Appoint Ombudsmen to address journalists’ complaints: Safma
LAHORE: South Asia Free Media Association (Safma) Secretary General Imtiaz Alam has demanded the government appoint ombudsmen with powers of superior courts judges at federal and provincial levels, as well as in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), to address complaints of harassment and killing of journalists.
He made this recommendation during his appearance before the five-member Judicial Commission, headed by Supreme Court Judge Justice Saqib Nisar, and constituted to probe the murder of journalist Saleem Shahzad, here Friday.
Imtiaz Alam highlighted various tactics and manoeuvres of the federal and provincial governments, armed forces and sensitive agencies to intimidate the media and use it as a tool in their hands.
The Safma chief, in his recommendations, suggested that the Judicial Commission, besides investigating Saleem Shahzad case, must expand its mandate to addressing the intimidation of journalists, media-military relationship, use of secret funds to manipulate the media, the issue of freedom of expression and the people’s right to know, security and insurance coverage for media persons and creating institutional arrangement such as ombudsmen to provide protection to journalists facing threats. He said the ISI must absolve itself of the Saleem Shahzad murder case and investigate the conduct of its often named media handlers and others who had allegedly threatened other journalists. Other agencies including the naval intelligence must also explain their conduct with regard to the media.
He demanded that interference of agencies in the media affairs must be stopped and the special cells should be created in all security agencies to address citizen’s complaints against the excesses of the agency officials.
He suggested that the armed forces, paramilitary forces and their intelligence agencies must evolve a clear-cut policy and a code of conduct for embedding journalists and refrain from controlling the media.
He further recommended to the federal government to scrutinise secret funds placed at the disposal of Information Ministry, other ministries and secret agencies regarding the media by a joint committee of parliament.
In his recommendations and suggestions, Imtiaz Alam claimed that journalists should be provided risk and life insurance coverage, both by the government and their employers besides provision of safety equipment and kits, and security by the law-enforcers.
He said all former military dictators pursued the stick-and-carrot policy which resulted in producing two types of media role models, i.e. ‘darbari’ and the defiant professional types. He claimed that the ‘darbari’ type of journalists were considered successful, while the professionals who stick to their ideals, faced persecution and turned out to be failures.
He claimed that Musharraf, after his Kargil misadventure, realised the importance of media role and subsequently allowed expanding it as part of his overall strategy.
Imtiaz said Saleem Shahzad’s murder took place against the backdrop of the humiliation of the Abbottabad operation and investigative report of the deceased on the terrorist attack on the Mehran naval base in Karachi. He claimed that the suspicion about ISI’s involvement in Saleem Shahzad case might have not held ground had some officers not made threatening calls to various journalists.
Imtiaz Alam stated that journalists should seek information in a transparent way without becoming part of, or spying for, one warring group or the other including the security agencies and military outfits, adhering to their professional code of conduct. He advised the security agencies not to exceed their lawful limits, which otherwise would bring a bad name to their institutions. The ISI must deflate its larger-than-life image, should focus on its mandated job and evolve a transparent policy in its relationship with the media.
He suggested that the ISI must rethink its media-engagement policy and dispense with the army of pseudo-journalists that it keeps on its payroll and who have proved to be good for nothing. He was hopeful that the ISI, under Gen Pasha’s able and credible leadership, would take all possible measures to rid it of unscrupulous elements and stop dreaming about controlling the uncontrollable, the media of the new age.
Source: The News
Date:7/16/2011
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