Khabrain office attack
The armed attack on the Khabrain Group of Newspapers in Karachi, in which its main gate, reception and parking area were destroyed, is condemnable in the strongest possible terms. The city district government officials also destroyed the communications system of the newspapers, causing production to shut down, besides holding the entire staff hostage. The attack was led by Nazim Jamshed Town Javed Akhtar who, accompanied by dozens of armed men, forcedly entered the Khabrain Group offices and badly damaged two cars and four motorbikes in the parking area. What is equally disappointing is that the police personnel, who were standing just a few hundred yards from the offices, remained silent spectators.
The government officials gave a cold shoulder to the calls of Khabrain officials. This makes the whole affair a case of targeted victimisation. That the Sindh Interior Adviser, Waseem Akhtar switched off his mobile phone when he was contacted and that the City Nazim asked to talk to the owners of the Khabrain Group and expressed his inability to stop the operation immediately, smack of a pre-planned assault on the premises. The ill-intention of the district government officials, or MQM in other words, is evident from the fact that the operation had no legal basis and was stopped only after the Information Minister, Muhammad Ali Durrani contacted Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad and said that the attack should be halted. The statement of the Provincial Information Advisor Major (Retd) Amir Ali Abdi, that the demolition was the result of some misunderstanding of the district government in its drive against encroachments on a nullah and that the MQM had no role in the episode, cannot be taken at face value. MQM is known for its lack of tolerance and inability to face criticism, which has earned it the title of being a fascist party.
The killings in Karachi on May 12 were a case in point. The Khabrain Group was one of the many newspapers in the whole country and abroad that reported on the violence in which over 40 people lost their life. MQM was pointed out as the main perpetrator behind the blood-letting. It is regrettable to see the MQM, which is a coalition partner of the Sindh government, taking recourse to intimidation of the press in this era of ‘freedom of expression’ in Pakistan. Instead of mending its ways and joining the ranks of other mainstream political parties, the MQM seems not to have learnt any lessons. The opposition leaders, including former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, PPP leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim, and MMA leader Qazi Hussain Ahmed, have condemned the attack, terming it as an attempt to silence the media so that it cannot reflect the voice of dissent. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan viewed the attack as a continuation of the May 12 incident.
It remains the responsibility of the provincial and federal governments to protect and uphold the law. An inquiry should be conducted into the incident and the culprits brought to book. If that does not happen, the incident will further tarnish the already battered image of the government, which is seen as tightening the noose around the print and electronic media. To reveal the truth while maintaining objectivity is the avowed policy of the Khabrain Group of Newspapers and it has amply showed its commitment to abide by that policy. If this principle is a speck in the eyes of the MQM and exposing the truth is a crime, we wear that ‘crime’ as a badge of honour.
Source: The Post
Date:7/4/2007
” 
” 
” 
” 
” 
