KARACHI: A free press may be biased or unbiased but a press which is not free can never be unbiased, said Dr Riaz Shaikh, the dean of faculty of social sciences at the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (Szabist).<\/p>\n
He was addressing the launch of Dr Tauseef Ahmed Khan\u2019s thesis-turned-book at the Karachi Press Club on Friday. Shaikh said that the book, titled \u2018Azaadi-e-Sahafat ki jiddo jehad, akhbari tanzeemon ka kirdar\u2019 (Struggle for the Freedom of Press and the Role of Newspaper Organisations), focuses on the struggles for press freedom in different eras.<\/p>\n
\u201cKhan\u2019s book is an addition to Urdu literature and Urdu journalism in Pakistan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
According to Shaikh the book is a comparative study of the four different unions of journalists in Pakistan. He said that a close study of the book helps one understand the differences in the motives of the All Pakistan Newspaper Society (APNS), Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE), Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and All Pakistan Newspapers Employees Confederation (APNEC).<\/p>\n
\u201cActually, the book is the ideological debate on the civil and military rule that defines the roles of these unions in each era,\u201d he said. \u201cIt shows how the APNS and CPNE have only worked for the freedom of press in civilian governments. In contrast, APNEC and PFUJ have been working for the sake of press freedom since their inception regardless of a military regime or a civilian government.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking about his book, Khan said that it is a reflection of late journalist Zamir Niazi\u2019s work on the travails of press in Pakistan. \u201cNiazi did the real work, I have just carried forward his research work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The former president of PFUJ, Mazhar Abbas, shed light on the current role of the PFUJ. According to him, the union\u2019s motives are not pure and have been affected by vested interests. He said that earlier the struggle of PFUJ was focused on journalists. \u201cNow, PFUJ fights for media houses, not journalists,\u201d he claimed. He said that the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) and the APNS could never be on the same page because of a clash of interest.<\/p>\n
\u201cKhan\u2019s book has painted a perfect picture of the role of the journalists\u2019 bodies for those who have not actually seen the era of real struggle,\u201d said Abbas, hinting towards the era of military dictators Gen Ayub Khan and Gen Ziaul Haq. \u201cHowever, the book does not provide a current picture of the unions\u2019 role and research should be done in this regard, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology (Fuuast) professor Dr Seemi Naghmana, Khan had summarised all the struggles for the freedom of press in precise fashion. \u201cHe has remained neutral while discussing their roles,\u201d she said. Shaikh said that while the pen is mightier than the sword, the book narrates a different story. \u201cFeudalists hijack the pen by hiring journalists, nourishing them and then controlling their entire discourse,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd this book gives a picture-perfect reflection of those who have fought against such feudalists.\u201d<\/p>\n