Opposition, press corps walk out of Senate Aitzaz accuses Saif of threatening journalists on phone
ISLAMARAD: The combined opposition in the Senate walked out from the House citing inadequate response from the government on a number of issues it raised from time to time on Wednesday, one of which included attacks on press freedom.
Earlier, the press corps also staged a walk-out in protest against incidents within a short span of time in which journalists were either threatened, maltreated or suffered damage to their vehicles, allegedly at the behest of the government.
Leader of the House Raja Zafarul Haq, however, repudiated the opposition s charge that the government was curbing press freedom and promised to the matter with information Minister Mushahid Hussain. He said the government would take action if it was proved that journalists were maltreated.
Accusations against the government echoed m the House soon after the Question Hour was over when leader of the opposition in the Upper House Aitzaz Ahsan rose on a point of order to deplore that the regime was out to impose curbs on freedom of the press. Later, however, Senators raised others issues as the MQM accused the government of being directly responsible for ‘extra-judicial killing’ of ten of its members, and claimed that an inquiry report sent to the Sindh Governor had charged the police for the death of the workers.
Senator Khudai-e-Noor of JWP and Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch of BNM also criticised the government for its policies, the latter pointing out the dangerous trend of suicides and blaming it on the ruling party.
Senator Aitzaz Ahsan listed five separate incidents and charged that the government, particularly Senator Saif ur Rehman had gone “too intolerant to face even genuine criticism. He recalled that cars of the current affair of ‘The News’ Imtiaz Alam.
and his wife were burnt because he had written critical articles. “It is strange that out of several vehicles, only the cars of Mr and Mrs Alam were set on fire.”
Similarly, he charged that another sernior journalist Najam Sethi was facing the wrath of the Ehtesab Bureau Chief simply because he had read a paper in New Delhi “which the government claims was anti-Pakistan.” However, Aitzaz quoted Sethi as saying that in his paper he had strongly raised the Kashmir issue and called for its immediate solution
The opposition Senator said that a former journalist and ex-secretary information Hussain Haqqani was arrested by the agencies but nobody in the government was ready to disclose on what charge he had been booked and where he was being kept. He said that ever since Hussain Haqqani had disassociated himself from the Nawaz League, he was more prone to such treatment, although once Haqqani was their ambassador in Sri Lanka.
‘Another columnist MAK Lodhi has suffered maltreatment because he criticised the government,” Aitzaz said.
Lastly, he alleged that Senator Saifur Rehman personally, phoned Chanel Khan a Pakistan based female journalist associated with foreign media, and threatened her with dire consequences “on charges that she has helped the BBC in preparation of a documentary on the Sharif family, which has mention of the corruption of Sharifs.”
The leader of the opposition in the Senate said Senator Saif had become a ‘price of darkness’ and was out to stifle the voice of the press. He urged the government to desist from gagging the press and explain why such incidents had taken place.
Senator Aftab Sheikh of the Muttabida Qaumi Movement (MQM) ” associated his party with the journalists and condemned attacks on the press freedom. He said the incidents
were in continuation of the ugly drama played with the Jang Group of newspapers some time ago. Some other, opposition Senators also supported the journalists.
Responding to the points of order Raja Zafarul Haq, the leader of the House and federal minister for religious affairs said that the government had a great respect for journalists
whose sacrifices had led to maximum press freedom. 1
He recalled that the previous PPP regime had even talked of closing down the newspapers. Raja Zafarul Haq said the government fully supported the press freedom but insisted that the opposition had accused the ruling party of all imaginable ills without probing whether it really was involved in such incidents. “For instance, has it been established that the cars of a journalist and his wife were set ablaze by the government?’, he asked and deplored the trend of accusing the government without evidence.
The minister said he would take the issue up with the information minister Mushahid Hussain (who was not present in the House on Wednesday) and promised to compensate the iournalists if the charges were true.
Later Senator Hayee Baloch said the people of this country were committing suicides because they had neither jobs nor protection to life and property. He also criticised the govermnent and said it was pursuing wrong policies.
Raja Zafarul Haq said most of the suicides were the result of personal disputes although some desperate people killed themselves because of financial constraints. Referring to the MQM’s point of order, he said the government would punish anybody responsible for extra judicial kilings not only in Karachi but every where. However, the combined opposition said the replies of the minister were inadequate and all of them left the House in protest.
Source: The News
Date:5/6/1999
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