On the occasion of hearing of the case on Thursday, the petitioners and their counsel did not appear before Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan.The petitioners, Saqib Javed and Arshad Hussain, residents of Khanewal and Islamabad, made the prime minister, the defence and information ministries, Pemra chairman, Jang and Geo Group and senior journalists including Amir Mir and Ansar Abbasi, parties in the case.

It was held that the allegations levelled on the ISI were against the security and sovereignty of the country and were tantamount to hatching conspiracies against the institution. The petitioners said that the prime minister, the defence ministry, the information ministry and Pemra failed to perform their responsibilities as they did not take action against Geo.Because neither the petitioners nor their counsel appeared before the court, the petition was disposed of.

The News

At a large rally held outside Pakistan High Commission here, British Pakistanis from all walks of life expressed solidarity with the senior Geo TV anchor and expressed shock at the brazen attack on the country’s highest profile anchor. Around 200 demonstrators attended the solidarity rally organized by Pakistani community members and journalist unions. The demonstrators came from all over the United Kingdom on a day’s notice and chanted slogans in favour of Hamid Mir and a bid to ban Geo/Jang for two hours.

Those who attended the protest included men and women of all ages, representatives of PML-N, APML, PPP, PTI, PAT, UKPNP, ANP, PWT and many other organizations. Britian’s largest media union National Union of Journalists, in conjunction with Pakistan Journalists Association (PJA) and Pakistan Press Club (PPC), also supported the solidarity call.

The demonstrators demanded arrest of assailants of Hamid Mir besides making the investigation process transparent and trustworthy. They called on the judicial commission set up the by the government to go to every extent to find why Hamid Mir has been constantly threatened and why the successive governments have failed to bring the suspects to justice.

The demonstrators carried placards and raised slogans against the assault on Hamid Mir, terming it an attack on the free press of Pakistan. The placards read, “we condemn attack on Hamid Mir”, “Before the 6 bullets he spoke the truth, after 6 bullets he still speaks the truth”, “Bullets cannot silence media – bullets cannot silence truth”, “Hamid Mir – patriotic Pakistani”, “we support freedom of speech”, and “Let truth prevail”.

The demonstrators said that the attack on Mir was in fact an assault on the entire media community of Pakistan and it was aimed at silencing the critics who dared to speak the truth and question the powerful forces. They said Hamid Mir was the leading anchor who held the government accountable and that’s why it was utmost important to look into all aspects of this attack. They said that attack on Hamid Mir had sent shock waves across the country and throughout the world.

They said condemnation of the attack had poured in from all over the world and it just showed that Hamid Mir is a towering international figure who is known to everyone who cares about human rights, democracy and freedom of speech. They said that attack on Hamid Mir and other journalists showed that some forces want to silence journalists through use of force and intimidation so that the material that’s aired is only the one that has official approval.

Pakistani community members expressed alarm that the Ministry of Defence had approached Pemra for a ban on Geo and Jang group. They said it was astonishing that the ministry had stooped so low in 21st century. They reminded those want to ban Geo that previously at least two governments did the same but were defeated.

Pakistani community members resolved that a ban on Geo and Jang group would not be tolerated at any level and Europe wide rallies will be held against such a move. They said if Geo is banned then the whole issue will be internationalized and western governments, which provide aid to Pakistan, will be approached to take Pakistani government to task for the draconian ban.

Pakistani journalists said that attack on Hamid Mir had also exposed how media was divided in Pakistan and some anchors were there only to do bidding of the Ministries of Defence and Interior. They said the conduct of many anchors following Hamid Mir attack has been utterly despicable. They called on Pemra to also take notice of those channels and anchors that have been inciting violence against media persons for several months.

The News

The petitioner named the Federation of Pakistan through secretary Ministry of Defence, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) Mir Ibrahim Rehman, chief executive officer Geo TV, Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman, Amir Mir, Ansar Abbasi, Imtiaz Alam, Najam Sethi, Muneeb Farooq, Idrees Bakhtiar, Umar Cheema, Iftikhar Ahmad, Asma Shirazi and Dr Amir Liaquat as respondents.

The petitioner through his counsel adopted before the court that it is necessary for the safety and security of the country that the spy agencies keep working in an efficient way. That the functioning of electronic media is very important due to the fact that most people in this country are illiterate and cannot read newspapers.

He said that according to Pemra rules the judiciary and armed forces could not be criticised over television networks.The petitioner alleged that Geo Television has violated Pemra rules while criticising the armed forces of Pakistan after an attack over its anchor person Hamid Mir. He prayed to the court to cancel Geo TV’s licence.

The court however dismissed the petition without hearing.Our correspondent from Lahore adds: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday dismissed a petition filed by anchorperson Mubashar Lucman for high treason proceedings against the administration of Geo and Jang Group.

The judge remarked if the petitioner wanted to initiate proceedings against the respondents under Article 6 of the Constitution, he should approach the federal government because under the relevant law, only the federal government was competent to start treason proceedings.

Lucman had also sought cancellation of declaration of the Jang and The News and cancellation of licence of Geo TV for leveling baseless allegations against ‘the most respectful and credible institution of the country’.

The News

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned a request from the Pakistan Ministry of Defence for the government to shut down the country’s largest television news station, Geo.

According to media reports, on Tuesday, 22 April, in the first action of its kind, the Ministry of Defence requested that the government invoke media regulations to shut down Geo, accusing the station of running a “vicious campaign” against the military’s Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, or ISI.

Unease had been building between the Ministry and the station since last Saturday, 19 April, when Hamid Mir, a television anchor for Geo, was shot multiple times by unidentified gunmen as he was being driven to a television studio in Karachi.

Mir survived the attack and is being treated for gunshot wounds to the chest and shoulder. But as he was still receiving emergency treatment, Geo broadcast accusations from his brother, the journalist Amir Mir, who accused the ISI of being responsible for the attack. Geo also reportedly broadcast a photograph of the ISI chief, Lt. Gen. Zahir ul-Islam, while a senior journalist employed by the station called for the general to resign.

Media reports say that in a four-page letter to the state-run Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, the Defense Ministry not only asked for Geo’s broadcasting license to be revoked, but called for the body to initiate criminal proceedings against Geo editors and management.

“This is a difficult period in Pakistan and passions and anger are clearly running high following the vicious attack on the journalist Hamid Mir. But this should not lead to controls and restrictions being placed on the country’s media,” said IFJ President Jim Boumelha.

“We strongly condemn the call for the closure of Geo and we call on the government of Pakistan to reject the request and to ensure the rights and freedoms of media organisations and journalists in the country are upheld.”

The National Union of Journalists in the UK and Ireland (NUJ) has expressed its opposition to the Defence Ministry’s actions and the NUJ London chapel of Geo TV have helped to organise a solidarity protest in support of Hamid Mir on Saturday 26 April at 3.30pm outside the Pakistan High Commission in London.

International federation of Journalists (IFJ)

On April 22, 2014 the federal Ministry of Defence filed a reference with Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) for tarnishing the image of ISI. PEMRA, which has the authority to suspend or cancel the broadcast licenses, issued a show cause notice asking the Geo administration to submit its reply within 14 days. Pemra also directed chief executive of Geo News to appear in person on May 6.

Geo has challenged the notice by Pemra in the Sindh High Court, which has issued notices to the federal government and has fixed May 2 for hearing.

Tensions rose between ISI and Geo after the channel broadcast allegations by Mir’s brother that the journalist had told his family, employers, government and army officials that some officials of ISI including its Director General, Lt. Gen Zaheerul Islam had prepared a plan to eliminate him.

Geo reported that cable operators have blocked Geo’s transmissions in military cantonment areas and newspaper vendors in these areas have been directed not distribute newspaper of the group. Geo has also alleged that these ‘illegal’ actions have been taken on orders of ‘some forces’.

The Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors (CPNE) in an emergency meeting unanimously declared that closure of any media house or cancellation of licence of any channel or publication will not be acceptable. CPNE said such action will lead to a grave crisis and will do irreparable harm to the democratic Pakistan. The meeting also declared that the right to freedom of speech is enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan and the state should provide adequate protection to journalists against threats from any quarter.

The meeting strongly condemned the attack on Mir and demanded that the government to take immediate and swift action to ensure the safety of all the media persons.

Pakistan Press Foundation

Yet, for all the missteps and violations of responsible conduct by the Jang group, the army itself seeking to shut down the country’s largest media house because of direct allegations against ISI chief Gen Zahirul Islam is a step too far — and ought to unite the media and the public against this step. For decades, anti-democratic and authoritarian elements have kept the public from choosing who it wants to lead the country and muzzled the media from holding the state to account for its deeds and misdeeds. Now, when a transition is under way and democratic continuity is on its way to becoming irreversible, there is more of a need than ever to have an independent and free media that can operate outside the still-present shadow of anti-democratic forces. The ISI and the army leadership may be rightly aggrieved, but seeking the cancellation of a media group’s TV licence is also a hostile move that can have a chilling effect on the media far beyond just the Jang group — even if Pemra in the end only slaps the group with a fine.

There is though another sad spectacle playing out in the midst of this clash between the state and media: the media at war with itself. Fuelled seemingly by ego, old and new rivalries and, surely, commercial interests, the electronic media has cannibalised itself in recent days. It has been unseemly and worse. With several media groups falling over themselves to denounce each other while simultaneously swearing fealty to the ISI and the army, the core journalistic mission of informing the public and holding the state to account has all but been forgotten. It is time for representative bodies of print and electronic media to come together to defuse tensions and lay down the rules of ethical journalism.

DAWN

In its detailed order, the division bench headed by Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, issued notices to the federal government through the Ministry of Information and also to Pemra and has called for comments on Geo’s petition, fixing May 2 as the next date of hearing.

In its petition, the Jang Group had contended that all over the world, it is routine for victims’ families to express suspicions for the help of investigating agencies. In England, a non UK citizen Mohammad Al Fayed has been conducting more than a decade of court battles to prove that his son Dodi Al Fayed and Lady Diana were murdered by MI6 of the UK. On his request, various inquests have taken place and the media has routinely reported proceedings of the court. No one has questioned this allegation as damaging the respect of MI6.

In the petition, Geo Jang Group has contended that while on the one hand, the federal government got a judicial commission set up headed by Justice Anwer Zaheer Jamali to look into the allegations of Hamid Mir’s family, on the other hand, without waiting for the findings of the judicial commission, it has reportedly filed a complaint with Pemra to cancel the Geo News licence.

In the petition, Geo has contended that on April 19, April 20 and also on April 21, no official of Pemra or that of the Ministry of Defence, contacted them to express unhappiness over the transmission and then without any prior communication, all of a sudden, the minister of interior and minister of defence filed complaints with Pemra.

In the petition, it has also been contended that the haste and arbitrariness that has been shown by the federal government when filing the complaint, the petitioner expects no fair, transparent and impartial adjudication on merit by Pemra, which has to-date never decided against the government of the day.

It was also pointed out that despite the worst kind of defamation that was conducted against the superior judiciary of Pakistan, to-date Pemra has not cancelled a single broadcasting licence.

The News

The meeting was chaired by President of CPNE Mujib-ur-Rehman Shami. The CPNE further resolved that sanctity of defence as well as media institutions is equally important as both are national institutions. It was further resolved that Pakistan armed forces and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) are our vital national institutions and it is our collective responsibility to defend and safeguard their honour and dignity.

The meeting called upon all the media houses to show responsibility while reporting/commenting about these vital security organisations. It also discussed at length the recent reference filed by the Ministry of Defence with Pemra and expressed satisfaction that the government and aggrieved national institutions had taken a legal course instead of taking an arbitrary decision. However, the meeting expressed deep concerns over the present constitution of Pemra and showed apprehensions regarding its ability to deliver a just and fair decision, due to its ad-hoc structure.

The meeting strongly condemned the attack on senior journalist Hamid Mir and demanded that the government should take immediate and swift action to ensure the safety of all the media persons associated with national media organisations.

The meeting also declared that the right to freedom of speech is enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan and the state should provide adequate protection to journalists against life threats emanating from any quarter. The meeting appreciated the federal and Sindh governments’ decision to constitute a Judicial Commission and Joint Investigation Team for the investigation of this attack and expressed the hope that perpetrators would be brought to justice without any fear or favour.

The meeting appealed to all the media organisations, including APNS, PBA and PFUJ, to unite at this hour of need and subside the tensions between different media organisations. It further requested these organisations to play their role in creating harmony and solidarity among the media houses and work together for the safety and protection of press freedom and journalists.

The meeting also expressed concerns over reports of life threats to senior journalist Iftikhar Ahmad and other media persons and demanded that the government should take immediate action in this regard.

The meeting was attended by Arif Nizami (Pakistan Today), Shaheen Qureshi (VP CPNE, Jang Group), Imtiaz Alam (South Asia Journal), Salman Ghani (Daily Dunya), Umer Shami (Daily Pakistan), Khalid Qayyum (Daily Express), Mumtaz Tahir (Daily Aftab), Sajjad Bukhari (Daily AbTak), Naveed Chaudhry (Daily City 42), Baidar Sarmadi (Daily Front), Baidar Bakht Butt (Daily Jang), Hafiz Iqbal (Daily Insaf), Khawaja Munawarul Hasan (Daily Musawat), Khalid Farooqi (Daily Awaz), Zulfiqar Lodhi (Daily Tijarat), Asghar Ali ( Daily Jurrat), Siddique Asghar (The News), Adeel Niaz (Jahangir Times), Asad Kashif, Adeeb Jawadani (Monthly Moon Digest), Munir Ahmad Naulakha (Musawwar International) and Taufique Rehman (Daily Saadat).

The News

The Minister of defense on Tuesday sent to Pemra a regular reference for imposing a ban on Geo. According to its rules, Pemra will issue show cause notices to the violators, who will be allowed the opportunity of personal hearing.

After receiving a complaint against any TV channel, Pemra constitution a board, headed by the authority’s chairman. However, in the absence of a permanent chairman, the authority’s caretaker chairman Pervaiz Rathore will hear the reference.

According to the law the board will have to complete the process from issuance of notice to the personal hearing within one week.

Express Tribune

The complaint was submitted under the Pemra Ordinance and rules for a false and scandalous campaign undermining the integrity and tarnishing the image of state institution ISI and its officers, sources told The Express Tribune.

The four-page complaint, against Geo TV which includes the script of news bulletins, tickers and breaking news, says that ‘the said reporting has violated the specific terms and conditions of its licence’.

The violation of terms and conditions of the Geo TV licence issued by Pemra to the Independent Media Corporation (Pvt) Ltd makes the network liable for measures including ‘cancellation of licence by Pemra’.

The complaint urges Pemra to ‘immediately suspend the licence of Geo TV, and after examining the facts cancel the licence of the Independent Media Corporation (Pvt) Ltd granted under Section 20 of the Pemra Ordinance, 2002’.

It seeks ‘… prosecution of the editorial team and management of Geo TV under Sections 33 and 36 of the Pemra Ordinance 2002 read with all enabling provisions and the Pemra rules as amended from time to time’.

Referring to the April 19 incident, the complaint says that ‘apparently an assassination attempt was made by some unknown assailants at around 1730 hours at Karachi on Hamid Mir, an anchorperson associated with Geo News, the 24/7 News Channel of Geo TV a venture held and operated by M/S Independent Media Corporation (Pvt) Ltd, Karachi. Immediately thereafter, a vicious campaign libelous and wherein false accusations were made against a state institution tasked to work for the defence, sovereignty and integrity of Pakistan i.e. Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and its DG Lt General Muhammad Zaheerul Islam’.

“The telecast in question/campaign was aimed at undermining the integrity and tarnishing the image of the state institution and its officers and falsely linking it with the terrorist outfits/activities,” it said.

“The attempt was detrimental to the interest of the institution and the country. The said footage was picked up by foreign media, particularly Indian channels, who instead of objectively reporting the incident overplayed it repeatedly,” it added.

The complaint says, ‘The reporting made and the programs aired cannot be viewed as a single event. Geo TV has a history of acting illegally in furtherance of the anti-Pakistan agenda. If required, material can be provided to the regulator. The inability of the editorial team and management or monitoring staff at Geo TV failed to either control the content and deliberately allowed scandalous views to go on air. This constitutes a breach of terms of its licence and violating code of conduct. Moreover, the above instance establishes that the editorial team and management of Geo TV has clearly violated the following provisions of Pemra rules/code of conduct, making Geo liable for cancellation of its licence: (a) Rule 15 of Pemra rules (b) Para (c), (g), (j) of standing code of conduct (c) Section 20(a) of the Pemra Ordinance (d) Section 27(a) of the Pemra Ordinance.”

“The said false, malicious and irresponsible reporting is a continuation of the policy of Geo TV for maligning the state institutions as it has done earlier in the case of Daniel Pearl, Wali Khan Babar, the killing of Mr Hammad (an officer of Supreme Court of Pakistan) and also the killing of parents of an honorable judge of the Supreme Court at Lahore. The malicious campaign later proved false.”

The complaint further said that the print media, particularly Jang and The News also published defamatory, libelous and scandalous material as has been done by their sister-concerns in electronic media. The management, therefore, followed the suit and joined hands for carrying out the above mentioned illegal acts.

This makes the said publications and the persons responsible for actions under i) Sections 3, 4 and 9 of the Defamation Ordinance 2002, ii) Sections 19 and 27 of the Press, Newspaper, News Agencies and Books Registration Ordinance, 2002 and the rules framed there-under and also the terms and conditions of the licence/declarations granted or operated there under and iii) the measures and mechanism under the Press Council of Pakistan Ordinance, 2002.

A senior official told The Express Tribune that a sealed envelope carrying the defence ministry’s application from the secretary defence was delivered for the Pemra chairman at 9:32 pm. “Pemra will discuss the entire issue in its Board of Directors meeting on April 24,” sources added.

Express Tribune