But he was messaging for another reason. He says he is concerned because he received a new round of threats and denunciations related to his plans to attend an upcoming conference in Bangladesh of journalists, hosted by the Bangladeshi newspaper Prothom Alo. Under discussion will be the incidents of 1971, when Bangladesh began its break away from Pakistan, leading to a vicious and bloody secessionist war.

Mir angered his own government when, on November 5 in the Urdu-language Daily Jang newspaper he encouraged Pakistan to issue an official apology to Bangladesh over atrocities of 1971. That re-opened a wound from last year when, while in Bangladesh, he identified the “main culprits,” as he put it, of the bloodbath as a group of Pakistani army officers. “I never spoke against the Pakistan Army, I only mentioned the names of some books written by Pakistan Army officers who confessed atrocities,” Mir said in this weekend’s email message.

“A few hours after my visit to the Bangladesh High Commission some mysterious people dropped CDs containing hate material against me in offices of different newspapers. Many people started tweeting against me and saying ‘Hamid Mir is enemy of Pakistan and agent of Bangladesh,’” he wrote. The CDs contained archival footage of past programs in which he was critical of the government and the military’s policies in Bangladesh.

His concerns for his safety are not overwrought. Remember, this is a man who was targeted for death eight months ago because of his outspoken views. While Mir was still hospitalized, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif established a three-member judicial commission which was supposed to release its report on the murder attempt within three weeks. Six months have passed since that deadline, and there is no report.

The motive for the April shooting remains unclear, but it seems likely to have been linked to Mir’s criticism of Pakistani policy in Baluchistan province, the region bordering Iran and Afghanistan in the west. At the time, he had been critical of the disappearances of Baloch political activists, hitting the issue frequently on his TV programs. A battle between insurgents and counter-insurgents has been waging in Baluchistan for years, and it is playing out in ugly incidents perpetrated by many sides to the conflict.

The result of the April murder attempt: The very outspoken Mir admits to dialing back his on-air rhetorical tone: “I am very careful these days in TV shows, but even then I am getting threatening messages and facing another hate campaign.” For Mir, and his associates, there seems little recourse but to publicize this recent round of accusations in the hope that the publicity will head off another serious attack.

Committee to protect journalists

He was speaking at the party’s convention here on Saturday. Maulana Obaidullah, Maulana Hameed, Maulana Haider Wakeel and others were also present on the occasion.

Maulana Ibrahim Qasmi said the Jang Group had been playing a historical and objective role in the field of journalism. He said the ban on Geo TV and Jang Group were unjustified and should be lifted.

Regarding the sit-ins staged by the PTI and PAT activists, he said their rallies were generating immorality and vulgarity in the country.

“The leaders of PTI and PAT should have stood by the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of North Waziristan and the Pakistan Army at a time when the operation Zarb-e-Azb is still going on but they are following a foreign agenda,” he added.

He asked the federal government and Pakistan Army to remove the sit-ins forcibly if they were not ready to end protests willingly. He said that seeking resignation from the prime minister through undemocratic means was not acceptable to the nation and that’s why each and every political party was opposing them.

The News

If the cable operators did not follow the rules, the minister cautioned, their licences would be cancelled by the Pemra.Talking to media persons after attending a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting here at the Parliament House, Pervaiz Rashid made it clear that the cable operators had no right whatsoever to make adjustment of channels on cable network for it was purely the discretion and choice of viewers to decide which channel they wanted to watch.

About the fines imposed by Pemra on different television channels, the minister pointed out that Geo was the only channel out of 22 that had not only accepted the penalty but also paid the fine whereas the rest had approached courts and got stay on the matter.

The minister spoke highly of Geo and maintained the other TV channels should also implement the Pemra decisions as implemented by Geo, adding that other channels hired lawyers on hefty packages but did not bother to pay fines which were less than that money.

The information minister asked the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan to wage a struggle in parliament for the change he had been talking about instead of taking to the streets for politics of agitation.

The minister said there was a rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution in Pakistan and Imran should come to parliament for pushing for any change in Pakistan.He made it clear that the government had no role whatsoever in the last year’s general elections and claimed these were held in a free and transparent manner.

The minister, while replying to a question about the problems being faced by the internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the North Waziristan Agency (NWA), conceded that a home-like environment and comfort could not be provided to the displaced persons but the government was taking maximum steps to lessen their difficulties.

Pervaiz Rashid said that after suffering for three or four months, the masses would be ridden of the menace of terrorism once and for all. About reports of differences in the government circles on some issues, the minister said that the government had showed good performance and the media hence could not unearth a scandal to highlight it. He added that was why some media houses were trying to come up with concocted stories about the government and ministers.

He said the Centre had taken measures for the well-being of IDPs and it was because of this, Imran was able to have an access to them during his visit to Bannu the other day.Asked for his comment on the implementation of the new code of conduct for the media, the minister said that the draft was ready but it would be implemented after the Pakistan Broadcasting Association’s board accorded approval to it by Wednesday.

Earlier, the Senate committee under its chairman Kamil Ali Agha, asked for the implementation of the new code within a week and sought a report in this connection in the next meetingAPP adds: Meanwhile, talking to a private TV channel, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government believes in the freedom of expression and is against imposing any curbs on the media.

He assured that the transmission of not a single channel would be impeded.He said a strong and independent media helped strengthen democracy. The media should avoid levelling allegations against anyone without evidence and investigations, he added.

Regarding the attack on journalist Hamid Mir, the minister said, “I had categorically stated in live transmission with Saleem Safi that Geo TV should not criticise or blame any individual or institution for the deadly attack on its anchor.” Geo had paid the fine, which meant that it had accepted its mistake, he added.

To a question, he said the government had launched several mega projects in various sectors and initiated the Prime Minister’s Youth Scheme for poverty alleviation.Senator Pervaiz Rashid said the operation against terrorists in the NWA was launched after the option of dialogue was fully exhausted. The economic conditions in the country had also improved and any fallout of the operation would not affect the economy, he asserted.

The government’s strategy, first the dialogue process and then the operation against the Taliban, had worked and helped reduce the terrorist activities in the country, he added.The minister said the Pakistan Army was successfully conducting an operation in the NWA, which would continue till the elimination of the last terrorist from the area.

He said the IDPs would be sent to their homes and rehabilitated after the completion of the operation. The government and the Pakistan Army were providing food, shelter, health facilities and clean drinking water to the IDPs, he added.

The News

He stated that the government of Pakistan should arrest those behind the attack on Hamid Mir. He said this while addressing the journalists at Kashmir Press Club, Mirpur after a demonstration held on ‘Hamid Mir Day’. The day was celebrated to protest against the non-arrest of those involved in the attack on Hamid Mir.

PFUJ president further stated that they were there to fight for the rights of the journalists and not for survival of an institution, and added that all the institutions including media made mistakes.

Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ) Secretary General Bilal Dar, Union of Journalists Mirpur District President Muhammad Ameen Butt, Kashmir Press Club Mirpur President Syed Abid Hussain Shah, Chaksawari Press Club President Yasir Mumtaz Chaudhry, Press Foundation Monitoring Committee Member Raja Habibullah Khan, Khari Press Club President Raja Waqas, Raja Khalil Yousaf, Mumtaz Ali Khaksaar, Muhammad Rafique Mughal and others also spoke on the occasion.

Kashmir Press Club General Secretary Sajjad Jaraal was the stage secretary. Before this, a protest rally was taken out from Kashmir Press Club, whose participants chanted slogans against the non-arrest of those who made an attempt on the life of renowned journalist Hamid Mir. They marched on Press Club Road, Mian Muhammad Road, Allama Iqbal Road and Chowk Shaheedan. The demonstration ended at Press Club Mirpur.

Afterwards, a rally of the journalists reached Press Club Hall. RIUJ Secretary General Bilal Dar said that the journalists of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir would not rest till the arrest of attackers of Hamid Mir.

The speakers further said that they would continue their struggle till those behind the attack on Hamid Mir and those involved in the murder of 111 journalists were brought to book. On the occasion, Afzal Butt said that the history of PFUJ was unique as far as independence of media was concerned. He further said that the Pakistani journalists fought bravely against the violence meted out against them.

Afzal Butt said that they would make each and every sacrifice for the freedom of press and would not become a tool in the hands of any media organisation or any secret agency.Butt stated that the Constitution gave them the right to raise voice for freedom of press. He informed that they were not against any institution, nor they would tolerate the interference of any institution in their matters. He noted that all the national institutions had made mistakes. He remarked that after the attack on Hamid Mir, they tried hard not to add fuel to fire. He said that some elements were busy in meeting their heinous objectives but the journalists’ community would not be part of any such attempt.

Afzal Butt said that they would not tolerate any conspiracy hatched against the Pakistan Army. He stated that the statement given by Hamid Mir’s brother after assault on him, was in line with the right of freedom of expression mentioned in the Constitution. He said that they were trying hard to extinguish the fire and were eager to formulate a code of conduct for all.

He informed that they would demonstrate against the maltreatment meted out to any journalist, adding that no TV channel or newspaper was their favourite and they knew how to safeguard the rights of journalists.They will not stop from rendering sacrifices for the right of freedom of expression, he added.

The News

It appears as if the ghost of General Ziaul Haq is still haunting the freedom of the press like it had done during the worst dictatorship during the late ’70s and ’80s.Geo TV invited the wrath of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) by airing the apprehensions of senior journalist Hamid Mir through his brother, that too after the near fatal attack on the senior anchorperson.

Instead of using legal means, some forces have directed all the defence institutions and cantonments to black out Geo TV from cable, and the order was complied with in no time. The hawkers in the Cantt areas have also been directed not to supply daily Jang and The News in cantonments all over Pakistan.

The forces who only know how to use muscle instead of reasoning and logic did not wait for the decision of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) where the ISI has lodged a complaint against the Jang Group and instead started implementing the contents of this complaint in the cantonments and defence institutions.

Adoption of legal battle to achieve a remedy against a wrong is always appreciated but, despite knowing the fact that only Pemra can order closure of any channel, these forces have themselves assumed the job of the regulator and have ordered cable operators in Cantt areas not to air Geo TV, which by no means is legal.

However, the poor cable operators have no other choice but to bow before the all-powerful men in boots.Importantly, 95 percent population of cantonments is civilian but they too are forced to bear the consequences of the illegal order originated out of garrisons of blacking out Geo TV and not letting the hawkers to sell/ distribute ‘Daily Jang’ and ‘The News’ in the areas controlled by the Pakistan Army.

Every institution has its jurisdiction and it must remain within the ambit of its jurisdiction otherwise things get worse. If any institution has any issues with Geo TV, there are proper forums where such issues could be addressed. For instance, there is the forum of Pemra and also the courts but some forces only know to use force instead of application of laws.

It is not the first time that the Jang Group has been subjected to such censorship as the subscribers have not forgotten the 1997 and 2007 blackouts by the powerful governments but in the end, it was sanity that prevailed and not the senseless power.

The Jang Group has always been adopting the legal means to fight the wrongs done with it and still many cases, including defamation, are pending before the courts.In the present case, despite adopting the legal channel of action against Geo TV through a complaint lodged with Pemra, the forces, without waiting for the outcome of the complaint, have illegally imposed censorship on Pakistan’s most popular media group. However, the Jang Group lives in the hearts of people; it can be blacked out on cable, hawkers can be stopped from selling its newspapers but how can someone remove Geo/Jang/The News from the hearts of millions of Pakistanis?

The News