submitted by the former ISI chief, Lt Gen (retd) General Asad Durrani.

So, let Imran Khan come out with the facts and evidence against the journalists whom he believes are writing or speaking against him because they are “paid”. Earlier, Imran had also claimed that journalists were paid some Rs250 crores and even in some of the TV talk shows, such allegations were made but still without evidence like the one made a few years back.

Imran should see and read his own speeches before accusing anchors and columnists of not giving a correct figure about the crowd assembled at the Dharna Chowk everyday.It would be interesting to see how many journalists in this country really believe that over a million or half a million or over 100,000 people attend the PTI Dharna. I still believe that it was an impressive show in the first three or four days but later it lost its impact. As compared to the PTI, the show of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) was more impressive and consistent.

I wish Imran Khan’s “media team” should have provided him the facts about “professional and non-professional journalists,” and also about the “paratroopers” who have entered this profession after 2002, with the growth of private television industry.

Such allegations of Imran on journalists, who are critical of him in the last 34 days, also showed that he does not like criticism. Perhaps, he likes people who always praise him. Sincere political workers and leaders are the ones who show “dissent”.

Journalists’ bodies like the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) have rightly demanded the government to constitute a high-powered judicial commission to probe these allegations.

I also request Imran to have an internal probe into the position he has taken against the media, including allegations of corruption. Let the PTI commission be constituted, headed by Justice (retd) Wahjiuddin Ahmad. He should be authorised to get the services of any senior lawyer or retired judge. Let him also probe the government advertisements of rupees one billion which have allegedly been given to the pro-government media.

As I said, the allegations of corruption against journalists are nothing new in this country. But, when it comes from the champion of “Naya Pakistan,” it should also be substantiated.The recommendations of the Media Commission provide the best guideline to avoid such allegations but accusations coming from someone like Imran Khan, has disappointed the journalistic community and a serious question has emerged about his political outlook, as the national leaders are not supposed to level such serious allegations against senior journalists, anchors and columnists without any evidence. It should be remembered that journalists have already created history by offering themselves for accountability.

The News

On the 16th day of the gathering to show solidarity with the Geo and Jang Group in Azadi Gali, senior journalists, representatives of the journalists’ organisations and members of the civil society participated in the event. Addressing the participants of the gathering, Mazhar Abbas pointed out that the Geo TV faced the same situation in the year-2007, and at that time the journalist community stood by it and even today it would stand by the channel. If anything wrong has happened then it must be stopped but shutting down a news channel and rendering numerous people jobless was unacceptable, he added. He said that the attack on Hamid Mir was a serious issue.

General Secretary, Pakistan Fisher Folk Forum, Saeed Baloch said despite its forceful closure people still watching Geo News on the internet. Geo News Karachi Bureau Chief Faisal Aziz Khan said Pemra failed to dispense justice, adding that the whole nation stood by Geo and soon its transmission would be restored. Earlier, Pakistan Idol Zamad Baig opened the event with the recitation of a Naat.

The News

Imran was happy to see Mir recovering from the deadly attack on his life on April 19 in Karachi.Talking to media persons, PTI chief said Allah Almighty had given a new life to Mir, who is his favourite TV anchor.

He acknowledged Mir’s sacrifices for democracy in Pakistan and said that those, who wanted to damage democracy, were desperate to put the electoral rigging under the carpet.PTI chief reiterated his demand for thumb verification of voters in four constituencies and cautioned if not done, this would be detrimental to democracy.

Imran said crimes could only be controlled, if those found guilty were awarded punishment. On this occasion, PTI chairman called for early arrest of those involved in the attack on Mir.Meanwhile, senior journalists and anchors from different TV channels visited Hamid Mir to enquire after him. The visitors included Mujib-ur-Rehman Shami, M Ziauddin, Mazhar Abbas, Absar Alam, Mushtaq Minhas, Shahzeb Khanzada and Asma Sheerazi.On the occasion, the journalists expressed complete solidarity with Hamid Mir and termed the murder attempt an assault on freedom of expression and democracy.

The News

Former Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed told Business Recorder that under the law, a citizen has the right to register a complaint against those he/she suspects through an FIR, however, if the complaint is lodged maliciously then the affected person can file a suit for defamation over malicious prosecution under criminal law.

Iqbal Khattak, executive Director of Freedom Network (FN), said that probe in the attack on Mir will be the litmus test of justice for the media. ?”What is more worrying is the fact that media owners, working journalists and government ministers are sharply divided on how to tackle the ever increasing security threats Pakistani media is facing,” Khattak said.

Senior journalist Mazhar Abbas pointed out that it is critical to investigate prior to accusing any one or any entity of complicity. Chairperson of Defence of Human Rights Amina Masood Janjua said the missing persons’ case was highlighted by Mir and she and all the families of the missing persons will keep praying for his health, prosperity and long life always.

Business Recorder

It was a bloody start to 2014 for the journalists in Pakistan when a Larkana-based correspondent of Ab Tak TV, Shan Daher, was shot dead on the eve of New Year. Since January, six media workers had been killed in targeted attacks while over a dozen have already received ‘death threats’, including three anchors.

So, all is not well in Pakistan for journalists and the media houses. The situation is far more alarming and threatening than it has been realised. The risk factor for the media has increased as conflict escalates. Today, the country is caught in the midst of many conflicts including terrorism, sectarianism, separatist movements violence between underworld mafias. Journalists report these stories from the conflict zones without having any training or even understanding of the danger.

To address journalists’ challenges, different journalist bodies, press clubs, editors, broadcasters’ bodies and media-related NGOs have conducted training workshops, seminars, conferences and have come forward with different proposals.

The most serious efforts so far came from the Pakistan Coalition On Media Safety, a joint forum of media stakeholders. The forum is making efforts to bring all major stakeholders on one platform on the one-point agenda of ‘safety of journalists’.

The information committees of the National Assembly and the Senate have now decided to address the issue more seriously and the government, through the Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Interior, has shown some urgency in addressing this issue.

However, actions often speak louder than words. In the last meeting of the Senate committee, the government had submitted a draft of 20 steps, which it is taking in consultation with all the stakeholders for the safety of journalists. But how and when these would be implemented is the real test.

There is a whole set of measures which the government has assured the Senate committee of, which it is ready to take up in consultation with all media stakeholders. There is a sense of realisation within the government that the security of media in Pakistan is the responsibility of the state. Therefore, the government assured that any issue related to the security of the media or media personnel would be handled on a priority basis.

The government also accepted that the media, as well as the rest of Pakistan, is confronting a highly volatile situation and that steps must be taken to restore peace and reduce the threat perception. But there have been incidents of targeted killings, abductions, sectarian violence, bomb blasts and suicide bombings. Journalists often become the victims while covering some of these events.

Moreover, the government acknowledged that journalists often become the victim in three kinds of violent incidents: in the line of duty while covering the event, because of issues other than work and thirdly, his or her family also faces threats and is sometimes attacked.

The Upper House said that it had been informed by the government that the compensation to media personnel hurt or martyred in the line of duty would be standardised across all provinces and that a Special Public Prosecutor will be inducted for fast-track investigations in Islamabad to expedite the cases of journalists.

All IGs are to be asked to inform the standing committee of ‘hotlines’ assigned for media personnel in case of emergencies. As informed by the relevant ministry and the Minister of Information, government officials have made a commitment for the media’s security and thus, special hotlines will be established by April 8.

For increased protection, it was also proposed that bulletproof vests must be provided to all journalists in the line of duty, special arrangements at all media houses be undertaken by government to ensure top-level security and scanners be installed by government at all media houses.

All investigations of cases of attacked or injured journalists must be closed within three months and full compensation be paid. Every single attack on media must be fully investigated.

The task on the part of the media bodies is that they must provide the standing committee a complete and comprehensive security plan for all media personnel working for them including any security infrastructure they wish to install.

However, after reading these assurances, I found an important step missing i.e., measures for training journalists to work safely. Therefore, I suggest that there is need to set up a National Training Institute for Safety of Journalists and Media Workers in Islamabad, with its subsidiary in all the major cities. The media houses should also contribute and make it mandatory for every journalist and media worker to get basic safety training.

If the government sets up such an institute and invites local as well as international trainers, it would certainly help minimise the risk factor. They should also get the training from ex-army officers particularly for working in conflict areas. Professional trainings are also required, instructing journalists on how they should go about to report safely from a conflict zone.

I hope when we observe the International Press Freedom Day, in 2015, these assurances and steps would be implemented.

Express Tribune