Media accused of misreporting Zardari’s activities
The federal government here on Monday accused national media organisations of misreporting the activities of President Asif Ali Zardari and also of not entertaining clarifications issued by the presidency in this regard. A law officer, Abdul Hayee Gillani, made these allegations before a full bench of the Lahore High Court during the hearing of a petition through which the petitioner had sought contempt of court proceedings against President Zardari for not complying with a LHC orders against holding of political office by President Zardari.
The bench adjourned the hearing to March 29 (Friday) and observed that if the counsel (Wasim Sajjad) for the respondent was not available on account of his preoccupation before the Supreme Court, the matter shall again be fixed for hearing on March 30. “Until next hearing, the President shall ensure that the court order is duly respected and complied by him,” the CJ wrote in the order. The order required the President to refrain from indulging in political activities in the public arena.
The law officer also produced the text of clarifications issued by the presidency in response to news items appeared in national press about the ‘political’ activities of President Zardari during his recent visit to Lahore. He wondered how the news about the President’s activities could be deemed to be authentic whereas the media persons were kept 3 kilometers away from Bilawal House in Lahore.
The bench, however, expressed dissatisfaction over the plea taken by the government and remarked that the language of the clarifications was not effective. The facts of the media reports were not denied but only disputed by the presidency, the chief justice added while going through the clarifications. The chief justice also expressed surprise when the law officer insisted that the media did not carry contradictions issued by the presidency about the activities of the President in Bilawal House Lahore. “It appears that the presidency is so helpless,” the CJ added. The CJ also made mention of a public meeting held by the President in Multan. The law officer, however, maintained that no violation of the high court’s judgement was being committed by the President.
The CJ remarked that the presidency should take sincere measures to establish its commitment to the implementation of the order. He further remarked, “Press freedom is a fundamental right and the Courts have a duty to protect that right. We are not inclined in these proceedings to enter the controversy whether a newspaper has justification for a report that it has published. This is a matter for the respondent President to attend.”
Petitioner’s counsel Azhar Siddique presented a list of officer-bearers of PPP and PPP (Parliamentarian) to establish that the PPP, headed by President Zardari being its co-chairman, was also involved in political activities.
Source: Business Recorder
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