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issue Bara clash Taal Matol border No right to
know IRIPPLE EFFECT
Only two months ago,
Anayatullah, a 70 year old farmer of Jalal Balagan village in the Wazirabad
tehsil of Gujranwala district, was a proud owner of nine acres of fertile
agricultural land. This land But in two months everything changed. In January this year, he found it hard to resist his son's offer to sell his land and invest money with 'Pir Double Shah'. By then he himself had witnessed many people becoming millionaires in a matter of months. He invested Rs3.2 million with the famous Shah of Wazirabad, a town just 15 kilometres away from his village on February 22. He was supposed to to get Rs6.4 million on May 4, 2007 (after 71 days). Anayatullah may never be able to get back even the original amount. On April 13 Gujranwala police, with collaboration of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Punjab wing and intelligence agencies, arrested Pir Double Shah -- under different charges of dacoity, fraud and running a parallel banking system. Anayatullah tells TNS there were around 75 tractors in his village one year ago. "Now there are no more than 15 while the owners have sold the rest to invest money with Shah." The story is true for almost everywhere in Gujranwala Division (that consists of Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin districts). Thousands of people have invested billions of rupees during the last one and a half year with Shah, because he promised to double the amount of the original sum given to him in 71 days. His business saw a massive increase during the last six months because of the reputation that he had by then built. He has delivered the promised amount to every single investor.
Syed Sibtul Hasan Shah, a resident of Pak Town in Wazirabad town of Gujranwala district, became known as a private investor a year and a half back who would 'double' whatever sum was invested with him within 70 days. Hence the name 'Pir Double Shah' by the residents. A science teacher at Government High School, Nizamabad Wazirabad, Shah was known not only as a hardworking teacher but as a humble and noble human being. In December 2004, he took leave from his job and went to Dubai. He stayed there for around six months and upon his return in June 2005, quit his job and started this business. 35 year old Muhammad Shahid, a resident of the same locality, says: "The justification Shah gave for this business was that he wanted to help the poor." Initially he used to take only 15 days to double people's money. As as the business grew, the number of days first increased to 30 and then 71. In the first phase he approached his colleagues and neighbours. The first person to trust him was his 'next-door neighbour', followed by many of Shah's colleagues. They all got their investments doubled in 15 days. Most of them then started working as his agents. He gave them 5 to 10 per cent commission on every new investment they brought. Many of his close relatives and agents also opened sub-offices in different areas. "He is said to to have made transactions of around Rs40 billion," Shahid says. According to Chauhdry Ijaz Samma, PPPP MPA from Wazirabad, almost eight months ago he gave an application to the Law Minister, requesting him to stop Double Shah's activities but no action was taken against him. He says NAB should set up a sub-office in Wazirabad to resolve the issue "as people in this region will not be able to go Lahore again and again." Samma says a new business has started in the area where many influentials are now offering Shah's clients 50 percent of their deposits in return for Shah's slips. They hope to get the original amount from NAB at a future date. Gujranwala City Police Chief, DIG Khadim Hussain Bhatti, says at present he is not able to confirm the amount of transactions made by Shah. "I am sure the amount will be in billions while the number of affectees will also be in thousands," he tells TNS. He says that 20 bank accounts of the accused containing Rs250 million have been frozen. "He owns six hotels and many apartments in Dubai, three fuel stations and real estate agencies in Wazirabad," he says. According to him Rs20 million are needed to set up a CNG station but it is impossible to earn more than 0.2 million a month from it. Same is the case with hotels or apartments. "He was not doing any business but was only giving people's money back to them. The people who were depositing money were more in number than those who withdrew it." Bhatti says his assets will be sold to make payments to thousands of depositors. His property in Dubai will also be confiscated with the help of Interpol and the money will be returned to the people. The police and other agencies are also planning to investigate the people who got huge returns because he gave it to them from other people's money, he says. Responding to a question as to why people protested against his arrest, he says that 80 per cent of families in Wazirabad are associated with his business. They had either invested with him or worked as his agents. "We have strong evidences that Double Shah's agents motivated people for protesting violently against his arrest," he says. So far more than 700 claims of over Rs20 million have been submitted in Ghakhar police station against him, he says. Police and other government officials think it is the duty of Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) to check such activities and the police cannot intervene unless it receives a written complaint. Munawar Bhatti, joint registrar at the SECP, does not agree and says the commission can only investigate business activities "of companies, firms or financial institutions that are registered with it". Double Shah's daughter Sameena Gillani still believes her father has not committed any fraud. "There is not even a single person who can claim that my father did not give him/her the promised amount on the given date," she tells TNS. Shah himself claims that if the police released him, he was ready to return every penny to the people. Officials, meanwhile, are not willing to budge. No business can double the investment in 70 days is their belief. NAB Punjab deputy director S.M. Hasnain, who is incharge of this case, tells TNS that Shah was about to leave the country with his family. "During the raid we recovered three passports of his with different names. We have also found that Double Shah sent Rs1 billion to Dubai through different money exchangers and he also bought six hotels and many apartments there in the last three months." So far Rs2 billion have been recovered from him and his agents in the shape of bank balances and properties and around 300 new investors were coming to him every day, he says. On April 13, the day he was arrested, he had accumulated Rs17.5 million (the amount recovered from his house during the raid) in a matter of just two hours -- from 9 to 11am. NAB deputy director says no government agency has stopped his family to return people's amount to them. "If they are so honest they should start giving money back." The only business Sarfraz Bhatti, owner of FS Candino, a leather goods factory in Sialkot confirms that most of the business activities were facing different pressures due to Shah's business. During the last one year more than 100 labourers left the factory because they had invested all of their savings with 'Pir Double Shah' and were getting huge returns. "90 per cent of them have lost their original amount because they kept investing the already doubled amount," he says. Now some of them have returned to the factory. Real estate business was the among worst-hit. Muhammad Ashraf, a real estate agent in Sialkot, tells TNS that during the last one year, the real estate business saw a huge slump. "The property prices in Sialkot and Gujranwala came down immensely but still no one was interested in purchasing property. Most of the people wanted to sell their property in order to invest with 'Double Shah' and they were ready to sell it even on 20 to 30 per cent less than the market rate." In Wazirabad alone, prices of property have fallen to 50 per cent in just one year, he says. The banking sector was adversely affected. National Bank's regional business chief, Sialkot region, Shahid Iqbal Dar tells TNS that during the last one and half year his bank has faced a lot of problems. "The money withdrawal rate during the last one year was massive while number of people who benefited from the bank's gold loan scheme, an agriculture loan given against gold ornaments, also increased manifold." The same formula cannot be applied on all banks and that two private banks facilitated 'Double Shah' a lot, he says. "Their deposits during the last one year have increased manifold." Some banks opened new branches just to facilitate Shah. Another official of National Bank, on condition of anonymity, tells TNS that of the ten branches of National Bank in Daska and Sambrial tehsils, none has achieved its deposit targets during the last year. "In some branches the deposit rate declined by more than 20 per cent while withdrawal rate increased by 50 per cent. To achieve our targets we were forced to borrow money from other banks last year." --
A. Sahi Tribal areas are under the threat of violence, the latest in the series is Bara in Khyber agency By Javed Aziz Khan In the fresh violence in
Bara sub division of Khyber Agency, security forces opened fire on The students followed by armed militants of the Lashkar-e-Islam then moved towards the house and property of the exiled Pir Saifur Rahman, leader of a rival religious outfit, either to damage or occupy it. The mob of over 1,000 people had to run for cover when firing started suddenly outside the house of the brother of Pir Saifur Rahman. Nobody knew as to who opened the fire but locals were of the view that law enforcers already positioned inside the house took the initiative to disperse the mob. "This was inhuman. They fired mortar shells to kill innocent youngsters. We did not want a clash with the administration," remarked a senior Lashkar-e-Islam leader, Misri Khan, who also hinted at protesting outside the Parliament House in Islamabad against the killing. Member of the National Assembly from the area, Maulana Khalilur Rahman, was also angry and concerned over the killing of youngsters, proposing to use teargas shells and water cannons to disperse the demonstrators in the future even in the worst of situation. The MNA, according to some reports, has also announced boycotting the National Assembly session until the situation in Bara improves. On the other hand the administration alleged that the militants associated with Lashkar-e-Islam were using children as human shields and they were being controlled from behind. "They had torched five checkposts of law enforcers as well as houses of four members of the rival group a day before the incident. They also damaged public and private property and injured six persons, including a major and a tehsildar," remarked the top security officer for FATA, Arbab Mohammad Arif. The Secretary Security FATA added: "The men of the Lashkar had challenged the writ of the government by bringing out people on the roads. Those who would take the law into their hands would be dealt strictly." The situation in Bara remained tense for several days as the paramilitary forces started patrolling parts of the town. Pakhtuns all over the world are concerned over the situation in the entire belt for the past many years. "Today Pakistan needs democracy while Pakhtuns are fighting for their survival," remarked provincial general secretary of the Awami National Party, Mian Iftikhar Hussain. "We are not being allowed to launch a Pashto TV Channel and a magazine but on the other hand why are illegal FM radio stations allowed in FATA and NWFP?" another Pakhtun nationalist leader and provincial president of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Mukhtar Khan Yusufzai, posed a question. He was concerned over the law and order across the Pakhtun belt, asking the government to take adequate steps for ensuring peace in the region. The Bara sub division of the tribal Khyber Agency, just bordering the provincial metropolis, has always been a hub of religious outfits. One of these groups, Tanzim Ittehadul Ulema Bara headed by Maulana Abdul Hadi, had established a parallel administration in the area with setting up its own private prisons and private courts called jirgas. Though the organisation had improved the law and order situation in Bara, the silence kept by the political authorities over such acts encouraged the religious groups to the extent that they set up their own illegal FM radio stations through which they propagated against rival groups. Pir Saifur Rahman, an Afghan refugee who was settled in Bara was the first one who introduced FM radio channel for delivering his sermons. A leader from his rival sect, Mufti Munir Shakir, established his own FM radio station to counter the propaganda by the Pir as both the groups had some differences with the ideology of each other. The two started to offend rivals by delivering provoking sermons through their radio stations and earned sympathies of thousands. This led to a division of the tribesmen of Khyber Agency as a large part of population announced support to Pir while the rest backed Mufti. The government had to expel both the leaders after they proved to be a serious threat to the law and order in Khyber. Pir Saifur Rahman is now settled somewhere near Lahore while Mufti is said to be behind the bars. The expulsion of the two leaders, however, did nothing to improve the situation. A deputy of Mufti Munir Shakir, Mangal Bagh, took over Lashkar-e-Islam while another group was emerged with the name of Ansarul Islam. Clashes between people from both sides had been going on for the past one and half year and the death toll in these sectarian clashes have crossed the figure of 300. On many occasions the Lashkar-e-Islam men attempted to enter the settled part of Peshawar in pretext of protest but the law enforcing agencies foiled these attempts on every occasion. The killing is still going on and nobody knows as to why the government is reluctant to take action against the extremists even in this worst situation.
By Shoaib Hashmi I have been sent a gift - of books. They have come from a bunch of young booksellers who have become valued friends, and I wasn't home when they came calling, but I drooled over them for hours because one is a large tome, inches thick, of the complete works of Shakespeare, and the other is an equally large book of history, and they look lovely on my shelf, and the first thought that came to mind was, "Does their dad know they are giving away the family merchandise to their friends for free"? But seriously, by now you must have guessed that the bookshop is the newest establishment in town, right on Main Boulevard and called 'Readings'; which is also the newest 'Old Fashioned' shop in town. Because their declared purpose is to bring back the old reading habit and they are prepared to do anything to achieve it. I think it needs saying that a book shop is different from other shops, a fact that has been known to some for being the most wonderful places on earth. In the largest chain bookstores in America, 'Barnes & Noble' and 'Border Books' there is always a coffee shop on the premises where you can get your crumpets and coffee, and just sit and read away for hours. They also have sofas strewn round among the bookshelves, and retirees living nearby often come to spend the whole day there. There used to be a wonderful shop in Paris -- I hope it is still there -- called 'The Shakespeare Bookshop' whose speciality was that in the middle of a chauvinistic France, it sold English books. And that was not all. They eyed you out of the corners of their eyes, and if they judged that you were a reader and not just a tourist, they would send round a platter of smelly French cheese and crackers, and a cup of good English tea. We even found one in Highgate in London. It was a second-hand bookshop full of crumbling old tomes with a crumbling old gentleman sitting smoking and reading, and sending us tea and biscuits, and it was even more quaint; because when we wanted to buy a book, he just smiled and shook his head. The books were not reeeaaly for sale! He had spent fifty years on a plantation in South America, and these were all his own books. When he retired he brought them home, and now he just liked to sit around pretending to be selling books! Actually there used to be a bookshop in Lahore also. It was called 'Ideal Books' and it sat on the corner of the Mall and Anarkali. They had lush sofas upholstered in green leather for readers, with green shaded reading lamps screwed to the back, and if they found out you were reading a book, which you didn't want to buy or couldn't, they would not sell it until you had finished with it. Once when they sold a book Safdar Mir was reading, he raised a fuss, and they apologised and promised to get a replacement asap! I remember when we were young in school, and we got a birthday present, or won a prize in school, and it was a book we used to not like it. We were young and dumb and we didn't want books. We wanted baubles. No matter, the ones I have are baubles too and most welcome! Filtered praiseNato military commanders in Afghanistan have been generally appreciative of Pakistan's crucial role in stabilising the region. Hence the recent heaps of praise By Rahimullah Yusufzai While military officers on the ground and in board-rooms
in western capitals are aware of the Pakistan Army's role in tackling al-Qaeda
and Taliban fighters intending to harm US and Nato troops, their President General Pervez Musharraf and his aides have been arguing that the US and other Western governments with troops in Afghanistan were aware of Pakistan's critical contribution in the so-called war on terror and were, therefore, refraining from criticising Islamabad publicly. They also point to the approving statements that are made by US and Nato military commanders from time to time as an evidence that Pakistan was doing more than enough in the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. One such Nato military commander recently visited Pakistan. General Raymond Henault, chairman of Nato military committee, was the highest ranking military officer of the organisation, to pay a visit to Pakistan. As usual, he got an audience with President General Musharraf and also met other ranking military officers. He praised Pakistan's role in stabilising the border areas with Afghanistan and expressed satisfaction over cooperation between Nato and Pakistan Army. Obviously, he would like more cooperation and coordination to facilitate Nato's job in southwestern Afghanistan, where the British, Canadian and Dutch troops along with the US Army are facing more frequent and lethal Taliban attacks. In the past Nato military commanders in Afghanistan have been generally appreciative of Pakistan's crucial role in stabilising the region. Lt Gen David Richards, the British commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan who relinquished charge some months ago, frequently highlighted and praised Pakistan's role in tackling the al-Qaeda and Taliban and checking infiltration of fighters across the long and porous border. He never publicly criticised Pakistan and played down divisive issues. Once he stepped down, he admitted having differences over strategy with the US military commanders in Afghanistan. Unlike his holistic approach to the problem that called for winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people and concluding local peace agreements like the one he concluded with tribal elders in Musa Qala district of Helmand province to secure withdrawal and then gradual isolation of Taliban fighters, the American generals reportedly didn't want any peaceful overtures that gave the impression of giving in to the Taliban. They apparently favoured defeating the Taliban militarily or forcing them to surrender unconditionally to them and accepting the legitimacy of the beleaguered government of President Hamid Karzai. It was, therefore, hardly surprising that the Musa Qala peace accord collapsed soon after the departure of Lt Gen David Richards and his replacement as Nato military commander in Afghanistan by an American, Lt Gen Dan McNeill. Though Musa Qala is still under Taliban control, the Nato forces under its new commander have launched fresh offensives to retake the Sangin district and secure the area around the Kajaki dam on the river Helmand for undertaking expansion and repair work on the hydel project. The new aggressive tactics don't seem to have paid off because Nato forces continue to face daily attacks and more than 40 foreign soldiers have lost their lives since January this year. The Nato forces, totalling 35,000 and still short of the required minimum strength by 2,500, have been unable to enhance security in the southern provinces or win over the skeptic Pashtun population. For Pakistan, the recent statement of Brigadier General Joseph Votel, deputy commanding general for operations of the US Army, in Washington, was also good news. At a special briefing for the media, he said that since January 2007 there had been decease in the number of incidents along the Pak-Afghan border due to the close tactical cooperation and communication between the armies of the two countries in the borderlands. He listed three things that had been promoted to achieve further decrease in incidents along the border and stop infiltration of fighters from Pakistan into Afghanistan. One of these things was more frequent communication between the tactical headquarters of the US and Pakistan armies sited on both sides of the border. Secondly, identifying infiltration routes and working closely with Pakistani military to plug vulnerable crossing points on the Durand Line. Thirdly, increasing military cooperation between the US and Pakistani military authorities through timely information about operations taking place on both sides of the border and undertaking combined patrolling to interdict unwanted elements trying to cross the Durand Line. Admiral William Fallon, head of the Central Command (Centcom), was effusive in his praise of President General Musharraf during a recent congressional hearing for lawmakers in Washington. Reminding his audience that General Musharraf had moved two brigades of his forces from the border with India to the western frontier with Afghanistan, he said it was a significant move given Islamabad's strained relations with New Delhi. He praised President Musharraf for his efforts in the ongoing 'war on terror' and disclosed that he had got an assurance from the General to offer assistance to the US Army in specific situations. He didn't elaborate the term specific situations but earlier in his briefing he had said that his forces would do everything to get to Osama bin Laden even though they didn't have permission to enter Waziristan or rest of FATA. In other words, it meant the US would not wait for formal permission to strike inside Pakistan once it received intelligence that bin Laden was holed up in the Pakistani tribal areas or elsewhere in the country. It will not be surprising if the US did something like this considering the several missile strikes that it undertook in South Waziristan, North Waziristan and Bajaur tribal agencies during 2004-2006 to eliminate suspected al-Qaeda members and those harbouring them. No right to knowThe recent Pemra notice to Aaj Television has been condemned widely by media organisations, lawyers' bodies, human rights organisations, politicians and others By Shahzada Irfan Ahmed The Sindh High Court on Wednesday suspended, till the
next date of hearing, May 15, 2007, the show cause notice issued by Pakistan
Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) to Aaj Earlier, on April 23, 2007, the Sindh Region office of Pemra had served a notice on M/s Recorder Television Network (Pvt.) Ltd, the parent organisation of Aaj TV, for breaching the code of conduct devised by Pemra. The authority had sought an explanation from the chief executive officer of the television channel in person within three days to avoid legal action. The frustration of the government over the judicial crisis and its failure to prevent its embarrassing coverage on the electronic media must have been responsible for this 'drastic' measure last week. The notice was served soon after the channel had given live coverage to the address of the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry to Peshawar High Court Bar Association. The charge levelled against the organisation was that it had violated the below stated clauses of Pemra Code of Conduct formulated under Section 24 of Pemra Rules 2002. The notice said that Aaj TV had shown objectionable content while the code says that (1) No programme shall be aired which: (e) is likely to encourage and incite violence or contains anything against maintenance of law and order or which promotes anti-national or anti-state attitudes, (f) contains anything amounting to contempt of court, (g) contains aspersions against the Judiciary and integrity of the Armed Forces of Pakistan. (h) maligns or slanders any individual in person or certain groups, segments of social, public and moral life of the country. The Pemra notice also held Aaj TV for having shown "News, Views, Talk shows & other similar programmes on the issue pending before the Supreme Judicial Council of Pakistan." This act on the part of Pemra was condemned widely by media organisations, lawyers' bodies, human rights organisations, politicians and others. All of them demanded Pemra to withdraw this notice and refrain from depriving the masses from their right to know the truth. While Pemra remained unmoved, came the suspension order by the Sindh High Court. Pemra notice also mentioned that Aaj TV had failed to produce NOC from external publicity wing, ministry of information and broadcasting, Islamabad which is required for the processing of short term up-linking license under the rules of Pemra Ordinance, 2002. In an unexpected move, the said ministry also granted the required NOC the same day. Though it appears that Aaj TV has survived this 'assault' on media freedom, rights organisations have increased the pressure on the government to preempt such acts in future. Media Commission Pakistan Chairman I A Rehman has termed the charges mentioned in the impugned notice 'vague and meaningless.' In a statement issued to the media, he says there is nothing on record to show that the Supreme Judicial Council has handed over any brief or its punitive powers to Pemra. "Much is going on in the country that is related to the ongoing crisis and its reporting or comments on it does not fall in the definition of proceeding before the Supreme Judicial Council," reads the press release. Rehman says that it's quite obvious from the act that the regime is trying to prevent the media from performing its duty to keep the people informed. Syed Talat Hussain, Director Aaj Television, News and Current Affairs tells TNS that it's a pity that Director General Enforcement who is otherwise a serving police officer, inducted into Pemra, is going to decide what's in national interest and what's not. He says people are very well aware of their rights and don't need to be told by Grade 17 government officers that a particular thing can harm their country's integrity. Talat says Aaj TV had been receiving warnings earlier as well. "We tried to sustain this ever-increasing pressure for long but you know there's a limit to everything." He says his organisation had been telling the truth to the masses and would continue to do so. "No Act, law or code of conduct can deprive the citizens of Pakistan of their fundamental rights granted to them in the constitution." "The suspension of Pemra notice by the Sindh High Court and the granting of the long-awaited No Objection Certificate (NOC) by the External Publicity Wing of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to Aaj TV are developments that have vindicated our stance and proved Pemra charges wrong," adds Talat. President Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Munir A Malik tells TNS that under the constitution, all laws inconsistent with or in derogation of fundamental rights are void. He terms Pemra action violative of the right to freedom of speech. Munir says that under Article 19 of the Constitution "Every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, and there shall be freedom of the press, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, (commission of) or incitement to an offence." "Everyone knows that Aaj TV programmes and live telecast of Chief Justice's address have not jeapordised the interest of any of the abovementioned entities. That's why the Sindh High Court has suspended the notice," says Malik. TNS tried to contact Pemra authorities to get their version on the issue but they were unavailable for comments. Their view was that Pemra could neither do nor say anything on the issue as the matter was sub judice. RIPPLE EFFECTGag order By Omar R. Quraishi First it was Geo, which was actually attacked by a police posse. The government had quickly ordered an inquiry but nothing really came of it except the rather unbelievable conclusion that a police inspector who had led the attack on the offices of the TV channel was prime mover of that appalling incident. Now this seems unbelievable because how could so many policemen attack a TV channel's office, situated a stone's throw from parliament, the presidency and the prime minister's secretariat. Now the government seems to have turned its guns, so to speak, on Karachi-based Aaj TV. It has been issued a notice that its licence may be threatened since it has not obtained a so-called 'no-objection certificate' from the ministry of information's external wing given that its current licence was for only a three-month period. Pemra's notice of April 23, 2007 to the TV channel also brings in another warning, that related to content. It relies on Clause 18, sub clause I of its Rules which says: "The Authority, or an officer so authorized by the Authority, may, giving reasons in writing, prohibit any broadcaster from broadcasting or re-broadcasting any programme, if the Authority, or as the case may be the officer, is of the opinion that such particular programme is likely to create hatred among the people or is prejudicial to the maintenance of law and order or is likely to disturb peace and tranquility or endangers national security or is violative of the terms and conditions of the licence." The notice itself to the TV channel, however, is vague and ambiguous. It talks about not a particular programme or broadcast but uses the very general (and possibly grammatically incorrect) phrase 'the programme' in issuing the warning to the TV channel for bringing the country's judiciary and armed forces into disrepute. All of this amounts to nothing but gagging of the independent media, particularly TV channels since they tend to have a much wider reach than newspapers (not that the latter haven't been targeted and harassed either). The information minister was asked to respond to this notice while entering parliament earlier this week and rather smugly said that the law was for everyone to follow and if people didn't follow it there would be chaos. For the sake of argument, even if the government's position is taken at face value, the timing of the notice is such that any sensible and rational person will think that it has more to do with the electronic media's coverage of the crisis arising out of the government's act of making the chief justice of Pakistan 'non-functional' and the president's filing (on the advice of the prime minister) of a reference against him with the Supreme Judicial Council for misconduct and asking that he be removed from his office. If the grapevine is to be believed, the government is upset with this particular TV channel for its coverage of the chief justice's road trip to Peshawar and his subsequent address there. The notice, though sent to one organization, then serves as a warning to all others to desist from covering the judicial crisis or else face similar problems. Such an approach unfortunately is quite out of synch with reality and the contemporary world. Mandarins sitting in the ministry of information and the electronic media regulator need to understand that the whole process of gathering and dissemination of information has undergone a revolutionary change (may seem like a cliche but it really is true) with the result that it is next to impossible to contain and control information in the traditional ways such as placing prohibitions on media organisations or censoring their content. The end result, almost always, is that the government that involves itself in such censorship usually ends up eating its words, and at the same time suffers a battering of its image, both domestically as well as on the international stage. The electronic and print media is only carrying out its job when it shows its audience and tells its readers what is happening in and outside the country with some degree of accuracy and truth. To do so otherwise would in fact be not only unprofessional and ethically dishonest, it would be downright criminal because it would mislead the general public into imagining a 'perceived reality' that was not grounded in real life events. There's a reason why people switched off from watching 'khabarnama' on PTV a long time ago, as soon as alternatives became available. Surely, it cannot be all that difficult for the information ministry to figure out why. As for Pemra, its website says that its mandate is to "improve the standards of information, education and entertainment and to enlarge the choice available to the people of Pakistan". It would be good if it expended its energies and efforts on furthering these otherwise noble goals instead of harassing and muzzling the electronic media. The writer is Op-ed Pages Editor of The News. Email: omarq@cyber.net.pk |
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was his family's only mean of income.
There
are many in the area who have earned millions out of nothing from this
business, including Muhammad Ramzan, a 50 year old farmer of Kowloki village
in district Sialkot. He invested Rs125,000 with Shah in December 2005, and in
one year earned more than Rs2 million.
demonstrators associated with a religious extremist group, Lashkar-e-Islam,
killing five persons and injuring a dozen others. Three of those killed in
the firing were young schoolboys below the age of 13. They had preferred to
attend a jirga called by leader of Lashkar-e-Islam, Mangal Bagh, at Mandi Kas
area instead of going to schools on that particular day as directed by the
commander.
politicians and media continue to heap scorn on Islamabad. There is still
constant criticism of Pakistan for not doing enough to uproot Taliban
hideouts in Balochistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)
and stopping their movement across the Durand Line border.
Television. This saved the organisation from filing a reply within three days
of the issuance of the notice as well as ensuring personal appearance of its
CEO at Pemra office.