NEWS
FILE SIX
Frontier Post tribunal
findings made public
Business Recorder - March
10, 2001
By
IQBAL KHATTAK
PESHAWAR :
The one-man
judicial tribunal on Friday described the publication of a 'blasphemous'
letter in the February 29,2001, issue of the Frontier Post as the result
of a "sheer negligence, rather personal negligence" on the part
of some staffers of the daily.
Justice Qaim Jan Khan of the Peshawar High Court, who led the tribunal
formed last month to probe the matter, also cited the "crippled
financial position plus lack of professionalism and efficiency plus sheer
negligence in the management of the daily" as reasons for poor
working conditions in the paper.
A press note released by the provincial government quoted the findings as
saying: "The statements of various IWs (inquiry witnesses) of the
daily clearly show that there was mismanagement in the newspaper and a
single individual had to perform the duties of five to six persons."
However, the government did not provide the media with detailed findings
of the tribunal. "We have not been ordered to release full contents
of the findings," an official at Information Department said.
The Judge observed: "It is very much astonishing that a man like
Munawwar Mohsin (in charge of editorial pages of the daily) who had never
worked on the Editorial Page(s), admittedly the most important page(s),
was made to sit on the said desk/page."
Munawwar Mohsin mainly worked on Afghan Page and "is admittedly a
drug addict" for the last 10 years, the tribunal's findings said.
"He (Munawwar) was discharged from the Government Mental Hospital,
Peshawar, rather he himself ran away from a ward a couple of days before
the publication of the said blasphemous letter," the judge added.
"Sub-editor, managing editor, news editor and composer were
responsible for the publication of the impugned letter," the findings
said.
The findings went on to add that the incident "took place due to
sheer negligence, rather personal negligence of the sub-editor as well as
the general negligence of the other staff such as composer, news editor
and last of all the managing editor."
In his recommendations to improve working conditions in the sealed daily
The Frontier Post, Justice Qaim Jan recommended "implementation of
Seventh Wage Board Award." He also suggested formation of a
"Press Council to act as a bridge between the employers and the
employees and between the pressmen and the government."
The provincial government had sealed the head office and printing press of
The Frontier Post on February 29 till "further orders." The
district administration is also refusing protection and security to the
newspaper's management to resume publication of Urdu-language daily Maidan,
a sister publication of the Frontier Post.
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India refuses visa to a Pakistani journalist on Annan trip
APP - March 7, 2001
United
Nations: The Indian consular authorities in New York are refusing to grant
a visa to a Pakistani newsman who is one of four chosen to accompany the
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on his South
Asian trip Friday. in his special UN plane.
Zahid Ghani, correspondent of the Pakistani agency NNI who is accredited
to the United Nations and is a member of the UN Correspondents
Association, was the only South Asian journalist nominated by the
Secretary General office to accompany him to India, Pakistan and
Bangladesh in his special UN aircraft. However, the Indian consulate in
New York Wednesday returned his passport saying that it was awaiting
clearance from New Delhi. Privately, an Indian source said, Since there is
no Indian
newsman accompanying the Secretary General, there is little question of
facilitating a Pakistani to make the trip.
Ghani, however, has not given up and was due to meet the Indian permanent
representative at the UN to protest the attitude of the Indian consulate
and to urge him for the grant of a visa. The UN information authorities
are also expected to take up the matter with the Indian mission.
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Pakistan Supreme Court warns against media comments on sub judice
matters
Business Recorder - March 16, 2001
ISLAMABAD
: The Supreme Court has warned the newspapers against publishing
comments on cases pending before the judiciary otherwise they would
attract action.
The warning was given by Justice Muhammad Bashir Jahangiri, who heads
a seven member special bench that is hearing into the appeals of
former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and her husband and former
minister, Asif Ali Zardari.
The Judge regretted that an English language daily from Lahore had
published an article from a contributor commenting on the nature of
charges against her and hoping against her winning the appeal.
The article was brought to the notice of the Bench by the former prime
minister's counsel, Raja M. Anwar saying it could influence opinions
against his client.
After a cursory look at the article and its caption, Justice Jahangiri
turned to his right, where some journalists were seated, waved the
newspaper in the air, and said it was regrettable. He said he had not
gone through the contents as he and his colleagues did not wish to get
influenced from outside opinion.
But he warned that that the Bench expected a better performance from
newspapers and expected they will avoid commenting on the sub judice
matters.
Then addressing the lawyers representing the couple, he said the Court
did not wish to take suo motu cognisance of the writing, but would
consider if the aggrieved persons moved an application.
Raja Anwar, however, said that he did not wish to lodge a formal
complaint but just wanted to draw the attention of the judges to such
writings.
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Karachi journalist expires in Lahore
Business Recorder - March 18, 2001
LAHORE
: M.A. Ansari, a sports reporter of Daily Express, Karachi, died here
on Saturday of high fever.
M.A. Ansari had come to Lahore for the coverage of the 20th National
Games.
Director General, Public Relations, Punjab, Khwaja Tahir Jamil, has
expressed profound grief and sorrow over his demise.
The Organising Secretary, National Games, Idrees Hyder Khwaja, made
arrangements for the body to be flown to Karachi on Saturday night.
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Privatisation of electronic media planned
APP - March 18, 2001
ISLAMABAD
: The government plans to move towards privatisation of the electronic
media and private radio and television channels will start working all
over the country, said ISPR DG Major General Rashid Qureshi.
In an interview to BBC radio on Saturday, he stated that the
government intended to gradually move towards freedom of the
electronic media.
As a first step, the news and current affairs programmes have
independently started projecting different point of views, he
said.
While on the next step within two days representatives and leaders of
different political parties will appear on the television to express
their views, Qureshi said.
The government also granted complete freedom to print media, he added.
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Khursheed re-elected Karachi Press Club president
PPI - March 18, 2001
KARACHI
: Khurshid Tanvir of the daily Dawn was re-elected as President of
Karachi Press Club (KPC) for the term 2001-2002.
According to unofficial figures available on late Saturday night,
Khurshid Tanvir (Dawn) bagged 288 votes, Rashid Ali Khan (APP) was
elected vice President (264), Najeeb Ahmed (Jang) as Secretary secured
319, A. H. Khanzada (Jasarat) as Treasurer (243), Imtiaz Khan Faran (Awam)
as Joint Secretary (285).
Musa Kaleem (The News), Amir Qureshi, Asadullah, Saeed Sarbazi,
Muhammad Ali and Musarrat Farooqui (Business Recorder) have been
elected as members of Governing Body.
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Sufi Mohammad Khan, Ummat, May 2, 2000, Badin
CPJ Annual Report
2000
Khan, an investigative reporter with the Karachi daily
Ummat, was shot dead by alleged drug trafficker Ayaz Khatak in the
southern district of Badin, near the Indian border.
Khan, 38, had made his name via aggressive reporting on local drug
trafficking and organized prostitution. In mid-April, he wrote an article
alleging that Khatak, a resident of the village of Shadi Large in Badin
District, was involved in drug trafficking. On April 30, Khatak visited
Khan's home, also in Shadi Large, and threatened to kill him, according to
the editor of Ummat. Khan, who had received many threats in the past, and
was physically assaulted twice in the previous six months, ignored the
warning and filed a story on Khatak's alleged involvement with a local
prostitute that ran in the May 2 edition of Ummat.
Sometime before noon that day, Khan was stopped by Khatak and three
companions after leaving his home by motorcycle. "I told you I would
kill you," Khatak reportedly said before opening fire. As Khan lay
dying from multiple gunshot wounds, Khatak and his accomplices fled the
scene in a white car.
About a half hour after the killing, Khatak surrendered to police in the
nearby village of Khoski. His confession was widely covered in the local
press. Police also suspected the involvement of the powerful Arbab family,
which allegedly ran a prostitution ring out of Shadi Large that smuggled
women from Punjab province and sold them across the border in India. After
Khan started covering this story, family members tried unsuccessfully to
buy his silence. When Khan continued to write critical stories about the
Arbabs, they filed a defamation case against him and his newspaper.
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All Pakistan Newspapers Society team meets Wage Board chief
APP
- March 20, 2001
ISLAMABAD : A delegation of All Pakistan
Newspapers Society, led by APNS President Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, held an
informal meeting with Chairman of 7th Wage Board for Newspapers Employees
Justice Raja Afrasiab Khan here on Monday.
The meeting was facilitated by Information Secretary Syed Anwar Mahmood in
a bid to resolve the ensuing deadlock caused by the non-appearance of
employers' representatives at the proceedings of the Wage Board.
The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere and it was decided to
continue deliberations in the second week of April. The APNS delegation
also included Arif Nizami and Hameed Haroon.
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The News chief reporter abducted, thrashed
The
News - March
29, 2001
ISLAMABAD: Five
unidentified persons kidnapped Shakil Shaikh, chief reporter of The News,
at gunpoint in broad daylight on Wednesday from near the main commercial
centre of Islamabad and beat him severely for three and a half hours
before abandoning him in a deserted village some miles away.
Shakil sustained multiple injuries including head injury when he was hit
with the butt of an AK-47. His hands were tied with a thick rope. Several
parts of his body turned blue and black due to the severe beating he got
from attackers with gun butts and boots. His shoulders had full imprints
of boot heels.
The armed men, following Shakil's car in a high-powered jeep bearing no
registration number, forcibly stopped him on the Kashmir Highway near the
Margalla Motel, less than a mile from the main Aabpara centre of
Islamabad. They immediately put a cloth on his face and tied his hands.
They threw him in their jeep and started beating him severely.
The unknown persons drove Shakil to a deserted area near the Soan Garden
housing scheme, a few miles away from the airport turning on the Islamabad
Highway but kept beating him all the way and later for over three hours.
"You write too much. Now you will not write anymore," they told
him repeatedly, as he later narrated to newsmen in the hospital. They
Calso threatened that his wife, children and parents would be kidnapped if
he did not change his attitude.
After the beating stopped, Shakil somehow untied his hands, removed the
mask and found himself in a deserted place. He found his car standing
nearby, driven by one of the attackers. His clothes were torn and stained
with blood.
After spotting some villagers, Shakil called them for help and asked for
water. He remained there for another half an hour to recover a bit and
then himself drove his car to his G-9/4 residence in Islamabad. An
ambulance sent by Rescue 15 removed him to the Pakistan Institute of
Medical Sciences for treatment where he was admitted.
During the beating, Shakil kept asking his attackers to identify
themselves but they only replied: "We are kammis (servants) and
ranghars" (member of a tribe of Punjab). The attackers took away two
cellular phone sets, purse containing cash and different cards, a
tape-recorder and other gadgets belonging to Shakil.
Editor of The News, Shaheen Sehbai, and The News staff have strongly
condemned the attack on their senior colleague and have demanded an
immediate enquiry and arrest of the culprits. They called it a blatant
attack on the freedom of the press. A report has been lodged with the
Secretariat Police Station.
Interior secretary Tasneem Noorani, when contacted, condemned the incident
and said that he would immediately look into the matter and take all
possible measures to trace those who had been behind the incident.
"This is an incident that needs to be condemned," Noorani said
and asked whether Shakil Shaikh had any clue as to who was behind the
incident.
Lt Gen Ghulam Ahmed Khan, Chief of Staff to Chief Executive General Pervez
Musharraf, talked to Shakil on phone in the PIMS and inquired about his
health. Information Secretary Syed Anwar Mahmood and Principal Information
Officer Ashfaq Gondal visited Shakil in the PIMS.
APP adds: An official spokesman has
strongly condemned the attack on Shakil. When asked to comment, the
spokesman strongly condemning this apparent act of terrorism said the law
will take its course and efforts will be made to nab the culprits. The law
enforcement agencies have been directed to thoroughly investigate and
arrest the culprits. Expressing sympathy with the journalist, the
spokesman said, the government believes in freedom of the press and has
always taken steps to protect the journalists and facilitate them by
providing an atmosphere for performance of their responsibilities without
any fear, the spokesman added.
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Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the brutal attack on
Shakil Shaikh
CPJ - March 29,
2001
In
a letter to Chief Executive of Pakistan Gen. Pervez Musharraf the New
York-based CPJ has expressed its great concern on the the brutal abduction
and beating of Shakil Shaikh, chief reporter for the national
English-language daily The News.
As an independent organization of journalists dedicated to the defense of
press freedom around the world, CPJ condemns this brutal attack.
Authorities must make every effort to apprehend and prosecute the
assailants, who clearly indicated that their purpose was to silence Shaikh.
In the absence of constitutional protections and democratic safeguards,
Pakistan's journalists are already extremely vulnerable. We respectfully
urge Your Excellency to demonstrate publicly that your administration will
not allow journalists to be attacked with impunity by ensuring that the
men who brutalized Shakil Shaikh are brought to justice, said Ann K.
Cooper, CPJ's Executive Director.
CPJ also sent the copies of the letter to
Dr. Maleeha Lodhi, Ambassador to the United
States
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
Pakistan Press Foundation
South Asian Journalists Association
American Society of Newspaper Editors
Amnesty International
Article 19 (United Kingdom)
Artikel 19 (The Netherlands)
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Freedom Forum
Freedom House
Human Rights Watch
Index on Censorship
International Center for Journalists
International Federation of Journalists
International PEN
International Press Institute
Alain Modoux, director, UNESCO Freedom of Expression Program
The Newspaper Guild
The North American Broadcasters Association
Overseas Press Club
Reporters Sans Frontières
Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
The Society of Professional Journalists
World Association of Newspapers
World Press Freedom Committee
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Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors condemns attack on journalist
PPI - April 04, 2001
LAHORE
: The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE), while strongly
condemning the attack by some unidentified persons on the Chief Reporter of
daily `The News' Shakil Shaikh, in a busy Islamabad area, has expressed
concern on the delay in apprehension of those responsible for the dastardly
act.
The CPNE, President, Arif Nizami, in a statement issued here on Monday,
deplored the lack of response from the government to the reprehensible
incident. He termed this a negation of the government's oft repeated claim
of protection of the freedom of the press.
He also noted with concern the perception in some quarters that the attack
was at the behest of official agencies, and expressed the hope that this was
incorrect, for otherwise it would place the entire episode in a new light
reflecting badly on the government.
He noted that it was not the first time that pressmen had been subjected to
violence, and called for a thorough investigation by the government, which
will not only mollify the injured feelings of the journalists but also help
check recurrence of such ugly incidents. |
