I was out of my turf. Perhaps he was as well, but he conscientiously memorised the intro. I made a comment or two about the exciting event we were both attending. Listening to my comment another gentleman made a patronising comment about me.

Hamid sprang to my defence immediately. It was a timely rebuke but his speed was impressive. The innate gallantry of his action made me think that in another time and place we could have been on the same page.

I was marooned in an exclusive guest house for foreigners for about four months in Islamabad. The rationale behind this exercise was researching and writing my new book which was set in Pakistan. Being an information junkie, I devoured both the morning papers and often watched television at night.

There he was on his show, surprising me time and again with his ease and skill. There was no question in my mind that he had raised the bar considerably for the local television industry. There were no screaming matches on his show ‘Capital Talk’ because he knew his job well. Yet his appearance was deceptive. He looked like the average guy with a feel-good manner.

His fame was properly introduced to me by my taxi driver. He had caught the television clip and informed me that I had made the big time in Pakistan because Hamid Mir had asked for my opinion. When I pressed him further, his response was that Hamid was the only one who spoke the truth for everybody. Praise could not go higher than that.

When I left Pakistan I hoped Hamid had been acknowledged by his peers.

It was late at night when some form of restlessness made me read two Pakistani papers online. The newsprint itself had the same effect as being shot. I closed my eyes and the entire scene swam before me. The bullets, the shouting, the agonising pain. I could see his crumpled form, the mobile in his hand, the prayer which rose in his throat as he prepared himself for death.

The images were powerful and my response was of outrage. The feeling was so intense that it bordered on being violent. So I made numerous calls to Pakistan. I wanted to send him a message. I woke his brother up at an ungodly hour. He sensed my anguish and kept me abreast of medical procedures. Over that telephone connection he could smell my concern as I could his fear for his brother.

Over the next ten days I followed responses to the event. Along with his significant visitors rose a monstrous tide of accusations, verbal abuse and injunctions against the independently-owned television network that aired Hamid’s talk show. The well-entrenched venom of competitors coupled with the sinister accusations made by a desperate politician seemed to muffle the genuine cry of an injured man.

Hamid had pointed a finger at certain forces. And then rose the campaign to say that the army was being maligned. Out came the crocodile tears and beating of breasts over this trumped-up scheme.

The media, instead of protesting vociferously the deadly assault on a national superstar, engaged in sniper warfare. The icing on this malevolent cake was the accusation that Hamid was in fact a traitor as was his brother, Amir Mir, who had read his statement to the press. Big Brother was watching and Hamid’s goose was cooked.

This evoked another response at my end and I was confident that international support would ensure that he was out of harm’s way. Everything is on hold for Hamid at present but not the respect and undiluted affection beamed from continents away. With this comes a note of warning to the forces of cowardice skulking in Pakistan that dousing the light of one of the brightest stars in Pakistan’s media galaxy will not go un-noticed.

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The Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) followed suit by regretting defamation of a national security institution without any solid proof.

Had he named any politician or a political party, heavens would have fallen with this particular section demanding the resignation of the accused from the public office to face investigation.

Blaming the political class for everything wrong happening under the sun is a routine matter. Allegations against them make the headlines without any fear of reprisal. Their pictures are flashed, declaring them culprits without investigation.

Saturday was a different day. Amir Mir shared on air the concerns of his brother Hamid Mir who had been under threat and recorded his message to the family for naming the institution and individuals he suspected in case of an attack on him.

No sooner had his message been relayed than a particular group started anti-Hamid Mir and anti-Geo war on the social media that was fully aided by a TV channel where a few former army men, including General (R) Amjad, were engaged in a marathon talk. Majority of the social media users, however, supported the victim journalist Hamid Mir and Geo TV.

Journalistic and non-journalistic bodies also strongly expressed solidarity with Hamid Mir and Geo TV. But the particular group started attacking Hamid Mir and Geo TV declaring them in a traditional way the agents of RAW. They didn’t care to think that why the victim journalist was feeling threatened by the ISI — the most feared agency facing several allegations of attacks on journalists.

Hamid Mir is an incredibly brave person and his family is not scared either. A typical reaction in event of such a tragic incident could have been an uneasy silence. This was a different case, putting the Geo TV management in an awkward situation. Besides journalist colleagues of Hamid Mir within and outside the Group, his family was ready to stage a protest in case Hamid Mir’s recorded message had not been aired.

On the other hand, the Editorial Board and management were under pressure from the ISI friends and sympathisers not to name the top spy agency and its chief. However, Hamid Mir’s colleagues within and outside the Group and his family prevailed as Geo TV decided to side with its employee. According to the ethics of journalism, the ISPR’s point of view was also constantly aired.

Every choice has its price. Attacks on Geo management on the social media and tamed TV channels are in progress.

Here comes a question: Has the ISI ever thought about the reason for allegations thrown on it? Hamid Mir is fortunate to have survived attempt and would spill the beans once he gets back to work. What about Saleem Shehzad? Didn’t he allege the ISI for a possible attack on him that eventually took his life?

Same goes with the Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah. He was tortured and his head and eyebrows were shaved off in 2003. Just a couple of days ago, he disclosed in a talk show on a channel that he was brutalised by the then Maj. Khalid Pervez, who was in charge of ISI directorate in Faisalabad. Same goes in my case.

I had also held the ISI responsible for kidnapping and torturing me. A judicial commission constituted to investigate the incident also endorsed my point saying that involvement of agencies could not be ruled out. Same was the conclusion of judicial commission in Saleem Shehzad case.

The ISI can’t repair its image just by muzzling the media and issuing a press release through the ISPR. It is time for introspection. The guardians of this institution must think why the citizens of Pakistan feel so convinced and compelled to name it for hounding and harassment. It can come out clean by establishing its innocence that is possible only through apprehending the attackers if they don’t belong to it. Fingers will continue to be raised at the agency unless that is done.

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