The protesters, carrying banners, placards in favour the Geo/Jang Group, and terming the ban on Geo against fundamental rights, said that any such action would be tantamount to economic murder of around 50,000 workers of the largest media house.

Among the prominent persons who attended the protest were senior journalists Nasrullah Malik, Khawar Naeem Hashmi, Maqsood Butt, Bedar Bakht Butt, Sadia Sharif, Ameen Hafiz, Jang Workers Union President Rukhsana Nazli, General Secretary Waseem Babar, Fakhira Tehreem, Shahzada Irfan, Jamaat-e-Islami general secretary Ameerul Azeem, Sadia Jabeen of the PPP, Shahid Aslam, Imdad Qureshi, Zahid Rafique Bhatti, Sabir Awan, Zahid Ali Khan, Ijaz Manzoor, Ijaz Mirza, Farooq Chohan, Naseer Baig, Azhar Maqbool, Sadia Aziz, Huma Mir Hassan, Naveed Aslam, President Civil Society Pakistan Abdullah Malik, Sohail Butt, Muneer Khokhar, Adeel Khokhar, Shafqat Imran, Asim Naseer and Waheed Butt.

Nasrullah Malik said he had come to join the protest as defending freedom of press was the duty of every journalist. He said our (media) victory lies in defending our freedom against all dictatorial acts. Which Constitution allows to forcibly snatch copies of newspapers and to threaten the cable operators to shut a channel (Geo), Malik asked, adding that some black sheep exist in our community which need to be thrown out now.

Allama Siddique Azhar said it was a matter of grave concern that Geo TV is off air as employment of thousands of workers is attached with this largest media house. He said nefarious designs with the help of some other channels have been made to discredit the most reliable source (Jang/Geo) of information for the public only to serve some vested interests.

Bedar Bakht Butt said the attack on senior anchorperson Hamid Mir was not an attack on him alone, rather the whole community came under attack from some powerful quarters who do not want free speech and freedom of the media. He said a planned conspiracy has been put in place after the attack on Hamid Mir to cause unbearable loss to the Geo/Jang Group to oust democracy from the country. He said the time has come to join hands to fight with the ‘angels’ and dictatorial mindset if we want to continue telling the truth to the general public.

Maqsood Butt said by attacking Hamid Mir it seemed that a serious campaign has been launched to eliminate all those journalists who speak the truth and stand in front of all wrongs.

Yousaf Shah and Khursheed Shah while condemning the ban on Geo said all labourers and worker’s unions of the country are with the workers of the Geo/Jang Group at this crucial time, adding that Geo is being targeted only for raising a voice for the poor and the needy.

In his speech, Ameerul Azeem demanded all illegal actions initiated against the Geo/Jang Group be stopped immediately, saying that the media house is the pride of Pakistan. He said Geo and Jang are the voice of millions of Pakistanis and efforts were underway to malign their favourite channel and newspapers which is highly condemnable.

Shahida Jabeen said by discrediting the Geo/Jang Group through such malicious campaigns, some forces want to again impose martial law in the country by throwing out hard-earned democracy. She also asked her leadership to throw persons like Israr Abbassi and Mian Shams out of the PPP as they were dancing to someone else’s tune while sitting in the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra).

Nisar Safdar Advocate and Iftikhar Shahid Advocate said religious elements are being used by some quarters to settle scores with Geo and Jang as this media house always stood against the high and mighty of the country. He said the media along with the lawyers’ community fought for the independence of the judiciary and now the lawyers will support the media in their fight for freedom and justice.

A representative of the Baloch Ittehad said that it was Geo and Jang alone which highlighted and raised the issues of Balochistan. He said the Baloch nation stands with the workers of the Geo/Jang Group in their fight for truth and freedom.

Abdullah Malik said Geo and Jang always promoted truth, harmony, equality, rule of law in the country. He said damaging this largest media organisation of the country means damaging democracy as every one knows that the independent media would not allow any unconstitutional act in the country again. He said all other channels and media houses should learn some lessons from the management of Geo/Jang Group as they accepted suffering a huge loss in the past one month or so but they never surrendered their freedom to the ‘angels’. He demanded that the government should intervene by finding a solution to the whole mess, otherwise things may go from bad to worse.

Meanwhile, the governing body of the Lahore Press Club on Saturday held its meeting with the chair of LPC President Arshad Ansari and expressed their serious concerns over the ban/suspension of Geo TV across the country.

In a statement issued here, the members of the governing body, while terming the ban on Geo as the economic murder of thousands of employees of the largest media house, said that such action against the Geo/Jang Group on any pretext would not be acceptable to the journalists’ community. “We will not let anyone ban/suspend any channel or media house of the country. If such actions were initiated against any group, the whole community would resist the move with full force,” they said.

The participants of the meeting asked the cable operators to restore Geo TV’s transmission throughout the country otherwise protest rallies would be taken out in all parts of the country.

Besides Arshad Ansari, LPC Secretary Shahbaz Mian, Afzal Talib, Farzana Ch, Asif Ch, Zahid Rafique Bhatti, Qamar Zaman Bhatti, Rizwan Khalid, Khwaja Naseer, Mehboob Ahmed, Imran Sheikh and Bilal Ghauri participated in the meeting.

The News

Islamabad: At a seminar on media ethics and court reporting, senior journalists and lawyers agreed that there was urgent need to abide by the professional norms by media, lawyers and other professionals in fulfilment of national imperatives.

Islamabad High Court Bar Association organised the seminar in collaboration with Press Council of Pakistan (PCP) Raja Shafqat Khan Abbasi reviewed media situation in terms of professional norms and common man’s interests.

Chairman, Press Council of Pakistan, Raja Shafqat Abbasi speaking on the occasion, said that Press and lawyers has played a great role for restoration of judiciary, in strengthening the democracy and rule of law in the country. Court reporters are vital part of judicial system who need extra care and caution. He urged the media persons that while reporting, principles of fairness, accuracy, impartiality, right of privacy and verification should be maintained. He said that sensationalism, encouragement of violence or terrorism should find no place in journalism. He said that credit goes to parliament which reviewed the 73 constitution in its full spirit and framed Article 10-A relating to right of access to information and fair trial. He appreciated the initiative of Pakistan Bar Council in signing MOU with PCP. In case of any threat from any quarter to a media person or Press, the legal fraternity will provide legal assistance to them.

Abbasi said Pakistan can take pride in its free media. “Media has achieved freedom strength and prestige as a result of strenuous efforts and sacrifices”, he observed adding that now was the time to move towards maturity and professional ethics so that media could keep its rise and avoid decline. He said people have right of access to information through media. “This is how institutions become transparent and are subjected to accountability”, he said.

President, Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors, Chie Editor daily ‘Jinnah’ in his address at the seminar touched on various pressing issues relating to media practices. He focused on media development in historical perspective but lamented that there were some signs of decline also. He stressed the need to stem the tide of decline in media by promoting objectively fairness and balance in reporting. He proposed that as Bar and Bench jointly work for administration of justice, so must do Bar and Media for promoting fair court reporting and cause of justice.

Hanif Khalid, Resident Editor daily Jung, said, media in Pakistan could learn from their counterpart in the advanced countries of the world. He said the lawyers should brief reporters on cases of public interest.

Asad Malik, President Islamabad High Court Press Association said the media has gained more importance in the society in the wake of judicial activism. “It is now for media to highlight cases of national importance being taken up by our superior judiciary without losing professional balance”, he observed.

President, Islamabad High Court Bar Association, Dr Syed Anwar Shah made a brief mention of the media concept of ‘Free Market of Ideas’ and the rival concept based on need for regulated media. He said the first concept was preferable but within the framework of professional ethics. He was sure that Pakistani media would preserve its freedom and mature with the passage of time.

Secretary General, Islamabad High Court Bar Association Chaudhry Junaid Akhtar Chohan thanked the participants and assured the journalists of cooperation by lawyers in court reporting.

Pakistan Press Foundation