The senior editorial staff, myself included, reluctantly agreed to the orders, which came from the CEO, because our jobs were on the line. Media groups in Pakistan are family-owned and make all decisions unilaterally — regardless of whether they concern marketing and finance or editorial content and policy — advancing their personal agendas through the influential mainstream outlets at their disposal. A majority of the CEOs and media house owners are businessmen, with no background (or interest) in the ethics of journalism. The owners and publishers make it very clear to their newsrooms and staff — including the editor — that any tilt or gloss they proscribe is non-negotiable. As a result, serious concerns persist about violence against and the intimidation of members of the media. In fact, Pakistan ranks 158 out of 180 countries in the 2014 World Press Freedom Index.

Yet there is also a more elusive problem within the country’s press landscape: the collusion of Pakistan’s powerful military and the nation’s media outlets. I experienced this first-hand while I worked as a journalist at the Express Tribune during the recent protests led by Khan, the populist cricketer-turned-politician, and Qadri, a Pakistani-Canadian cleric and soapbox orator.

During this time, the owners of Pakistani media powerhouses — namely ARY News, the Express Media Group, and Dunya News — received instructions from the military establishment to support the “dissenting” leaders and their sit-ins. The military was using the media to add muscle and might to the anti-government movement in an attempt to cut Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif down to size.

The media obliged.

At the Express Media Group, anything related to Khan and Qadri were inexorably the lead stories on the front page or the hourly news bulletin. I witnessed polls showing support for Sharif being censored, while news stories on the misconduct of the protesters, along with any evidence that support among the protestors for Khan and Qadri was dwindling, were axed. While the BBC was publishing stories about how Qadri’s protesters were allegedly being paid and Dawn, the leading English-language Pakistani newspaper — and the Express Tribune’s main competitor — was writing powerful editorials about the military’s role in the political crisis, we were making sure nothing negative about them went to print.

Day after day, my national editor told me about how he received frantic telephone calls late in the evening about what the lead story should be for the next day and what angle the article should take. First, we were told to focus on Khan. “Take this as Imran’s top quote,” “This should be in the headline,” “Take a bigger picture of him” were the specific directives given by the CEO. Shortly after, the news group’s owner was agitated that the newspaper had not been focusing enough on Qadri. We later found out that the military establishment was supporting the two leaders equally and the media was expected to do the same.

In their professional capacities, the editor and desk editors tried to put up a fight: they allowed some columns against the protests slip through; they did not extend the restrictions to publish against Khan and Qadri to the Web version of the newspaper; and they encouraged reporters to focus on the paper’s strengths, such as investigative and research-based reports. However, it was difficult for the staff to keep its spirits high with the CEO’s interference and his readiness to abide by the establishment’s instructions. To be sure, the dictates were never given to the senior editorial staff, of which I was a part, directly. They were instead relayed to the editor or the national editor (who heads the main National Desk) via the CEO and then forwarded to us.

People often speculate about the media-military collusion in Pakistan, but in the instance of the current political standoff in the federal capital, as well as the Geo News controversy — where the establishment was seen resorting to extreme methods, such as forcing cable operators to suspend Geo’s transmission and impelling competing media houses to publish news stories against Geo, to curtail the broadcast of the largest and most-watched television channel for accusing then-ISI chief Zaheer-ul-Islam of being behind the gun attack on Hamid Mir, its most-popular anchor — the media and the military worked hand-in-hand.

In most cases, it is common knowledge that the heavyweight broadcast anchors have strong ties to members of the military establishment, and they personally take direct instructions that are then conveyed to the owners of their respective media groups. This bias is often reflected in their coverage.

The anchors not only indulge in inaccurate reporting, but also shape political discourse against the democratically elected government and even the efficacy of democracy itself. Former Pakistani government officials have corroborated this by narrating their experience. One senior official told me: “Television anchors receive funds from the military establishment, if not the civilian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Today, all the Pakistani intelligence agencies and the military have media departments that ostensibly only disseminate background information and press briefings, but are actually guiding and managing discourses and the national narrative.”

And this narrative is pro-army. Consider one example in particular.

On Aug. 31, when Khan’s and Qadri’s protesters had stormed the Parliament’s gates, Mubasher Lucman, a television anchor for ARY News — now the most-watched TV channel in Pakistan after Geo’s transmission was illegally suspended — saluted the army during a live broadcast and invited the military to take over “and save the protesters and the country.” Earlier on Aug. 25, he welcomed the “sound of boots” (a reference to the military), as he had no sympathy for corrupt politicians who looted the country.

As if this was not enough, Lucman and his fellow anchors at ARY, some of whom are known to have strong ties to the army and the ISI, also made unverified claims on live television that seven protesters had been killed by riot police in the ensuing clash. (It was reported by other news outlets that three people had died, one by accident.) Moreover, when Javed Hashmi, the estranged president of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party, came out in public on Sep. 1 to reveal how Khan was banking on the military and the judiciary to end Sharif’s government, Lucman slammed Hashmi, while his fellow anchor, Fawad Chaudhry, insisted that Hashmi had been “planted in [the] PTI” by the prime minister’s closest aides.

Hashmi, who is known for his principled politics and who has been tortured and imprisoned by the military over the years, made the claims about Khan in a press conference where he revealed that: “Imran Khan said we cannot move forward without the army…He told us that he has settled all the matters; there will be elections in September.”

Soon after this, we at the Express Tribune were instructed by the military to highlight statements released by the army’s Inter-Services Public Relations office about how it was not a party to the crisis. When the military was on the defensive, issuing rebuttals to Hashmi’s “revelations,” we saw the instructions lessen and the powerful institution backing off. Yet media discourse throughout Pakistan’s history has been influenced by the military, the most powerful institution in the country, or, in a few cases, has been strong-armed and intimidated by civilian heads of state until they were ousted by the military. There is a structural bias against democratic institutions and elected officials in Pakistan, and such a discourse has the not-unintentional effect of making the military seem like a better alternative, thereby reinforcing the notion that democracy does not work.

Media owners seem to “choose” the military establishment as it has been the most potent force and the only constant in Pakistan’s polity. The institutional context of the country’s power structure and patronage politics compels organizations and individuals to be a part of the system, which begins and ends with the military and its premier intelligence agency, the ISI. Abiding by the system without asking questions is rewarded. But even in a country with a deeply problematic history, the intensity of the recent interference is shocking.

Before the current political standoff, the establishment was dictating headlines and editorial policies during Sharif’s trip to India for the inauguration of his counterpart, Narendra Modi, on May 26. While working at the Express Tribune, I was instructed to change the lead story on the Sharif-Modi meeting to give it a negative tint, concentrating on how the Indian prime minister was not welcoming as he focused on security issues. The phrase “show-cause” had to be inserted in the headline, which was a direct order from the CEO, who was getting instructions from the military.

To be sure, the Express Media Group and its staff have been attacked several times during the past year for raising sensitive issues. And here too it tried to balance the military-sponsored anti-government slant by giving room to other opinions in the form of editorials and separate stories. But it also had to survive in a system where the military dominates every aspect of public life. It is a tough choice as the military refuses to protect the country’s journalists, even as the media continues to safeguard the military’s image and ostensible apolitical status.

Neha Ansari worked as a senior sub-editor and shift-in-charge at the Express Tribune’s national desk in Karachi, Pakistan from 2013 to 2014. She is now a visiting researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C.

Foreign Policy

The spokesman said the Group has so far been paying salaries on its own but it now has no more capacity. He said we have to make payments to the banks, pay utility bills. Salaries of the staff are being delayed.

The parliamentarians were asked to form a committee to oversee and probe the issue and find out who was behind the illegal closure of Geo. The ad also mentions this, and it was also verbally conveyed that the Group can prove who is behind the closure of Geo. Written complaints were made to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), letters were written to the prime minister and information minister, and it was also conveyed verbally that the Supreme Court, Lahore High Court and Sindh High Court have termed Geo’s closure illegal and ordered its restoration but the government is powerless.

Journalists’ organisations were also approached but they also did not talk because of fear. This is a violation of the fundamental right of freedom of information. The spokesman said the Rs20 million fine was unprecedented. History has no such example. One channel was closed for a month and the other for 15 days. Pemra’s decision was ex-parte but we accepted it.

The spokesman said we (ISI) are behind this. He said army chief General Raheel Sharif, ISI chief General Zahir-ul-Islam and DG ISPR know these things. The Group and its senior editors have tried to contact them but all remained in vain and nobody listened to them. We sent messages but got no response. A letter was also written to the PM, information minister and Army Chief General Raheel Sharif.

The spokesman told Parliamentarians that if they were pro-democracy, they should have kept democracy’s respect. They have been witnessing this game for months. They should have raised it in the assemblies and formed the committee and called the responsible persons of Jang Group, ISI, ISPR, Pemra and Ministry of Information. He said the Group responsibles have proofs. The committee should have called them and asked from them what they are faced with.

The spokesman said it is said that on Tuesday when Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar was addressing the joint parliamentary session, Nawaz Sharif asked him to mention Geo. The fact is that the government, the PM and all ministers have not enough courage to raise the issue of Geo. He said Senator Zahid mustered courage and we are thankful to him.

The spokesman said the parliamentarians ought to disprove allegations by Imran and Qadri that Parliament is a week institution. Parliament should conduct full probe and get the Geo restored. If this was not done, it would mean that Imran and Qadri had rightly said that parliamentarians are part of a failed system and are sitting in the House to save their interests. The spokesman said it will be written in history. “Though we are a private commercial Group, we have enough courage to give this statement.” You are answerable to God. If justice was not done, the Jang Group staff from all over Pakistan along with their families will stage sit-in and go on hunger strike in front of ISI office and Parliament.

The spokesman said death threats are also being hurled to some of the responsibles of the Group who are outside the country. If any loss of life occurred, Parliament will be responsible for it.

The spokesman said there are court decisions and everybody, including the government, knows what is being done with the Group. This is a big sin and grave injustice that a legal thing is not being done knowingly.

The intermediaries give us messages that we should show by doing or by refraining from doing something, then your restoration will be considered.He said the Group has proofs in which it is being said to sell 35% to 50% shares of the Group. The chief is being said to leave the Group. We will appoint chief executive and editor. Then we will see for sometime that the Group is being run rightly.

The spokesman said money is also being demanded for solution of the problem. It is being said to spend Rs200-250 million. All these things are being said through intermediaries who are authentic.

The spokesman said there is a complete story behind what is happening. This story can be told to the chief justice and judges in closed-door hearing, he said.The spokesman said international journalist organisations and world media has raised this issue. World renowned media has written that one of the reasons for civil-military tension in Pakistan is the Geo issue. It should be clear that Jang Group has repeatedly said that it not only respects but loves the Armed Forces of Pakistan. The Armed Forces have given sacrifices for the country and Jang Group is proud of those who have laid down their lives for the sake of nation.

The News

This interview has been edited for clarity.

CPJ: Hamid, the three-member judicial commission looking into the attempt to kill you on April 19th 2014 was supposed to come up with its findings within three weeks. I know you appeared in front of the panel in Karachi and Islamabad several times, and submitted two affidavits. It’s been almost three months now, when will the commission release its report? Is there dissension within the panel? Have their conclusions been repressed?

Hamid Mir: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was kind enough to visit me in the hospital after the assassination attempt on my life. He told me that the judicial commission comprised of three Supreme Court judges will come up with its findings in three weeks. When I appeared in front of this commission first time in Karachi on a wheelchair, my wounds were still bleeding. I was holding urine and blood bags in my hands. It was the first time in the history of Pakistan that [a living] victim directly accused the head of the most powerful intelligence agency with a lot of evidence in front of three Supreme Court judges. I also produced the reports of CPJ and Amnesty International about attacks on media to the commission. They called me again and I answered their questions for hours despite the fact that I was not able to move and I was also suffering from pain in my bullet wounds. I told judges that I appeared in front of the commission which investigated the murder of the journalist Saleem Shahzad. I told them that I also appeared in front of the commission which investigated the abduction and torture of journalist Umar Cheema but nothing happened. I told them that many judicial commissions in the past had failed to identify attackers and they were inconclusive. I told them that despite bad experiences about these commissions in the past I was appearing in front of a commission which was investigating the attack on my life because first time three Supreme Court judges were sitting there. I completed my appearances within three weeks. It was also the first time that top management of a media house also appeared in front of the commission and confirmed that they were facing pressures from military and intelligence officials to sack me or stop me from highlighting the issues of enforced disappearances, criticism on security agencies for their involvement in violating the human rights and treason trial of former dictator General Pervez Musharraf. Many other journalists, human rights activists, and one retired Army official appeared in front of the commission as a witness and they confirmed my stance about the involvement of powerful intelligence officials in terrorizing and attacking media. During my appearances to the commission one judge asked me a question– why do you people report to CPJ about threats to your life? I told him we contact CPJ because our government and judiciary have failed to provide us security and justice. That judge was more interested about the alleged foreign funding to Pakistani media rather than to investigate the attack on my life. The attitude of other two judges was different. Now more than three months have passed and the judicial commission has failed to come up with its findings. According to my information, Karachi police and security agencies are not cooperating with the commission. They are hiding facts and trying to misguide the commission members. I have seen one report of the Karachi police presented to the commission. It is confusing.

CPJ: I’ve always argued against those sorts of commissions. They are inconclusive, they lack authority to initiate real change, and seem more a way of placating the angry media after an assault takes place. Isn’t there an option to resorting to them, to somehow force the courts to address the incident as a crime and investigate it and prosecute it? It happened in the Wali Khan Babar case to some extent, why can’t it be forced through in other cases? I know the prime suspects are linked to the government in many of these cases, but there still must be some sort of mechanism to pursue the case in court, even if it comes to a stalling point?

HM: You are right. These kind of commissions lack authority. I told the three judges that they must come up with something which can provide safety to media. We need legislation. We need accountability of powerful intelligence agencies. These agencies should be answerable to the elected parliament but in my case it was proved that one intelligence agency was more powerful than the whole government. Banned outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba were demonstrating in support of the [Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)] openly, they were raising slogans against me and my TV channel. … Many federal ministers advised Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif not to support Geo TV. They also asked him that government must take action against Geo TV for naming the head of ISI in the attack on my life. Government was forced to take action against Geo TV for its own survival. Instead of providing justice to me and my TV channel we were implicated in a blasphemy case, we were fined, and transmission of Geo TV was suspended for 15 days.

CPJ: You’re facing a legal onslaught, including two arrest warrants issued by courts in Quetta and Lahore for your reporting. And Geo and its management are under the same sort of attacks from the courts, PEMRA, cable operators, the whole spectrum. Is it just Geo’s coverage on the day you were shot that has angered the establishment, or is there more to it?

HM: My arrest warrant issued from a Lahore court is very interesting. I wrote a column against attack on the editor of Daily Jang in Multan city and I was accused of defaming the Pakistan Army on the basis of that column. I have said it many times that I am not against the Army. I have written columns in praise of those brave soldiers who sacrificed their lives in fighting Taliban, but how can I tolerate the involvement of some intelligence officials in attacks against media? These powerful people wanted to dictate to me. They wanted to use me. When I refused they attacked me. Now they are using their unlimited resources including some black sheep in media not only against me but also against Geo TV. Unfortunately some extremist groups were used to exploit blasphemy allegations against Geo TV. We apologized on that issue but even then we were not pardoned because our actual crime was to raise voice against the brutalities of powerful people. Yes, they want to punish Geo TV for airing the name of ISI head as a suspect in my case, but there is more than that. They want to control the whole Pakistani media and parliament. They terrorized not only me but many colleagues of mine. They threatened our families. They forced my colleagues to leave Geo TV. They also threatened journalists [at] different newspapers and TV channels not to speak in support [of me]. They used cable operators against us. They forced advertising agencies not to give any ads to Geo TV. Geo TV is suffering huge losses. It is becoming difficult for the management to pay salaries [on] time. We are under attack from all directions. The most powerful people failed to eliminate us physically, now they want to eliminate us economically. They want to make a horrible example [of us]. We cannot fight them with guns but at least we have the right to defend and right to exist and we are trying our best to survive. Our struggle is not just for our own survival. We are actually struggling for the freedom of whole Pakistani media. If we don’t survive the freedom of the whole media will go away. Today they have targeted Geo TV but tomorrow they will target those TV channels that were used against us.

CPJ: With attacks on religious minorities, it seems there is a whole wave of religious extremism which the military is not really putting down. It doesn’t seem like the military is behind it, it’s just that the state does not seem to be reacting to it. And the use of blasphemy charges to go after some members of the media in the courts seems related to that. Are we seeing the emergence of a more religiously restrictive, more conservative Pakistan? If that’s true, is it being driven by the grass roots? Or are conservative groups within the government/military/intelligence complex encouraging it, or just stepping back and letting it happen?

HM: I want to make it clear again that the whole Pakistani army is not involved in dirty double games or violating the local laws. Some individuals like Gen. Pervez Musharraf or some bosses of the intelligence agencies have given a bad name to the whole institution. It was very unfortunate that banned outfits like LeT came on the roads a few weeks back with pictures of ISI head in their hands and raising slogans against Geo TV. They were demanding to take action against Geo TV on blasphemy charges. It was clear that supporters of the ISI head were exploiting blasphemy laws against a media house. This attitude encouraged many other extremist groups to attack religious minorities for the same baseless reasons. Civilian government is looking helpless right now. They are under pressure. Some political pygmies are trying to involve the army in politics for becoming big but I think it’s the time that media and civil society must support civil rule and democracy because extremism in Pakistan is the product of military regimes. Criticizing the involvement of some army officials in politics does not mean that I am against the whole army–I think all those who use the Army for achieving some political objectives give a bad name to this institution and they are the real enemies of the Army. Using blasphemy charges against a TV channel to protect an army official is not a good service to the country. Spreading the flames of hatred may save one individual but ultimately these flames can burn the whole country in the fire of extremism.

CPJ: CPJ met with Prime Minister Sharif and Information Minister Pervaiz Rasheed in March. We came away hopeful after we were given assurances the government would address the violence against journalists and the impunity with which it happens. It doesn’t seem like much has changed since our meetings. Are there changes coming, new legislation say, that are just taking time to come into effect? Or has this government walked away from the issue?

HM: PM Nawaz Sharif and Information Minister Pervez Rashid tried their best to fulfill their promises but they have their own limitations. The attack on my life changed the whole scenario. Anti-democratic forces were able to divide media and political parties. First of all Geo TV was under attack and now Nawaz Sharif is under attack. Those federal ministers who were advising Nawaz Sharif to take action against Geo TV for saving the government proved wrong. Some political groups famous for their links with anti-democratic forces are now threatening Nawaz Sharif to resign, otherwise they will replace him with a million [man] march in the capital Islamabad. Nawaz Sharif is fighting for his own political survival. I hope that if he survives then we will demand that he must fulfill his promises made to CPJ.

CPJ: If the government can’t protect journalists from militants or from its own security forces, where can journalists turn for protection? I used to argue that journalists themselves are well organized in Pakistan, and that the media industry for all its flaws, was fairly well united. It seems that since the government’s response to Geo’s coverage of the April attack on you, that solidarity has waned, if not disappeared. Is that accurate? Can the coherence of Pakistan’s media players, from field reporters up to its owners, be regenerated? Did anything like that, in fact, ever exist?

HM: In many cases some journalists just left Pakistan because government failed to protect them from militants and security agencies. I think it’s a short term solution for an individual but it is not a permanent solution [to] a big problem. I am facing security problems [for a long time]. I was asked by many friends and colleagues to leave Pakistan but I refused. I decided to stay in Pakistan because running away is not a good option. I am staying here and trying to survive and giving some hope to my colleagues facing security threats. Our unity is our solution. We were united when Gen. Pervez Musharraf imposed a ban on some TV anchors including me in 2007.We came on the roads and defeated him. We were again united after the murder of journalist Saleem Shahzad. We organized big rallies and joint shows on many TV channels. We forced the government to set up a high powered commission for investigating the murder of Saleem Shahzad. Our unity became a problem for the powerful establishment of Pakistan. Enemies of democracy and free media changed their strategy. They adopted the strategy of divide and rule. Yes some TV anchors said in their shows that I am a traitor because I criticize intelligence agencies, yes banned outfits, cable operators and PEMRA were used against Geo TV, but on the other side working journalists from Karachi to Peshawar came out on the roads with my pictures in their hands. They defied the pressure of those who have guns in their hands and who have banned extremist groups on their side. The journalist community realized that media again need unity. Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) was divided in three groups. These groups now have started talking to each other for unity and trying to remove misunderstandings which were created long ago by the military regime of General Zia-ul-Haq in late 70s. I am still hopeful that unity of media will make a big difference. Surrender is no option.

CPJ: How is your health? I know the shooting took a terrible toll. How far along are you in terms of your recovery?

HM: I got six bullet injuries in my shoulder, lower back, stomach, and both legs. My bladder was damaged. My intestines were damaged. A stent was placed in my kidney. It was difficult for me to sit on a chair. I faced horrible pains. I used a wheelchair for two months, then I started using a walker, then used a stick for many days–now I can move without any help after three months. I still feel pain in my legs because bones in my both legs were damaged. I consulted an orthopedic surgeon in Cromwell Hospital London recently and now I am recovering very fast due to the prayers of millions of people. I have started my TV show again a few days back and proved all those wrong who predicted that Hamid Mir will run away from Pakistan. I am back on the TV screen but still facing pressures. I am sure that people of Pakistan will stand by us in our struggle of survival.

CPJ: What can groups like CPJ accomplish in Pakistan? How do we go about it?

HM: First of all I must say thanks to CPJ for doing an excellent job for the protection of journalists. Enemies of free media in Pakistan are angry with CPJ which means CPJ is doing a good job. CPJ must help and guide us for raising awareness [about] why free media is essential for strengthening the democracy and why Pakistan needs legislation for the protection of media. CPJ engaged not only top government officials but also met Pakistani intelligence officials in the recent past. I will appreciate further engagement of that kind in the future.

Bob Dietz, coordinator of CPJ’s Asia Program, has reported across the continent for news outlets such as CNN and Asiaweek. He has led numerous CPJ missions, including ones to Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. Follow him on Twitter @cpjasia and Facebook @ CPJ Asia Desk.

Committee to Protect Journalists

ARY TV is second channel to be suspended in recent months – Geo TV was suspended for 15 days on May 21.

According to reports PEMRA took the decision unanimously on June 20 claiming that ARY TV had aired “anti-judiciary programs”. PEMRA also banned the programme “Khara Sach” (Bitter Truth) aired on ARY News and its anchorperson Mubasher Lucman, for “persistently airing contemptuous and malicious campaign against the judiciary”.

The government’s crackdown comes as senior journalists and PFUJ officials have been subjected to threating calls from senior state officials and Federal Minister for information Pervaiz Rasheed. The PFUJ has been staging protests to condemn the shutdown of the TV channels and to show the solidarity with journalists. However, journalists participating in a peaceful protest outside PEMRA’s Islamabad office were subjected to harsh treatment by police.

Press freedom in Pakistan has also suffered since senior journalist and popular Geo TV anchor Hamid Mir was shot at in Karachi on April 19. The situation remains tense with Mir and Geo TV accusing the Pakistan military’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency of orchestrating the attack.

Responding to the latest PEMRA action, the PFUJ said: “The decision of PEMRA is taken without any judicial proceeding, thus it’s undemocratic and we demand written assurance from the Prime Minister that no media house will be subjected to such closure in future. We will not compromise on the freedom of media.”

The IFJ believes the decision to suspend the license of any channel is an assault on press freedom and a violation of media rights. “Media outlets should be able to scrutinize and be critical of any state organizations based on the evidence at hand. It is the state’s responsibility to ensure that media rights are protected and that the media are allowed to perform their duties and responsibilities without threats, intimidation, harassment or violence.”

International Federation of Journalists

The attack and shootout in April this year, left Mir, seriously injured. Mr. Hamid Mir, one of Geo TV’s most famed anchor-persons has directly accused the ISI chief for the attack and conspiracy to assassinate him and to silence any critique of the ISI or its agents.

Although Geo TV has tendered an official apology several times, following the airing, reports revealed that the ISI forced the hand of both the PEMRA and the Ministry of Defence to take punitive actions against Geo TV, and to send out a powerful message that no criticism of the ISI nor any of its agents will be tolerated in Pakistan.

The AHRC has learns that, the regulatory body PEMRA, under virtual coercion by the ISI , has taken the decision to close down Geo TV with only members from government being called by the PEMRA’s Chairperson and just hours before the announcement of the ban.

The AHRC notes with concern that this issue is seen as a serious threat to media freedom in Pakistan by the Government, the army and the intelligence agencies. According to reports, Geo TV and its sister channels have been taken off air by cable TV operators, under pressure from the military, that four of the company’s vehicles were burned in different stations across the country and that a journalist, has been beaten up by unidentified assailants in the city of Multan in central Pakistan, even before Friday’s ban was announced.

Further, the federal minister of Defence in a televised interview had issued a warning to all media institutions in the country, threatening that if any person or institution found maligning the armed forces would be strictly dealt with. He had added further that the punishment meted out to Geo TV was not severe enough. The attacks on media and press freedom had escalated to highest proportions following these recent events that other government Ministers too, have been reported to have baselessly criticised media institutions in reporting the recent attacks on the Karachi airport, for exposing the weaknesses and failures of the military and the government authorities in handling these terrorist attacks.

The deterioration of media freedom in Pakistan is fast transforming into a deeper crisis as the judiciary too has been reported to have joined the intelligence services and the government military and intelligence apparatus in restricting media freedom in Pakistan. In another incident a Judge of the Islamabad High Court, a well-known vigilante for his affiliation with fundamentalist groups and was had been biased in favour of killing of the former governor of Punjab on blasphemy, has banned an anchor-person, Mr. Mubashir Luqman, from yet another TV channel in Pakistan, the ARY TV, from conducting any programmes on air due to him exposing to a fraudulent land deal by a wife of a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

The attacks on media freedom in Pakistan do not end here. According to sources, the Pakistan government is in the process of drafting a code of conduct for the media which will drastically limit the space and scope of freedom of expression. The code of conduct declares that no media house will be allowed to criticize the armed forces and their intelligence agencies without prior confirmation and worse will not be allowed to criticize any decisions of the courts.

The freedom of expression in Pakistan is in a perilous state and continues to worsen every day, by constantly being under government’s close watch , by constant military interference and by constant threats by the intelligence services. No criticism, even credible allegations against any of these government establishments are met with heavy reprisals against the media.

The fragile state of the country’s media freedom is further demonstrated by the constant harassment of journalists, which even go beyond harassment and take their lives. Publications are being constantly censored, websites are being blocked, and legislation is being passed in total disregard of all fundamental rights.

Legislations such as the Official Secret Act of 1923 and other blasphemy laws have generated much disgust among the people of Pakistan. Pakistan’s Constitution enshrines in Article 19 the freedom of speech and expression – which the state has miserably failed to uphold. Pakistan is also obliged under Article 19 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [ICCPR] to ensure freedom of expression and speech – none of which is presently being followed by the Pakistan government. Article 19 of the ICCPR also makes it mandatory for the countries to guarantee the undiluted freedom of expression even during times of war or war like conditions.

In this backdrop the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urges the government of Pakistan to ensure and respect the very constitutional guarantees of freedom expression and speech to all citizens. We also urge the government of Pakistan to adhere to its international obligations and to actively desist any moves by the military and its intelligence agents to curb the freedom of expression and speech in Pakistan.

The AHRC urges the government to restore the three channels of Geo TV immediately and guarantee freedom of expression for the media institution, order PEMRA to have a credible, transparent and democratic process in all its regulatory functions, take disciplinary action and conduct an impartial inquiry on the conduct of Justice Shoukat Siddiqui, judge of Islamabad high court for usurping the right of freedom of expression of journalist/anchor-person Mubashir Luqman – with immediate effect.

Asian Human Rights Commission

Pakistan’s Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) suspended Geo TV, Pakistan’s largest television network, on June 6 for a period of 15 days and fined them 10 million rupees (approx. €75,000) after receiving a complaint from the Ministry of Defence. If the fine is not paid before the end of the suspension period, the suspension of the license will continue.

The complaint related to Geo News’ coverage of an April 19 Opens external link in new window attack on news anchor Hamid Mir. His brother, Amir, told the station on air that Pakistan’s intelligence agency, ISI, was responsible for the attack on his brother and that the agency had threatened the journalist in the past.

Following Amir’s statement, Geo TV repeatedly aired the allegations over the following eight hours without providing a clear basis for the accusation against the intelligence agency, Secretary General of Pakistan Press Foundation Owais Aslam Ali told IPI in an interview.

Geo TV and Jang Media Group, a Geo affiliate, subsequently Opens external link in new windowapologised to Pakistan’s armed forces and the ISI, admitting that its coverage of the attack on Mir had been “excessive, distressful and emotional”. Nevertheless, the broadcast not only led to tensions between Geo and the military, but also caused an outcry by other media outlets that believed Geo’s actions were anti-state and anti-army.

“The biggest threat we face right now is that this is the first time for many decades that there has been a split between the media organisations themselves,” Ali, who is also a member of the IPI Executive Board, said. “The internal division in the media is a bigger threat to press freedom than the external threats.”

That challenge joins a host of others that journalists in Pakistan face, Ali told IPI.

Before this instance, he noted, there had never been success in blocking a media outlet to such a heavy degree.

The current sentiment against Geo TV has also led to a rise in physical attacks and threats against journalists working for the station and its affiliates. Several attacks on newspaper delivery trucks have also been reported in recent weeks.

In one incident, journalist Zafar Aheer was returning home from work on June 1 when six armed men attacked and severely injured him. Aheer was quoted in Opens external link in new windowlocal news reports as saying that the attackers had called him a traitor because he works for Jang Media Group.

“The media has not been able to generate support for press freedom,” Ali said. “Now the public support for press freedom has dwindled to an extent not seen in my lifetime.”

To fix the current situation in Pakistan, Ali said, the country needs to return to normalcy and media organisations need to begin to work on healing the wounds.

In the long term, he continued, media outlets need their own code of conduct, as well as professional editors to decide what airs on TV to avoid a situation akin to the current Geo crisis. Ali also suggested the creation of a self-regulatory complaint system for media content, something Pakistan does not yet have in place.

IPI Press Freedom Manager Barbara Trionfi echoed Ali’s comments, adding: “The suspension of a broadcaster as a consequence of an editorial mistake, for which they have publicly apologised, is an entirely disproportionate remedy. Pakistan is failing to keep true not only to its constitutional and international press freedom obligations, but also to the recent promise expressed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on March 19, when, in a meeting with a Committee to Protect Journalists delegation, he Opens external link in new windowpledged to expand press freedom and to speak out in support of the safety of journalists.”

For more information, contact: Barbara Trionfi, IPI Press Freedom Manager, at +43 (1) 512 90 11 or by e-mail Opens window for sending emailbtrionfi[@]freemedia.at

International Press Institute

In recent weeks, Geo has gone from a provider of news to millions of people, to a major subject of the news, to a blank screen. As well as depriving those millions of people of a major source of information, the saga underscores an urgent need to address the safety of the thousands of staffers at Geo and its affiliates.

Geo’s most recent troubles began with the attempted murder of its outspoken anchor, Hamid Mir, in April. An outpouring of concern quickly turned into condemnation when the channel aired allegations that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the country’s powerful intelligence agency, was behind the attack. Critics say Geo’s reporting of the allegations was irresponsible. Mir was labeled a traitor and an Indian agent by many in the country, including some members of the journalism community.

In the following days, Pakistan’s Defense Ministry brought a complaint against Geo for “undermining the integrity and tarnishing the image” of the ISI. Staffers at The News–including Umar Cheema, who wrote critically about the attack on Mir–began receiving e-mailed threats. This was just the beginning.

On May 20, some members of PEMRA tried to take Geo off the air, announcing that licenses for Geo News, Geo Entertainment, and Geo Tez, channels under the Geo TV Network, had been suspended. But later that day, PEMRA issued a press release saying the meeting had only been attended by 5 of its 12 members and had “no legal standing.”

Regardless, Geo News had already been virtually blacked out across 90 percent of Pakistan, according to Ibrahim Rahman, CEO of Geo TV Network. Cable operators were pressured to bump Geo down their channel listings, and then to remove it altogether, he told CPJ.

On May 26, the Geo and Jang groups issued a front page apology to the ISI chief for its coverage immediately after the attack on Mir, but this did not diffuse the tensions.

To add to the pressure, Geo recently was labeled blasphemous by religious conservatives for airing a morning show that reenacted a celebrity wedding accompanied by a Sufi song, according to news reports, which said thousands of public complaints poured in against the network.

At stake is not only the group’s ability to operate freely, but the lives of 7,500 people that are directly employed by Geo, according to Muaaz Ahsan, Geo’s director of programming and branding. “Each one of their livelihoods and safety remains vulnerable,” he told CPJ.

Vans carrying Jang’s newspapers have been torched in Lahore, Lodhran, and Rawalpindi. I was told that some advertisers have also come under threat recently. “It seems their strategy is to bleed us financially to death,” Ahsan said.

Taking up the offensive, Geo News today brought a defamation suit against the ISI, the media regulator, and the defense ministry for “defaming and maligning” the channel, giving them 14 days to publicly apologize and pay damages of 50 billion Pakistani rupees (US $507 million) or go to court, according to a report published in one of the group’s papers. “We have been left with no other option but to turn to the courts,” Ahsan said. “We had to pursue such options or else we will never be safe in Pakistan.”

Committee to Protect Journalists

The Pemra sent a formal letter on Friday June 6, 2014 ordering the Geo News to immediately shut down its transmission as well as to pay Rs10 million fine.A Jang Group/Geo spokesperson said on Friday night: “The decision taken is a grave injustice to the oldest, the biggest and the most popular media group of Pakistan. It appears the government finally gave in to the pressure of the powerful unseen forces and rushed through the decision to suspend the transmission of the leading independent and the most popular news channel in the country.”

The irony, he said, is that never in Pakistan any channel had ever been suspended, either by Pemra or even by any court. Even the channels that were owned by large business houses and gave biased and twisted news coverage to protect their business interests had never faced such a penalty. Channels that ran sustained campaigns to defame the Chief Justice of Pakistan and defamed the honourable judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts and even those caught red handed planting interviews to malign the Chief Justice of Pakistan had never been cautioned or penalised.

Not only this, channels and TV hosts who had openly raised doubts and suspicions about the Pakistan Army chiefs and prime ministers of being murderers, traitors or foreign agents had not been touched. Incitement to violence and proven defamation by these channels was never considered a big crime for them to be suspended or even fined.

The most vociferous TV anchor of a rival channel before retirement of the COAS had called him a CIA agent. He said this on live TV and then encouraged tweets to support his allegation. But neither he nor his channel faced any consequences.

According to the spokesperson, the Pemra action will damage the country as the first-ever TV channel to be suspended is a channel that had become the icon and spearhead of an independent media with a free editorial approach. It is the only channel that had transparently published its editorial policy on its website in the form of Geo Asool and which maintained the record of the most accurate and timely news coverage.

While the ISI’s complaint against Geo was only about a few hours of transmission on just one of its channels, all of Geo Network channels were virtually put off air by unknown forces — not very unknown though.

Geo had been condemned Supreme Court, through a 3-member bench, ordered it to be opened but nothing happened. Even Geo Kahani, Geo Entertainment, Geo Tez and Geo Super were shut, displaced or distorted. Dozens of Jang Group newspaper vans have been burnt, hawkers, reporters and editors beaten up and harassed.

No one has given us justice. Already Rs2 billion loss has been inflicted in an effort to coerce and force the Jang Group to fall in line. It is expected the losses will reach Rs2.7 billion (approximately US $27 million). This is the real penalty Geo has been forced to pay, which is unprecedented even by international standards.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had publicly stated that he was against any curbs on the independent media and against shutdown of any TV channel. Parvaiz Rashid, the Information Minister had also categorically stated on record that the government would not shut down any channel. He had assured that the government had avoided shutting down any channel in the past even though there was pressure from courts.

The 15 day official closure added to the 45 days of an illegal shutdown equals 60 days of closure. It should be noted that during the 2007 emergency of General Pervez Musharraf all channels of Geo Network were shut for approximately 90 days.

The Jang Group and GEO TV Network have faced such adversity from governments, civilian and military alike. Successive governments have tried to shut it down, stop its advertising and distort its transmissions and distribution through cable operators in the past.

Losses of over Rs8 billion had been inflicted on the Group (Approximately $80 million). The constitutional and intrinsic right of the viewers and readers to information and free and independent debates and analysis has been unconstitutionally hampered. Without these freedoms Pakistan cannot progress and be counted among the civilized countries of the world.

The Group editors, reporters and hosts believe that the truth, no matter how bitter, is always in the best interest of Pakistan than a lie, no matter how sweet.

The April 19 transmission, immediately after the attack on Hamid Mir, included content that was excessive, distressful and emotional for which Geo has apologized to all concerned. Regardless of this apology attacks still continue against the group, including physical attacks and harassment of reporters and editors as well as burning of newspaper vans.

The spokesperson said the only fault of the Jang/Geo group was that it was unwilling to allow its editorial policy to be dictated.

For hurt caused as well as for the sake of the lives of its tens of thousands of journalists and employees who are receiving daily threats, Jang/Geo TV network even went to the extent of offering an apology but it failed to calm the nerves of the powerful.

The spokesperson said it seemed that the government had finally surrendered in the face of tremendous pressure from unseen forces. It was only yesterday that Geo had served a lega notice to claim around US $50 million from the federal government, Pemra and ISI in terms of reputational damage as well as the actual damage caused to the group as their formal complaint included blaming Geo to “historically pursue an anti Pakistan agenda”.

The spokesman said it seemed that it was the legal notice to the Defense Ministry, Pemra and ISI that compelled the government to rush to deliver the final blow to Geo News. The head of Pemra was appointed only hours before Friday’s decision to suspend Geo News. The pressure, it seems was so great that Pemra went through with the decision even without giving the right of hearing to Geo News.

Clarifying the so-called contradiction between Geo News apology and its legal notice, the spokesman said that its apology and even Pemra’s yesterday’s decision was about Geo news transmission of 19 April. The group still stood by its apology. The basis of the legal notice was the unsubstantiated allegation that the Group has a history of pursuing Anti-Pakistan agenda. This was the worst kind of defamation. This allegation has caused huge actual and reputational loss to the Group and it exposed thousands of Group employees to life threats.

A section of the media has been instigating not only violence against Geo and its employees but also lobbying powerful forces not to accept Geo’s apology. They are doing this for financial gain as Geo Network has the largest advertising share because of its huge viewership and competitors thought they would stand to gain millions if Geo was shutdown. The Group has the largest circulated newspapers, news channels and entertainment channels as well as Pakistan’s only sports channel. In fact Geo News following is bigger than the next three channels combined.

On June 6, 2014, around 10 pm, Geo News shut down its transmission across Pakistan, asking its viewers to pray for justice.The channel will, however, consider all legal options with its editors and legal advisers.

The News

The five-member committee of PEMRA suspended the licenses of Geo News, Geo Entertainment and Geo Tez TV out of five TV channels owned and operated by Geo/Jang group.

According to a PEMRA press release the fine has to be paid before the expiry of suspension period. It was also decided that in case of repeated violation by Geo TV the regulatory agency shall initiate proceedings for the revocation of the license.

Earlier on May 20, Pemra’s private members had announced their decision to suspend the licences of Geo News, Geo Entertainment and Geo Tez till May 28. However, the decision was disowned by the Pemra spokesperson hours after the announcement. Geo News had already apologised for the airing of unsubstantiated allegations.

Pakistan Press Foundation

“The suspension of Geo TV is a serious attack on press freedom in Pakistan. It is the latest act in an organized campaign of harassment and intimidation targeting the network on account of its perceived bias against the military,” said Richard Bennett, Amnesty International’s Asia Director.

“The Pakistani authorities must immediately reverse this ban. If there are concerns about the content of Geo TV broadcasts, the authorities should address this in line with international human rights standards – not simply move to silence a critical voice.”

The governmental body Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) today ruled that the licenses of Geo TV be suspended for 15 days with immediate effect.

The ban is due to allegedly blasphemous content broadcast last month by Geo TV – part of the Jang Media Group – and its earlier accusations against a senior military intelligence official.

Geo TV has been locked in a stand-off with the Pakistan military, rival media houses and some political parties since one of its journalists, the news anchor Hamid Mir, narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in Karachi on 19 April.

The network accused the Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of being behind the attack, which the ISI has denied.

On 20 May some government officials attempted to pull Geo TV off the air over allegedly “anti-state” and “blasphemous” content, apparently under pressure from the military, but within hours the decision was overturned by PEMRA’s executive authorities until today’s order.

“The suspension of Geo TV sadly fits an all too familiar pattern in Pakistan. State authorities and other political actors use any means they can to silence critical reporting, from the use of anti-state and anti-religion provisions of the law to physical attacks and violence,” said Richard Bennett.

In a report released on 30 April, Amnesty International documented how media workers in Pakistan live under the constant threat of harassment, violence and killings from a range of state and non-state actors.

Several Jang Media Group journalists have told Amnesty International that they have received daily threats and harassment by unknown individuals by phone and in person.

Many said they dare not enter their offices or identify themselves as belonging to Geo TV or other Jang Media Group outlets for fear of being attacked.

“Pakistan’s vibrant media scene deserves better protection, and journalists must be able to carry out their legitimate work without fear or interference,” said Richard Bennett.

Amnesty International