CM slams media group for ‘violating ethics’
By Habib Khan Ghori
KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has severely criticized the Jang media group for violating the ethics of journalism in its campaign against President Asif Zardari.
“Constructive criticism is part of democracy and the PPP government has always welcomed it because it believes in freedom of the press.” But, he said, an advertisement published by the group’s newspaper which referred to a case filed by a person against Hazrat Omar (RA) and pointed out that when such a great personality could appear in court, why couldn’t President Zardari.
Addressing a press conference at the CM House on Wednesday afternoon, the chief minister said there could be no comparison because the Constitution was made by people while the laws practised then were Ordained by Allah.
He said that while there were many people facing corruption charges, President Zardari was being singled out by the group and the names of the people were not being mentioned. “Whether President Zardari appears in the court or not, it is a matter between the judiciary and the government,” he added.
The chief minister said he was addressing the press conference as PPP president of its Sindh chapter and he and the entire party had been aggrieved by the attitude of the media group.
The chief minister said that over the past two and a half years the government had taken many positive measures, including poverty alleviation programme and empowerment to women, and worked for rehabilitation of about 7.5 million people displaced by the unprecedented floods. But instead of taking up such pressing issues and efforts made by the government to mitigate them, the media group was concentrating only on the case against the president, although there were many other people facing corruption charges, Mr Shah said.
Mr Shah said journalism was a noble profession and the PPP and its government held it in high esteem. But, he added, no one could be allowed to take the law into his own hands.
The case is in the court of law and the way the media group was dealing with it was liable to fall in the category of contempt of court.
Source: Dawn
Date:10/14/2010
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