LONDON: Britain’s Secretary of the State for Work and Pensions Iain Duncan Smith has said that freedom of the press is fundamentally important to protect all kinds of freedoms and no government or authority shall be allowed to take away these freedoms under any excuse or pretext. The senior Tory leader and UK government figure […]
The brazen attack on Geo News’ anchorperson Hamid Mir should have highlighted the perils of being a journalist in Pakistan and galvanised media persons, but it has undeniably divided them. The attack should have helped bring all stakeholders, including media houses, political parties, the government and the armed forces on the same page against the […]
ISLAMABAD: They are the front-line warriors in relentless attacks on Geo TV. Rumour mill is running high to feed them distorted information. They mark the target in daylight and hit them at night. They gang up to crush the dissent. They are posing serious threats to jealously guarded media freedom. Be reminded that I am […]
ISLAMABAD: The intriguing but matching timing of an attack on the most influential media group in Pakistan — the Jang/Geo Group — and the street agitation of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) have raised many eyebrows here. This situation raises the fundamental question of whether the stage is being set to […]
It is impossible to carry out the task of journalism in fear. This is what employees of the Geo/Jang Group are being asked to do. The group has now brought the increased intimidation and harassment it is facing to the notice of international media bodies and expressed the apprehension that this is part of a […]
A tangled web it is. We have this uneasy feeling of being in a deep crisis that we cannot easily decipher. One would expect the media to untangle it for the benefit of the nation. But the media itself has become the national enigma. At the same time, other major institutions are faltering and seem […]
DUBAI: Some people, somewhere, at a level where decisions about the country and the nation are taken, must step out of the arena and sit down quietly and discuss recent and very disturbing issues dispassionately. Away from the din, they must figure out where things are heading, and if in a wrong direction, why. Who […]
“We will not surrender. We will win this battle too. We are ready to hear your verdict. Do what your masters must have told you to do,” said one of the four journalists before a Military Court officer sentenced them to nine months imprisonment and 10 lashes each on May 13, 1978. These brave journalists […]
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani media went berserk last week. ‘Patriotic’ anchors heaped scorn on Geo TV for its remarks about those in an agency held responsible in the wake of an attack on senior anchorperson Hamid Mir. They were furious about the negative portrayal of those in the agency held responsible but oblivious to the growing […]
LAHORE: Journalists on Monday continued their symbolic hunger strike camp for the second consecutive day in front of the Lahore Press Club to condemn a murderous attempt on senior journalist Hamid Mir and a possible action against the Geo TV. LPC President Arshad Ansari, LPC Secretary Muhammad Shahbaz Mian, Joint Secretary Farzana Ch, senior journalist […]
ISLAMABAD: Justice Riaz Ahmad Khan of the Islamabad High Court will take up on Monday a petition filed by Chaudhry Rasheed who has challenged his removal as chairman of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra). Chaudhry Rashid was appointed Pemra chairman on Jan 26 last year by the PPP government and he was dismissed […]
“WE cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them,” Albert Einstein had argued. The ruckus kicked up by indignant patriots after the assassination attempt on Hamid Mir proves just that. Outdated notions of national security and national interest and an unflinching commitment to entrench them oppressively are alive and […]
KARACHI: Amidst seething anger over the vilification of Pakistan Army and its premier spy agency – the Inter-Services Intelligence – by Geo TV, rallies were staged in all major towns and cities of the country to express solidarity with the national security institution. In the metropolis, various political and politico-religious parties – including Sunni Ittehad […]
Senior journalist and anchorperson Kamran Khan has said that the perception of a rift between the government and the Army is disappearing now and there is evidence that the government and the Army are on the same page on all the important issues. Some television channels are attempting to settle scores by raising questions on […]
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