ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcating Pervaiz Rasheed on Monday said that terrorists cannot silence the voice of the journalists and stop the government from rooting out the menace of terrorism from the country.

He stated this while addressing the participants of a protest march organised here by Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), National Press Club (NPC) and Rawalpindi Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ) to condemn the cowardly attack on the office of a private news channel in Faisalabad.

“All the state institutions put in their best efforts to make Zarb-e-Azb a success and it needs no mention that the media has been playing a vital role in the war against extremism and terrorism in the country. Now the terrorists are on the run and they are finding no place to hide due to which they are attacking innocent citizens of Pakistan,” he said.

The minister said the people of Pakistan have showed their strong opposition to the terrorists and their ideology and now the nation is united to support ongoing Zarb-e-Azb till elimination of last terrorist from the country.

He mentioned the sacrifices so far rendered by the journalists in war against terrorism and maintained that the people of Pakistan would never forget the services of the media persons who are being targeted but never ready to stop their professional work. PFUJ President Afzal Butt said the recent killing of a senior journalist Hafeezur Rehman in Kohat and terrorist attack on the office of a private television channel in Faisalabad clearly show why Pakistan has been declared the most dangerous country for the journalists.

“I regret to mention here that when National Action Plan was announced the incumbent government promised to provide security to the media houses but no step has so far been taken in this respect. The journalists are being targeted by the terrorists and the government is doing nothing to provide them security,” he said.

He said: “Those who think that they would mute the voice of the media through terrorist acts would bite the dust because the journalists never ever bowed down even before the military dictators and continued their work against all odds.”

RIUJ president Ali Raza Alvi said the government must take effective measures to provide foolproof security to the media houses, adding “The journalists sacrifice their lives in war against terrorism but the government never arrest their murderers due to which the number of terrorist acts against them is increasing day by day.”

RIUJ general secretary Bilal Dar said the journalists, people and all state institutions have been rendering sacrifices in ongoing war against terrorism and coward attacks on media houses showed that the terrorists are getting frustrated with each passing day.

The News

ISLAMABAD: For a democratic country, Pakistan ranks worryingly high when it comes to the number of attacks on journalists.

Even though it is much better off than countries such as Iraq, Syria or Somalia that are torn apart by civil war and internal strife, Pakistan’s numbers of violence against journalists are comparable to these countries, Bob Dietz, the Asia Coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) told a sympathetic audience of journalists and media practitioners on Tuesday.

He was addressing the second international conference on Combating Impunity and Securing Safety of Media Workers and Journalists in Pakistan.

Also read: Report terms 2014 the worst year for Pakistani media

Mr Dietz deplored that the authorities in Pakistan had failed to move forward in this regard and had not been able to provide an environment conducive for journalists so far.

“Why can’t we make the situation better,” he asked, earnestly, adding that far too many journalists were getting caught in the crossfire between militants and the authorities. However, he recognised that the current regime had recognised the issue, referring to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s March 2014 meeting with representatives of the CPJ.

The government’s resolve was also evidenced by the presence of Information Minister Pervaiz Rasheed at Tuesday’s conference.

“We first met General Musharraf – who was the president at that time – and expressed concerns over violence against media. But he totally denied it and his minister termed the incidents ‘accidents’,” he said, adding that a similar response was seen when the matter was raised with President Asif Ali Zardari and the ministers of that era.

“Though there were some assurances made by the prime minister and his team, but I see that journalists are still not satisfied with the government’s measures,” Mr Dietz added.

Earlier, addressing the inaugural session, the information minister said that the whole nation was united in the fight against terrorism and the government was trying its best to find solutions.

“I would like mediapersons to come forward and help identify the culprits,” Mr Rasheed said.

His answer to almost all queries and criticism was swift and crisp.

“We would like to hear from the (journalist) community what the solutions should be,” he said.

When veteran journalist and former Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists president Mazhar Abbas questioned the minister about low salaries and job insecurity in media organisations, the minister invited him to a high-level meeting to guide the government on what it could do.

He also announced that a bill aimed at improving access to information under right to information principles would be presented in the next cabinet meeting.

Senior journalist Mohammad Ziauddin said the Afghan war actually came to Pakistan after 2005, but the media was not ready to cover it.

“At the same time, militants wanted to show their presence and pushed for space in the electronic and print media,” he said.

“The same method was adopted by ethnic, nationalist and sectarian parties – now the environment is dangerous and no place is safe.”

Senior anchorperson Hamid Mir quoted several anecdotes from his career, from 2006 onwards and narrated his own ordeal before and being attacked by unidentified gunmen in Karachi last year.

“A hit-list of journalists in Balochistan was floated by pro-establishment militants and this list was published in a report by the PFUJ, but even then, five of the people on the list ended up dead,” he said.

He said that it was time the government passed a law for the protection of the media.

“I do not say it will end the trouble, but it will be a first step towards a solution,” he added.

Representatives from the Open Society Foundations (OSF), United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), as well as other countries from the region, such as Nepal, Afghanistan and Indonesia also participated in the subsequent panel discussion.

Ujjwal Acharya, South Asia regional coordinator for the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), said that in Nepal and Pakistan, a lot of people believed that the media was not credible. Talking about the importance of perceptions, he said that there was a need to build people’s trust in the mainstream press.

OSF’s Maria Teresa shared her experiences of working on journalists’ safety in Colombia and Mexico.

Daily Dawn

Last week, the Karachi based reporter was convicted by a Jalalabad court to serve a four year jail on charges of spying as he entered the country without legal permission.

Speaking at the protest demonstration organised by Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ- Afzal Butt group) at the National Press Club, Information Minister Senator Pervaiz Rasheed said that the government had directed the foreign office to provide all possible support to Faizullah.

The protests were held outside the press clubs of all the major cites.

“We respect judiciary and the decision must have been taken after thorough consideration but we would like the Afghan government to look into the matter on humanitarian grounds and resolve the matter at the earliest,” the information minister added.

Senior journalist says Afghan govt has pardoned Faizullah, will release him soon
The chairman of Senate Standing Committee on Interior, Senator Talah Mehmood, said the Pakistan, Afghanistan border had not been clearly demarcated, therefore anybody could go astray.

“Faizullah might have crossed the border unintentionally but putting him behind bars for four years for this crime is too harsh,” Senator Talah said. The senator said Afghan government should also stop all its citizens from crossing into Pakistan illegally.

Other speakers including Afzal Butt, the president of his own faction of PFUJ said Faizullah went to Afghanistan to do a story on Taliban and North Waziristan, two months back.

“Initially, there were reports that he was missing and could have been kidnapped, but later Kabul communicated to the Pakistani authorities that they had arrested him on May 6, 2014 as he entered into Afghanistan without proper document,” Mr Butt added.

He demanded the government that efforts should be made for his release before Eid.

Pakistan to assist journalist jailed by Afghan court

However, Salim Safi, anchorperson announced that the Afghan ambassador in Islamabad had assured him that Faizullah would be released before Eid, as the president Karzai has pardoned his punishment.

The protest was also attended by anchorperson Hamid Mir, who after recovering from the deadly attack, was able to walk and received a warm welcome from fellow journalists and politicians.

DAWN

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Senator Pervaiz Rasheed has said that he talked to the Chairman of Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) Pervaiz Rathore regarding the closure of Geo News in parts of the country and the Pemra chief had assured him that he would take steps for the restoration of telecast of Geo News.

The minister, in a statement issued here on Thursday, strongly regretted the closure of Geo News broadcast, hurdles in circulation of ‘The News’ and ‘Jang’ in some parts of Pakistan.“The news of closing the broadcast of Geo News, changing its position on cable and hurdles in the circulation of ‘The News’ and ‘Jang’ in some parts of the country is highly regrettable,” the minister said.

The News