‘Capital Talk’ on footpath
Islamabad: The not-very-long- ago popular talk shows on private television channels are for sure gaining popularity as they are nowadays ‘forced’ to come out from their studios and keep their programmes ‘live’ on the footpaths of Islamabad.
Geo Television’s popular talk show ‘Capital Talk’ attracted hundreds of people on Friday as the host of the programme Hamid Mir succeeded in gathering vocal politicians, journalists and even the leading representative of ‘missing persons’.
Jamaat-i-Islami’s former MNA Hanif Abbasi, one of the participants of the programme, was not impressed with the gathering in front of the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Press Club Camp Office.
However, the only reason one could understand was that he came under fire for MMA’s uncertain role in the current political scenario.
Hanif Abbasi had no answer to a number of relevant questions — especially the one on the present role of Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam’s top leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
The lifeline of Hamid Mir’s programme was surely Imran Khan, the chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, who looked fresh after his first-ever ‘visit’ to the jail.
The atmosphere was charged up as Imran tried his best to hide his joy when dozens
of students and members of civil societies chanted slogans against emergency and curbs on media.
With General (retd) Hameed Gul also among the hundreds of standing audience, Hamid
Mir touched upon both sensitive issues — political and judicial.
Javed Hashmi, the acting president of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) was candid enough to admit that political parties “had gone in hiding” and only lawyers, journalists were protesting on the streets.
“People didn’t ask us to come into politics, it were we who told them that we are going to solve their problems if they got us elected,” Hashmi said.
Hashmi said leading politicians like Benazir Bhutto and Shahbaz Sharif should have given court arrests when General Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency in the country.
“But I am sorry to say that only journalists and lawyers did what the politicians should have done,” he said.
The PML-N leader went to the extent and said if Nawaz Sharif tried to make a deal with Pervez Musharraf, he would be the first one to leave the party.
Imran criticised Americans for backing Musharraf and said until the restoration of pre-November 3 judiciary, the people of Pakistan would continue to suffer.
“Have the Americans said once that the independence of judiciary be restored in Pakistan?” asked Imran, clad in his black waistcoat and his trademark white Shalwar Kamiz.
The PTI chief agreed with Hashmi’s views that opposition parties were not getting united against the government’s policies.
Leading journalists — Ansar Abbasi (The News), Editor of Daily Dawn Zafar Abbas and columnist Haroon-ur-Rasheed gave the perspective of journalists in the present scenario.
Afzal Butt, president Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists, reiterated that unless the government withdraws controversial ordinances of Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, RIUJ would continue to fight under the banner of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists.
Amina Masood Janjua, whose husband is among hundreds of missing persons, also spoke on the occasion. She highlighted the fact that it were journalists, Imran Khan and Liaquat Baloch, who stood by her and thousands of other wives, daughters and sisters, whose men had been missing for a number of years and there’s still no news about their whereabouts.
She requested Hamid Mir to conduct a special ‘Capital Talk’ programme in which relatives of missing persons should be invited so that people could know about the real facts.
Hamid Mir ended the programme by saying that it was American media, who highlighted the US wrongdoing in the jails of Abu Ghuraib.
“It’s our duty to continue telling the people of Pakistan what’s happening in our country and we will continue to do so even if we have to conduct our programmes on the footpaths,” Hamid Mir said.
Source: The News
Date:11/24/2007
” 
” 
” 
” 
