PPP turning its empty guns on media
Do you want the 90s era back, argues MNA
ISLAMABAD: Previously there were some members of the government and those representing the Presidential camp attacking a set of journalists and dubbing them as “negative” and “destructive”, particularly during the judicial crisis. Now it is the Pakistan People’s Party’s turn to do the same.
A lady MNA of the PPP from Karachi on Wednesday visited The News Investigation Cell to tell its members that they were pursuing the agenda of destruction. Though decent in her interaction, she termed one of her host journalists as a “one man demolition squad” but soon after placed another journalist in the same category.
A newly-emerging leading light of today’s PPP also had a brief chat with a member of this cell at a five-star hotel where he revealed that he was assigned by no less than Benazir Bhutto to work on the journalist he was facing.
“Be soft on us,” he beseeched but reminded the journalist of the release of two innocent businessmen, on latter’s request, who were illegally detained by the FIA during his tenure. He wanted an exclusive meeting with the journalists for the implementation of his assignment.
Already, a high-up of the PPP, who carries great influence in the party, has approached the senior management of this newspaper to discuss few names associated with The News, who are not writing the kind of stories the PPP may like to have.
The lady MNA, who visited The News office, insisted that the PPP was desirous of developing civil-military relationship but some of the news reports carried by The News were lethally opposed to this idea. In particular, she pointed out that the story of “military ponies” was baseless. But when asked if she had inquired from Benazir Bhutto the authenticity of the ponies’ story, she responded in the negative.
The PPP lady MNA advised the journalists present there to stop seeing things in black and white. The reality, she said, is in the grey area. She said that some of the stories produced by this cell were weakening the democratic forces and their effort to strengthen the institutions.
“Do you want to bring back the Byzantine period of 90s,” she asked but was short of words when told are not we heading towards the same period by reviving the troika because of Benazir Bhutto’s deal with General Musharraf.
The lady pointed out that she had noticed The News targeting the PPP after July 27 when the media first reported about the meeting of Benazir Bhutto and General Musharraf.
During the judicial crisis it was the government that had lost temper on the issue of Chief Justice and was extremely upset with the media. “You don’t deserve the freedom given to you by General Pervez Musharraf,” a senior government authority had told this correspondent in an informal discussion during those days, adding that the people were not much bothered about what had happened to the country’s Chief Justice on March 9 but the media was exaggerating the things.
After the judicial crisis, a whispering campaign was gaining currency among official circles that tables were turned on President General Pervez Musharraf in the judicial crisis because of collusion between certain influential elements of the society.
After the restoration of the Chief Justice, a senior and influential bureaucrat walked in The News Islamabad office to tell the official tale that two senior reporters of this newspaper were also part of the conspiracy.
The bureaucrat said that he was told that one of these correspondents was provided a whopping sum of Rs 150 million by Nawaz Sharif out of which he handed Rs 50 million to his colleague to carry on the campaign favouring the Chief Justice. He said that the journalists had rocked the government’s entire case against Justice Chaudhry because of their “inspired” works. He, however, clarified that he did not believe in these reports because he knew the journalists.
Source: The News
Date:11/1/2007
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