There is little doubt that the media in Pakistan is besieged today as it is getting battered by different elements that range from the authorities to the economy.

Supreme Court Justice Faez Isa is not known to mince his words on transgressions of the rule of law and the Constitution. He remarked during a hearing on Thursday that there appeared to be a move to silence the media.

He lamented that “we are now living in a controlled media state” where all points of view, other than the one that powerful elements of the power structure are comfortable with, were not welcomed.

The judge asked if the country’s future was being determined by parliament or, what he called, insidious forces. Justice Faez Isa’s remarks came during the hearing of a suo motu case in the Supreme Court on the Faizabad dharna during the final days of the last government.

The two-member bench, headed by Justice Mushir Alam, expressed shock and dismay that TV news channels were taken off air on someone’s orders by cable operators, and took to task the regulator Pemra for not lifting a finger to ensure the free distribution of news channels on cable networks.

The bench was also displeased by the role of the ISI and demanded that the court be briefed about the exact mandate and role of the all-powerful security service. The court came down hard on the attorney general of Pakistan for not appearing before the court in this matter of import, despite a clear commitment.Many of us know that while the court is a robust backer of freedoms, there are powerful forces determined to make Pakistan a ‘uni-narrative’ state.

All who believe in the freedom of the media would take heart from the remarks of the honourable court. Still, many of us would also know that while the court will be a robust backer of freedoms, there are very powerful forces determined to make Pakistan a ‘uni-narrative’ state.

It is not a very well-kept secret how the media was beaten into submission in the run-up to the elections by agencies, and told in no uncertain terms what was acceptable and what was not. Notwithstanding the odd case of heroic defiance, much of the media content reflected the self-censorship that was enforced on the fourth estate.

Of course, the PTI strategy to blame the slowdown of the economy mostly on the policies of its predecessors — and not even a bit on its own scare-mongering tactics — may have been designed to demonise the PML-N, but it began to cut both ways.

As concerns mounted about the state of the economy, it has also bitten the media, with commercial advertisers holding back their ad spends. This, coupled with the present setup’s refusal to honour the payment for ads the last government placed in the media but did not pay for, has exacerbated the crisis.

Even then, it would be outright dishonest to say that cutbacks and job losses in the media are due to a legitimate market-based financial crunch alone. Many of the senior figures who have lost their jobs/ programmes, for example in TV channels, have often expressed their support for civilian supremacy.

There is no denying that there is a legitimate financial squeeze too, but in many of the decisions it seems more factors are at play than what Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry chooses solely to blame on the ‘financial crunch’.

It does not take rocket science to ascertain the actual situation. Look at the legislative record of the PTI, and the party’s performance in its first 100 days in power, and you will see very few draft laws and regulations presented to parliament or even placed in the public domain for discussion.

But one of the first drafts prepared (almost as if it was handed over to the PTI on assuming office) and floated with the pledge of taking all stakeholders on board was the draft law to club together all media regulatory bodies into one.

The move received a negative reaction from the stakeholders in media, especially working journalists and editors who have viewed it as an insidious attempt to shackle the media via stealth in the shape of regulatory reform.

More recent statements by the information minister, who is seen as close to both the prime minister and other powerful state institutions, have been about also tightening the screws on social media which, after large sections of the traditional media were muzzled, had become a source of information for the public.

As a social media user, I would be the last person to say that the platforms do not lay themselves open to exploitation by purveyors of manufactured news and even propaganda, but this is definitely not to say that such people have an overwhelming presence on it. Far from it.

Even where there is such content, there are ways and means to rubbish it and spell out what the facts are. But it is clear that such use does not scare the authorities.

What unnerves them, it appears, is the use of social media — as, for instance, in the aftermath of Naqibullah Mehsud’s extrajudicial murder and the initial botched investigation which created a rights movement largely via social media. Even then, why the fear? It is not as if justice has been meted out to the perpetrators seen as assets by the state.

At this stage, the PTI might be supporting the muzzling of the media to remain on the ‘same page’ with powerful state institutions, but if Prime Minister Imran Khan desires to drive meaningful change he will need more authority than, say, Shaukat Aziz had while in office. Here the media will prove a solid ally in the long run. One really hopes and wishes he has the vision to see that.

Dawn

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry Thursday said the federal cabinet had decided to release all the outstanding amounts to the media organisations at the federal level.He said this while briefing the media on the decisions of the federal cabinet which met under Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Prime Minister Office (PMO) here. The minister said the federal government had decided to integrate 193 state-owned enterprises which were mostly running in difficulties in the newly established Sarmaia Pakistan Company (SPC) for their rehabilitation.

The prime minister will head the SPC’s board of governors, while three federal ministers will be its member.

Top professionals from various fields will be hired to become part of board of governors. The cabinet also took up the question of tenure for appointment of bureaucrats and it was decided that it should be linked with their performance and not political connections.

A committee has been formed to look into the affairs of tenures of bureaucrats. The cabinet committee that will be headed by Prime Minister’s Adviser on Establishment Muhammad Arbab Shehzad will submit its report to the federal cabinet.

Federal ministers Pervez Khattak, Shaikh Rasheed Ahmad and Prime Minister’s Adviser on Institutional Reforms Dr. Ishrat Hussain will be the other members of the committee. The federal cabinet discussed overall political and economic situation prevailing in the country.

The cabinet also decided that Prime Minister Imran Khan would share with the nation the headway made in the first 100 days by his government on November 29 and brief them about the achievements of government in various sectors during the first hundred days.

He said the cabinet had dilated upon the issue of tenure safety of senior bureaucrats in detail. A suggestion has been made that federal secretaries should be provisionally appointed for a period of six months at a ministry and after successful completion of that period their appointment will be extended for two and a half years. During this period, they will not be transferred or removed from their positions.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan firmly believed that bureaucracy should be free from any political interference. The minister said the appointment of bureaucrats should be linked with their performance and not political connections.

The minister said the cabinet took decision about the rehabilitation of 193 state-owned enterprises by deciding to incorporate SPC. Prime Minister will head the Board of Governors of this company while three ministers will be its members.

Top professionals from various fields will be hired to become part of board of governors. It will look into the affairs of all state-owned enterprises and will give suggestions to cabinet for running these on professional lines.

Fawad said the cabinet also discussed the case of Afsheen Bakhsh, a Danish woman of Pakistani descent, whose two daughters were forcibly brought to Pakistan against the ruling of a Danish court.

“It has been decided that a barrister will do the preliminary inquiry and then a final decision will be made on the minor girls’ stay in Pakistan or their repatriation to Denmark, as we respect the decisions of foreign courts,” Fawad said.

Fawad said the government was committed to bringing Dr. Aaafia Siddiqui back and all necessary efforts will be made in this regard. He said the cabinet had decided to defer the budget of National Technology Council till its approval by the Economic Coordination Committee.

He said the cabinet had decided to centralise the process of procurement of equipment for e-governance which was earlier devolved to ministries. The information minister said the cabinet had decided to give acting charge of PTDC to Ijaz Khan besides giving approval for appointment of the Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) commissioners.

The cabinet also took into consideration the issues faced by the urea sector and decided to import 50,000 ton urea to meet the shortfall. The cabinet decided not to change the price of wheat that was Rs1,300 per maund.

Fawad said the cabinet had also discussed the ruling of chairman Senate and the prime minister had expressed his dissatisfaction on the issue. The federal cabinets expressed grief over the assassination of SP Police Tahir Khan Dawar and prayed for the departed soul.

The News

Related Story 

The Nation: Call for removing Fawad as information minister

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani journalists and media houses during the year 2015 saw dramatic increase in censorship and silent, but potent crackdown on dissent and freedom of expression during the incumbent democratic setup which was never seen in previous civilian set ups.

Freedom Network, an independent Pakistani media and civil liberties watchdog pinpointed this fact in its annual report saying that although 2014 was the deadliest year for journalists with 14 casualties, yet increased censorship and crackdown on freedom of expression in 2015 was ever seen during civilian government.

“From gag orders issued by the media sector regulator against TV channels to ban clamped under court orders on coverage of politicians on media to repeated government warnings to media for commenting on foreign relations, the year 2015 proved to be the year of censorship for media in Pakistan,” said Freedom Network in its annual state of the media report released here on Tuesday.

The report titled, “Growing Sounds of Silence – The Year of Censorship,” expresses concern at what it termed is a growing trend to browbeat the media into relative silence on issues that require rising of controversial questions for their resolution.

The report said that there may have been statistically fewer murders of journalists, media assistants and activists in 2015 in Pakistan – seven – than in 2014, the climate in which they operated grew ominous with growing ease by state and non-state actors on how media did its traditional job of being the guardians of public interest.

The report listed four journalists killed in Pakistan in 2015 for their work, including reporter Zafarullah Jatak of Intekhab newspaper (Jafarabad, Balochistan), tribal journalist Zaman Mehsud (Tank, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), journalist Hafizur Rehman of Neo TV (Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and journalist Aftab Alam (Karachi, Sindh).

The number of media assistants killed in Pakistan in 2015 were two, including Bol TV Human Resources Manager Nauman Ali and Geo News DSNG technician Arshad Ali – both in Karachi, Sindh. Media activist killed in 2015 included prominent human rights defender Sabeen Mahmud, also in Karachi.

The number of journalists and media assistants attacked and injured was ten, which included one women journalist. There was also a marked increase in journalists picked up from homes and offices recorded in 2015 – nine. Among these picked up journalists most were tribal journalists.

The year 2015 was significant in terms of fighting impunity of crimes against media and its practitioners. Sindh Rangers announced arrest of Faisal ‘Mota’ – convicted in murder case of Geo News reporter Wali Khan Babar. The Sindh government also made public the arrest of mastermind of murder of media activist and human rights defender Sabeen Mahmud. Balochistan government also recorded some progress to fight back the impunity under former chief minister Dr Abdul Malik leadership releasing findings of judicial commission into killing of journalists and also arresting alleged killers of journalists Irshad Mastoi and Abdur Rasool and media assistant Muhammad Younas.

Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh provinces witnessed attacks on journalists, media assistants and media activist in 2015. All the four provinces had witnessed similar situation journalists faced while North and South Waziristan continue to be ‘no-go’ areas for journalists unless embedded with the military or militants.

Pakistan returned to the notorious practice of ‘press advise’ in 2015 with regulatory authorities for both print and electronic – Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and Press Council of Pakistan (PCP) – regularly ‘advising’ the free press to avoid criticism of Saudi Arabia for its war with Yemen or Haj stampede.

Dera Bugti-based journalist Manzoor Ahmed Bugti continues his ordeal since he went missing on November 7, 2014 from Quetta, provincial capital of Balochistan province. His family avoids taking up the missing journalist case as it was ‘told’ he would ‘soon return home.’ It didn’t happen in 2015. May be 2016 will be different in this case.

The News

KARACHI: In the wake of growing attacks on media houses, Sindh police authorities have decided to prepare a comprehensive security plan to protect the organisations.

The decision to formulate a ‘standard operating procedure’ (measures to be taken) was taken at a meeting presided over by Additional Inspector General of Karachi Police Mushtaq Ahmed Mahar and attended by representatives of media houses at the Karachi Police Office, according to a police spokesperson.

The AIG directed SSPs and SPs concerned to visit media houses, assess security concerns and report to him about shortcomings.

SSP Security-II Imran Riaz briefed the participants on matters related to security of the institutions.

The meeting decided that divisional SSPs would meet security officers of media houses to assess issues faced by them and consequently comprehensive plans would be issued by the offices of divisional SPs.

The representatives were informed that outer perimeter walls of buildings of all media houses should be at least eight-foot high with two-foot diameter barbed wires. There should be minimum numbers of entry gates and an exist gate in all buildings. Walk-through gates must be at entrances and metal detectors should be used for physical search of visitors.

It was stated that all media houses should maintain computerised records along with numbers of national identity cards of visitors and all vehicles entering their premises must be scanned with bottom-view mirror.

CCTV cameras must be installed at important points covering entrances, adjoining areas and access roads and the cameras must have a storage capacity of at least 15 days of data. The camera system must be backed up by UPS and generators.

Administrations of all media houses should have complete bio-data of all private security guards and details of arms and ammunition held by them. The guards should be vetted by the Special Branch and Intelligence Bureau.

Media houses have been asked to hire private security guards only from registered companies.

It was suggested that there should be at least one armed guard in all vans/buses/DSNG vans of media houses. These vehicles should have cameras at the four corners and one dome camera at the top-centre of DSNGs. The windowpanes of vans/DSNGs must be bullet-proof.

It was proposed that the staff of media houses must get clearance from the Special Branch and Intelligence Bureau.

“Entrances of all media houses should have zigzag concrete barriers as well as jersey barriers along with the walls.”

There should be bunkers outside the buildings of media houses at vantage points and important telephone numbers must be displayed at important places.

It was also proposed that car parkings must be at a safe distance from the main building.

The meeting was of the view that there should be no encroachments and hawkers outside the premises of media houses.

The SHOs concerned have been directed to place a checking register inside the buildings of media houses and the checking officer should point out any lacuna. “The officer will try his level best to remove all shortcomings after discussion with the administration of the media house.”

Dawn

After approving the proposal of live webcasting on Senate’s website and a self-acquired FM radio station, Senate Chairman Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari on Tuesday referred the matter to the Senate Finance Committee to work out modalities for allocation of funds.

Legislatures around the world broadcast their proceedings live to voters through webcasting, dedicated FM radio stations, and TV channels in pursuit to move towards an open government that advocates direct voter participation in running the affairs of the government, access to information and empowerment of people’s representative assemblies.

“Other than general public and stakeholders, this will give better access to journalists who are unable to come to the press gallery in the Senate,” Mr Bokhari said, adding that media houses would get a live audio feed of proceedings which could be broadcast live on their channels.

Daily Dawn

In a bid to pacify the journalists, the PTI vice-chairman promised to talk to his party chairman within 24 hours.PFUJ President Afzal Butt on Tuesday called on Imran to either reveal the names of the beneficiaries (journalists) or protest camps would be set up at press clubs across Pakistan and in front of the container of Imran Khan at the Parade Ground.The journalist fraternity demanded of the PTI chairman to name those journalists who had received funds from the government.

The News