Media and Governance – Page 10 – Pakistan Coalition on Media Safety

July 9, 2019

PFUJ warns against curbs on press freedom

Islamabad: The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (Afzal Butt group) has warned that the threat to the freedom of press has assumed ominous proportions.

A meeting of the PFUJ’s Federal Executive Council, held from July 5 to 7 with Mr Butt in the chair, observed that arm-twisting of media-owners was resulting in firing of workers and delay in salaries in the name of financial constraints and losses.

The meeting, attended by the FEC members, presidents and general secretaries of the journalist unions from the four provinces, observed that self-censorship had become the norm.

The FEC in its declaration said arm-twisting of media owners had forced them to comply with a dictated editorial policy. The owners are also made to keep a close eye on non-compliant workers and fire them without notice.

It said the media was being micro-managed by the state institutions using the carrot of government advertisements and pressures of a kind unknown so far. “In short, Article 19 of the Constitution is being continuously violated with complete impunity by the very authorities who are constitutionally obliged to safeguard it,” it added.

The meeting observed that “these media owners seem also to have, in their own self-interest, agreed to cooperate with the government in its attempt to promulgate what is called ‘Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority’ which in essence aims not at regulating the media but controlling it through coercive methods”.

The FEC condemned the decision to ban media discussion, articles, editorials, analyses and public comments on the references moved against judges, and harassment of journalists.

The FEC resolved to take a strong stand against retrenchments and for the establishment of media laws and norms in the best interest of media. “We will not allow any group, party or hidden hands to destroy the media industry.”

Dawn

July 7, 2019

PFUJ calls for action against people behind online drive targeting journalists

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists has taken notice of a malicious campaign launched on social media against some top journalists of the country.

The union’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) adopted a resolution at its meeting on Saturday, which urged the government to take action against those responsible for the “life-threatening campaign”. It called upon the government, state institutions and judiciary to take immediate and urgent notice of the campaign, which has been launched on the basis of religious hatred.

Under the campaign, concocted and fabricated allegations have been posted online that have termed some journalists “foreign agents”, posing a direct threat to their lives and that of their families.

The FEC demanded that the government to direct the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) cyber wing and other top agencies to investigate and arrest those who had launched the campaign in the name of countering hybrid war, just to gag and control the media and put working journalists and media workers under pressure.

The FEC expressed the resolve to fight for the rights of journalists and safeguard the community and their families and said that it would knock at every door for the purpose.

It also expressed concern over threats to journalists and top TV anchors by using dirty tricks on social media. It contended that a ‘hybrid war’ could only be countered through free media not through fake accounts on social media.

Dawn

The News: PPP vows to stand by journalists

July 6, 2019

Drive against free speech

THREATS to journalism in Pakistan, and by extension freedom of expression, continue to rear their head frequently in the online space.

On Thursday, a Twitter campaign was launched under the hashtag #ArrestAntiPakjournalists, with over 28,000 tweets published in a matter of hours.

Consequently, the hashtag trended at number one position in Pakistan for some time.

A cursory look at the content revealed that this was not an organic expression of public sentiment, but rather an orchestrated campaign with a limited set of messages and visuals — including calls to ‘hang’ media persons — being reproduced en masse by dubious accounts, of which the top two identified by Twitter include @IKWarriors and @IKWarrior boasting PTI logos.

Specific targets appeared to be journalists who criticise the government and the military.

This intimidation tactic is blatantly transparent, falls under criminal activity, especially in the case of calls to violence, and yet continues to occur again and again.

Those executing such campaigns operate with impunity, and the perception that arises from the timing of events and the accounts that run them suggest a troubling reason.

Irrespective of whether or not this perception is correct, something must be done to undo the damage such intimidation causes.

Firstly, there is an undeniable chilling effect that accompanies such hostility, leading to greater caution on the part of those targeted, and consequently less free speech when it comes to state matters.

Secondly, it creates a false narrative, misleading the public directly through misinformation within the information broadcast, and indirectly by suggesting this is what people truly think.

Thirdly, while this may not be the intent of those using such scare tactics, their messages may embolden a small minority of individuals to pursue real-world violence against journalists.

Lastly, it creates a bad impression for outsiders seeing such transparent attacks on Pakistani citizens.

It is up to the state to take notice of these activities and to end them quickly and conclusively, or suffer the consequences of allowing online hate speech when it is they who become the target.

Dawn

July 2, 2019

Zardari’s interview pulled from air: anchor

Karachi: An interview of former president Asif Ali Zardari was stopped from being aired shortly after it started on a private news channel on Monday.

Hamid Mir, who was the interviewer of the programme on Geo News, took to Twitter to express his outrage over the incident. “I can only say sorry to my viewers that an interview was started and stopped on Geo New[s] I will share the details soon but it’s easy to understand who stopped it? We are not living in a free country,” he wrote.

In a series of tweets, Mr Mir said that within few minutes during the telecast Geo News announced Mr Zardari’s interview would not be aired.

“I am getting calls from all over the world people asking what happened? State of Pakistan giving bad name to this country we don’t need enemies,” he said.

In a snippet of the interview circulated on social media, the former president disclosed that an investigation into a big scandal, involving Prime Minister Imran Khan, was under way.

“What’s wrong in it? I asked some questions to ex President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari he responded? Is he bigger criminal than Ehsanullah Ehsan former spokesman of TTP? Remember Ehsanullah Ehsan gave interview from official custody I interviewed Asif Zardari in Parliament House,” asked Mr Mir.

Commenting on the matter, Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari tweeted: “Selected government only wants to hear selected voices. President Zardari’s interview with @HamidMirPAK censored. Pulled from air when it had already started. No difference in Zias Pakistan, Musharrafs Pakistan & NayaPakistan. This is no longer the free country Quaid promised us.”

Various media watchdogs took notice of the incident and condemned press censorship in the country.

“Freedom Network slams what appears case of enforced #censorship as #interview of @AAliZardari with @HamidMirPAK is stopped minutes after it started,” the watchdog stated.

The Asia Desk of the Committee to Protect Journalists termed it an “outrageous infringement on freedom of the press!”

Dawn

July 1, 2019

Punjab IGP’s new media policy stirs outrage

Lahore: Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Arif Nawaz Khan has issued a new media policy through which certain restrictions have been imposed on media interaction.

The policy has been met with outrage from stakeholders who have termed it as a form of censorship and an attack on freedom of information.

A circular issued by PRO Bahawalpur is also making the rounds on social media. The notification reads that no police officer can leak any information concerning the department. If one is found guilty of doing so, strict legal action will be initiated against them.

The notification also forbade media personnel from entering police formations. Further, the directives also stipulated that officers explicitly seek permission from the respective public relations officer. Interestingly, the PRO in many districts, including Bahawalpur, is of a sub-inspector rank.

In a statement, Electronic Media Reporters Association (EMRA) President Asif Butt stated that they will not abide by the IGP’s regulations. Neither the state nor the Constitution allows the IGP to introduce unnecessary restriction on the media, the statement read.

“The media has held the ruling elite, the bureaucracy and corrupt rulers accountable by revealing the truth before the public. Such tactics cannot stop them from bringing forth the truth. If the government does not call off the notification, the government will itself be responsible for it,” the statement added.

Another senior journalist commented that IGP failed to efficiently streamline the police department’s operations and is now pressurising the media in order to cover up shortcomings.

It is no doubt that the policy introduced by Nawaz is problematic. The police department is one which frequently interacts with the public. It is also notorious for its abuse of power. Horrifying facts about the police’s wrongdoings have been revealed by the media.

Media personnel need to be able to move freely within the department in order to extract information.

Taking steps to restrict this ability will raise serious doubts about the department’s transparency. Instead of restricting media coverage, the police should set its own house in order.

The steps proposed by the IGP may also further widen the gap between the police and the public as well as with the media. Whenever the flow of information is hampered, serious disruptions arise.

In the long run, these steps may not be in the police’s favour as they may lose the opportunity to share their version of events. As it stands, the force does not have a system in place to share information without delay.

The disastrous impact of this information gap was felt two years ago when there was a surge in child abduction cases in Lahore and Punjab. It was also felt during the Kasur child pornography case. In both situations, the police’s top command came out to soothe public outcry and to share cold, hard facts.

Performance

Last week, CCPO Ba Nasir promoted 51 assistant sub-inspectors to the rank of sub-inspector. Meanwhile, Dolphin Squad and the Police Response Unit seized two cars, 12 motorcycles, four mobile phones, eight pistols, one rifle, seven magazines, bullets and money. Officials also responded to 741 calls that were received on the 15 helpline. Lahore police also ensured security during a visit by the Afghan president.

The Express Tribune

July 1, 2019

PPF condemns attack on cameraman in Ghana

Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) in a letter to Nana Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana has expressed concern over the attack on David Ankomah, cameraman of Accra-based Joy News by the soldiers on June 23, 2019.

PPF Secretary General Owais Aslam Ali in his letter has condemned the violence against journalist working in the line of duty and termed it an attack on freedom of expression. PPF urged the concerned authorities to investigate the matter and hold the officers involved in attacking journalist.

According to the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Ankomah was physically assaulted at a Church in East Legon, Accra while covering protests led by the clients of two investment companies EL Real Estates and Tikowre Capital owned by Kelvin Kossi Kobiri, the Head Pastor of Zoe Outreach Embassy Church.

Pastor Kobiri called the law enforcement officers to restrain the protestors who were disrupting the ongoing church service to protest the alleged mismanagement of their funds invested in the pastor’s companies.

The officers also seized journalist’s camera, to prevent him from covering their suppression of the protestors.

June 26, 2019

Ruling party’s leader assaulted senior journalist

Imtiaz Khan Faran, senior Pakistani journalist and president of the Karachi Press Club (KPC) was physically assaulted by Masroor Ali Sial, senior leader of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) during the recording of a talk show on June 20, 2019.

On June 24, a video of the incident had gone viral on social media in which Sial and Faran were seen entering into an argument during the recording of the programme ‘Newsline with Aftab Mugheri’ on K21 News channel.

On June 25, KPC called an emergency meeting of the governing body. The members of the body strongly condemned the violent action by PTI leader. During the meeting KPC decided to ban the entry of PTI leaders and announced if the governing party does not revoke the membership of Sial and fails to apologize to Faran during these three days, than KPC in consultation with other journalist bodies will stage protest against PTI.

Taking action on the incident, the Lahore and Islamabad Press Clubs have also temporarily banned the entry of PTI leaders in their premises for three days.

The provincial assembly of Sindh unanimously passed resolution condemning the assault on KPC President, PTI lawmakers supported the resolution and expressed solidarity with journalist community over the issue and extended their complete support in pursuing case against the individual involved in the act.

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s, Special Assistant on Political Affairs Naeemul Haque in his tweet has condemned the “violent reaction” of Sial and said “This kind of behaviour is unacceptable in PTI and is totally unworthy of a PTI Leader.” Haque added that strict disciplinary action will be taken against the leader.

Advisor to Chief Minister Sindh on Information, Law and Anti-Corruption Barrister Murtaza Wahab also condemned the attack and stated, “PPP always respects the rights of the journalists. He said that PTI had the same behaviour in the past as well as and this trend of misbehavior and abusive language has link with the PTI leadership.”

The Nation: KPC bans entry of PTI members