Shoaib Bhutta: Geo TV bribes judiciary to suppress the voice of an independent journalist

By Abdul Nishapuri

Shoaib Bhutta is the name of a courageous journalist who tried to expose the evil designs of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and his commerical empire known as Geo TV / Jang Group. He was the one who revealed a few weeks ago that Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman has demanded 400 crore rupees from President Zardari in order to stop the anti-democracy propaganda by Jang and Geo TV.

Additional Sessions Judge, Islamabad, Muhammad Tanvir Mir, has been bribed ten million rupees (one crore) by Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman to issue an arrest warrnat of a serving journalist. Independent journalists have protested against this act of Geo TV/Jang group / Judiciary as an attack on freedom of press.

Here is a history of Shoaib Bhutta:

Pakistan media freedom report 2002
On 5 August, Shoaib Bhutta, journalist with the weekly Capital, was severely beaten by armed individuals in a street of Faisalabad (centre of the country). The attackers were wearing security guard uniforms. Shoaib Bhutta suffered a broken leg. He was one of the rare journalists who had ignored the governmental directive inciting journalists to actively cover the trial of Asif Ali Zardari, husband of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Source

Reporters wihtout Borders: 2008 Report on Pakistan
Serious police brutality
Brutality and raids against the media also accompanied the imposition of emergency rule [of General Musharraf in 2007]. The secret services also went after journalists, and even more aggressively. Eight agents arrested Shoaib Bhutta, editor of the Urdu-language Daily Tulou at his office in Islamabad in November 2007. In two days of questioning, during which he was kept chained up and deprived of sleep, they quizzed him about why he was critical of the authorities. Source

Newspaper editor released
By Our Staff Reporter (Dawn, November 20, 2007)

ISLAMABAD, Nov 19: An Urdu newspaper editor, who was picked up by the personnel of law enforcement agencies at the weekend, was released here on Monday evening.

Shoaib Bhutta, the editor of Daily Tulou, was handed over to a group of journalists some 500 meters away from the Cantonment police station at around 6:30pm.

Mr Bhutta was picked up by a group of eight people believed to be personnel of a security agency from his office last Saturday night.

Mr Bhutta, when contacted, said he was picked up from his office, blindfolded and taken to an unidentified place where he was kept in the same condition till Monday morning.

During the period he was not allowed to sleep and was fettered too.

The personnel informed him that he was detained allegedly on the orders of the Punjab chief minister and the inspector general of police.

The personnel also asked him why he wrote against the president and the chief minister, but they did not produce any material in this regard on his request.

The captors also inquired about people who assist the journalists in their ongoing movement, he added.

Mr Bhutta quoted the personnel as saying that their high-ups directed them to arrest him, besides checking his record.

Sohail Iqbal, the chief editor of Online news agency, told Dawn that the president of Rawalpindi-Islamabad Press Club Mushtaq Minhas asked him to contact the station house officer of the Cantonment police station and get the editor released.

He said that the SHO told him that Mr Bhutta was handed over to him on Sunday night. This was a very high-level matter and Deputy Inspector General of Police Rawalpindi himself supervised it, Mr Iqbal quoted the SHO as saying.

“He (Mr Bhutta) was released as he was cleared during investigation,” the SHO told Mr Iqbal.

Meanwhile, a group of five personnel wearing Punjab Constabulary uniform stormed the office of Daily Tulou located at G-7/1 Monday morning and seized all the office record and computer.

They also searched the office from top to bottom. However, the record and computer were also handed over to the journalists in the evening. Source

Court [bribed by Geo TV] issues arrest warrant for Bhutta
Thursday, November 26, 2009 (The News)

ISLAMABAD: Additional Sessions Judge, Islamabad, Muhammad Tanvir Mir, has issued an arrest warrant for Muhammad Shoaib Bhutta, publisher of a daily in Islamabad.

The judge summoned him on December 4 to ensure his presence in the court. The court issued an arrest warrant for Bhutta on the complaint of Abdul Aziz Mohmand, resident editor the Jang, The News and Geo editorial management, and on the basis of arguments and evidence presented before the court.

Abdul Aziz Mohmand in his application stated that in the best national interests, the Jang Group had played a leading role in the movement for an independent judiciary and rightly represented the masses. Besides, the Jang Group and Geo TV raised the issues of governance and corruption among the masses, due to which the group has to face serious challenges, he added.

He stated that the said person published defamatory, unfounded, false and baseless reports and financial charges in his newspaper against the Jang Group to damage its popularity and reputation among the masses.

The daily alleged that the head of the Jang Group editorial had sent a message to important personalities of the government that if they wanted end to one-sided campaign against them and personnel of the judiciary in the group newspapers, editorials and electronic media, they have to accept their demands. After the government refusal the group editorial head gave go-ahead to his workers and said that if the government is facing difficulties, then it should cut advertisements of other newspapers and electronic media to fulfil their shortage.

Abdul Aziz Mohmand maintained that the said publisher republished such baseless materials twice, and damaged the reputation of the group and tried to weaken its commitment.

The petitioner said that besides publishing baseless news against Geo TV, Daily Jang and The News the publisher Malik Shoaib Bhutta also printed posters and panaflex banners with logos of Geo TV, Jang and The News. The posters contained extremely contemptuous sentences against the Jang Group of Newspapers and Geo TV. When the workers of the Jang and well-wisher readers removed those banners and posters after the city administration failed to do so despite repeated complaints, the said publisher reported the next day, “the Jang Group could not tolerate few banners and posters against it”.

The same person also levelled baseless allegations against Jang Group during a talkshow on official TV channel. The petitioner requested the police to register an FIR against the accused, but the police neither responded positively nor registered an FIR.

Abdul Aziz Mohmand pleaded in his petition that this act was crime under section 499, 5000, 501, 502 and 502A of the Pakistan Penal Code. Additional Sessions Judge Muhammad Tanvir Mir accepted the petition for regular hearing on the basis of arguments and evidences and said it seemed that Mohammad Shoaib Bhutta had intentionally committed defamation, hence his arrest warrant were being issued. The court adjourned the hearing till December 4, 2009 and ordered to appear before the court. Source

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Pakistani media: Freedom without responsibility?

In a country which has suffered successive dictatorships characterised by ridiculous controls on expression, no one can really contend against the argument for a free media. Neither can anyone condone excessive regulation or control of media. But this is precisely where we skate on thin ice. Free media is not synonymous with responsible media.

Just consider what passes for news analysis on most, if not all, local television channels. Much of it, at best, is superficial; at worst, positively misleading and dangerous. From hate-speech against other religions and minority sects to the exposition of long-disproved conspiracy theories, Pakistani news channels have it all.

While it would perhaps be asking too much of the media, the men and women who project views and help project them, to be devoid of the social prejudices and intolerance that permeates our society, we can at least expect and demand substantive analysis on technical issues, notably the economy. (Source)

Some leading yellow journalists in Pakistan (corrupt, pro-Taliban, agents of ISI)

Shaheen Sehbai, Shahid Masood, Ansar Abbasi, Hamid Mir, Javed Chaudhry

پاکستانی میڈیا کا طریقۂ کار یا ہر حکومت کی عادت؟

مسعود عالم

بی بی سی اردو ڈاٹ کام، اسلام آباد

پاکستانی میڈیا آج تک اپنے لیے ایک ضابطہ اخلاق پر متفق نہیں ہو سکی

دو سال قبل تین نومبر کے دن پاکستانی ذرائع ابلاغ کی زبان بندی کی گئی، ’ناپسندیدہ‘ صحافتی اداروں کو لمبے عرصے کے لیے بند رکھا گیا اور ایک ڈکٹیٹر کی ذاتی انا کو تسکین دے کر ہی یہ ادارے ایک ایک کر کے کھل سکے۔

اس تین نومبر کے حالات بالکل مختلف ہیں۔ ڈکٹیٹرشپ کی جگہ ایک منتخب حکومت ہے جس میں شامل اکثریتی جماعت خود کو جمہوریت کی چیمپئن کہتی ہے، جبکہ چھوٹی حلیف جماعتیں بھی میڈیا کی آزادی کی زبردست حامی ہیں۔ اور اس کے باوجود پاکستانی میڈیا کے سر پر حکومتی کنٹرول کی تلوار ایک بار پھر لہرا رہی ہے اور اس تلوار کی دھار اتنی ہی تیز ہے جتنی دو سال پہلے تھی۔

چند روز پہلے اطلاعات و نشریات کی قائمہ کمیٹی نے پیمرا قوانین میں ترمیم کی سفارشات طے کی ہیں جن میں بہت سی وہی شقیں شامل ہیں جن کی خالق مشرف حکومت تھی۔ ان سفارشات پر بات کرنا تو قبل از وقت ہو گا کیونکہ ابھی انہیں قومی اسمبلی میں پیش کیا جانا ہے جہاں بحث کے بعد ان میں تبدیلی بھی ہو سکتی ہے، لیکن مقامی میڈیا میں چیخ و پکار کا سلسلہ اسی دن سے جاری ہے جس دن قائمہ کمیٹی کا اجلاس ’بند کمرے‘ میں ہوا اور وفاقی وزیر قمر الزمان کائرہ نے اس بارے میں صرف اتنا بتایا کہ ان پر اپوزیشن سمیت تمام سیاسی جماعتوں کی جانب سے دباؤ تھا کہ میڈیا کو ’ذمہ دار‘ بنایا جائے اور یہ کہ کمیٹی کی سفارشات متفقہ طور پر منظور کی گئی ہیں۔

کیا پاکستانی میڈیا کے طریقہ کار میں بہتری کی ضرورت ہے یا ہر حکومت کو اپنے بحرانوں کا ملبہ میڈیا پر ڈالنے کی عادت ہو چکی ہے؟ شاید دونوں ہی باتیں درست ہیں۔

موجودہ حکومت اگر جمہوری روایات کو اپنی میراث سمجھتی ہے تو جنرل مشرف اور ان کے حواری بھی میڈیا کو آزادی دینے کے دعوے کرتے نہیں تھکتے تھے۔ لیکن جس طرح مشرف حکومت کو میڈیا پر پابندیاں لگانے کا خیال اس وقت آیا جب وہ عوام میں انتہائی غیر مقبول ہو چکی تھی، پیپلز پارٹی کو بھی میڈیا کی خامیاں تبھی یاد آئیں جب اس کی مقبولیت کا گراف تیزی سے گر رہا ہے۔

موجودہ حکومت اگر جمہوری روایات کو اپنی میراث سمجھتی ہے تو جنرل مشرف اور ان کے حواری بھی میڈیا کو آزادی دینے کے دعوے کرتے نہیں تھکتے تھے۔ لیکن جس طرح مشرف حکومت کو میڈیا پر پابندیاں لگانے کا خیال اس وقت آیا جب وہ عوام میں انتہائی غیر مقبول ہو چکی تھی، پیپلز پارٹی کو بھی میڈیا کی خامیاں تبھی یاد آئیں جب اس کی مقبولیت کا گراف تیزی سے گر رہا ہے۔

دونوں حکومتوں کے میڈیا مخالف اقدامات میں یہ قدر بھی مشترک ہے کہ پیشہ وارانہ معیار کو بہتر بنانے کی بجائے ان کا زور حکومت پر ہونے والی تنقید کو بند کروانا اور چند افراد کی ذاتی پسند ناپسند کو پورے میڈیا پر ٹھونسنا ہے۔ جیسے قائمہ کمیٹی میں شامل مسلم لیگ ق کی رکن قومی اسمبلی بشریٰ رحمان نے ٹی وی پر کمیٹی کی کارروائی کا دفاع کرتے ہوئے میڈیا پر الزام لگایا کہ وہ حکمرانوں کی تضحیک کر رہا ہے اور نظریہ پاکستان کے خلاف کام کر رہا ہے۔ انہوں نے جذباتی ہو کر کہا ’میں نے خود دیکھا اور سنا ٹی وی کا ایک اینکر کہہ رہا تھا کہ انڈیا کا کلچر ہمارے کلچر سے بہتر ہے۔ میں تو یہ بالکل برداشت نہیں کر سکتی۔‘

اس کے جواب میں تو یہی کہا جا سکتا ہے کہ اگر گرمی برداشت نہ ہوتی ہو تو کچن سے باہر نکل جائیں۔ یوں بھی نظریہ پاکستان، اسلامی روایات، قومی سلامتی، اور اخلاقی اقدار ایسی اصطلاحات ہیں جن کی تشریح اپنی مرضی سے کر کے کسی کو بھی کٹہرے میں کھڑا کیا جا سکتا ہے۔ اور مبہم اصطلاحات کو قانون کا حصہ بنانے کا مقصد بھی یہی ہوتا ہے۔

لیکن پاکستانی میڈیا بھی حکومتوں کے اس کھیل میں برابر کا شریک ہے۔ ایک طرف صحافی برادری ہے جو ہر پابندی پر شور مچانے، کالی پٹیاں باندھنے اور آزادیِ صحافت پر تقریریں کرنے میں آگے آگے ہوتی ہے لیکن آج تک اپنے لیے ایک ضابطہ اخلاق پر متفق نہیں ہو سکی۔ اور دوسری جانب میڈیا مالکان ہیں جن کا پہلا اور آخری مقصد منافع کمانا ہے اور جنہوں نے ہر موقع پر صحافت کی آزادی پر نفع کمانے کی آزادی کو ترجیح دی ہے۔

لیکن پاکستانی میڈیا بھی حکومتوں کے اس کھیل میں برابر کا شریک ہے۔ ایک طرف صحافی برادری ہے جو ہر پابندی پر شور مچانے، کالی پٹیاں باندھنے اور آزادیِ صحافت پر تقریریں کرنے میں آگے آگے ہوتی ہے لیکن آج تک اپنے لیے ایک ضابطہ اخلاق پر متفق نہیں ہو سکی۔ اور دوسری جانب میڈیا مالکان ہیں جن کا پہلا اور آخری مقصد منافع کمانا ہے اور جنہوں نے ہر موقع پر صحافت کی آزادی پر نفع کمانے کی آزادی کو ترجیح دی ہے۔

دو برس پہلے جب جنرل مشرف نے تمام نیوز ٹی وی چینل بند کروا دیے اور میڈیا کے نمائندوں کو دعوت دی کہ جیسے ہی وہ کسی ضابطہ اخلاق پر اتفاق کر لیں گے پابندی اٹھا لی جائے گی، تب بھی صحافتی تنظیمیں مشترکہ لائحہ عمل تیار کرنے میں ناکام رہیں اور چند ٹی وی چینل مالکان نے اپنے طور پر ایک ضابطہ بنا کر اور حکومتی شرائط مان کر اپنا کاروبار چلانے کا انتظام کیا۔

آج بھی اس ملک کے ٹی وی چینل ان مسلمہ صحافتی اصولوں کی کھلم کھلا خلاف ورزی کرتے رہتے ہیں جن پر دنیا کے ترقی یافتہ میڈیا میں مکمل اتفاق پایا جاتا ہے۔ مثلاً جنسی زیادتی کا شکار ہونے والی عورتوں اور بچوں کو نہ صرف دکھانا بلکہ ان کا نام پتہ بھی بتانا، لائیو ٹاک شو میں ایک مہمان کو اجازت دینا کہ وہ دوسری مہمان پر جنسی نوعیت کی بہتان تراشی کرے اور پھر اس پروگرام کو فخریہ طور پر بار بار دکھانا، مسابقت کی دوڑ میں بغیر تصدیق خبر چلانا اور غلط ثابت ہونے پر بغیر معذرت یا تصحیح کے محض اسے ہٹا دینا۔۔۔ اور حکومتِ وقت کی مخالفت اور حمایت دونوں کوششوں میں معروضی حدوں سے تجاوز کرنا۔

کل کی طرح آج بھی حکومت کا مسئلہ یہ پیشہ وارانہ خامیاں نہیں لیکن میڈیا پر پابندیاں لگانے کے لیے انہیں کل بھی استعمال کیا گیا، آج بھی کیا جا سکتا ہے اور آئندہ کی حکومتوں کے لیے بھی یہ راستہ اس وقت تک کھلا رہے گا جب تک پاکستانی صحافی خود اپنا احتساب کرنے کا کوئی نظام وضع نہیں کرتے اور اس نظام پر سختی سے عمل نہیں کرتے

....

The terror disconnect

Still, it would be unfair to point the finger at just one misguided madrassah and its brand of fanatics who have a history of nurturing extremists — and getting away with it. Blame should also be assigned to their known well-wishers who bailed them out in the aftermath of the Lal Masjid operation. Remember Chaudhry Shujaat offering the mullah and his supporters more than a shoulder to cry on? The PML-Q, then the ruling party, its chief and his cousin Pervaiz Elahi, who was then the chief minister of Punjab, gave what they called the ‘victims’ of Lal Masjid life-long scholarships and sustenance allowances, ostensibly from their own pockets. One of their deputies, Sheikh Rashid, the proud son of Rawalpindi, kept mum on the whole issue even though he bore his total allegiance to General Musharraf who had ordered the storming of Lal Masjid.


A few weeks and a number of court hearings later, even the cleric Abdul Aziz was released on bail, when he should have been tried under a military court and dispensed speedy justice on the basis of his hate-mongering and waging war against the state that resulted in the killing of many.

But not all rot lies in the bad past over which Musharraf presided. The media’s role by and large remains sympathetic towards an ideology which continues to bring death and destruction to our cities. Analysts and TV anchors don’t tire of voicing their favourite solution of offering the extremists dialogue instead of the bullet to end their killing spree. The media also continues to insist this is not our war — not even just yet. Their defiant heroes remain politicians like Imran Khan and leaders of the Jamaat-i-Islami who have now vowed to raise no less than a ‘lashkar’ to oppose the National Reconciliation Ordinance in the streets of Pakistan if extremists’ violence allows them to do so.

Then there is Nawaz Sharif and his PML-N lackeys on the other hand: no word of unqualified condemnation of terrorists ever crosses their lips. As for the PPP, there is now little to stop the ‘relief’ that its broad-based NRO in its existing, amended form, promises to all killers and crooks, including the terrorists, despite the fact that they have their booby traps and suicide bombers killing innocent people in our cities and hardcore, armed terrorists fighting the army in Fata. Is there any sense left anymore in what we are doing to ourselves?

As Rawlpindi, Islamabad, Peshawar, and Lahore simmer with fear and tension, and Karachi and Quetta watch in disgust, bracing themselves to be the next potential targets, internecine, petty politics is all our leaders have time for. The biggest culprit present among us today is the lingering and shocking state of denial, despite the presence of the evil amidst us that is killing and maiming as many as it can on a given day.

American aid, the NRO, the street protest, the call for a mid-term election, even the crippling power and economic crisis can wait. What cannot wait for the public backing expressed through their leaders is the war on terror that is being fought in our cities today. This is a war we cannot afford to lose; it’s time we owned and fought it with full power of the state and the people behind it. After all, lofty, elusive ideals like democracy and rule of law cannot be safeguarded or held dear by doing nothing to stop the death and destruction that is all around us today.

Murtaza Razvi is Editor, Magazines, of Dawn.

http://blog.dawn.com/2009/11/02/the-terror-disconnect/
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Guest Column: Whither Press Freedom

By Qudrat Ullah

With the advancement of information and communication technologies, the mass media has emerged as one of the most important organ of our everyday life, affecting the people in their daily lives and keeping them informed of the happenings around them. Keeping in view of its unique significance as an important component of the society, media has been rightly acknowledged as the “fourth pillar of the State”; while it also affects other pillars of the State, in one way or the other.

Media’s power of information-diffusion has given it an added advantage and authority over other components and institutions of the State. Due to this, dependence of human beings on media has increased manifold, as more and more people, organizations and even the governments, rely on news-material, provided by various organs of the mass media, for information and decision-making.

The media, therefore, has a responsibility to be the eyes, ears, and voice of the people. Its role especially increases in democratic societies and there is no doubt that media is the most important core component of democracy. It promotes and protects rights of the people and keeps an eye on the working of the government institutions.

The growth of electronic media in Pakistan has given an added significance to the mass media, and now both print and electronic media, have started more and more influencing our lives while the national media also played vital role in the removal of dictatorship and success of lawyers’ movement. Keeping in view media’s growing role and importance, it can be said that no human society would survive or flourish without a vibrant and independent media.

Not only the existence of media is important, but the encouraging atmosphere for journalists and the mass media is equally important. In fact, it is the most essential foundation of media industry on which whole edifice is erected and if media fails to ensure its freedom, then its future cannot be bright.

Press freedom helps build a credible image in the eyes of the readers and, while keeping a check on the government and other organs of the society, it exposes crime and corruption without any fear and compromise. Likewise, freedom of expression is the cornerstone of any democratic society. It is a basic human right, to be enjoyed by all people, regardless of cultural, religious, ethnic or other backgrounds. The freedom of press and the freedom of expression are regarded as the very basis of a democratic form of government. There is no doubt that denial of freedom to the press, to explore and enquire stagnates a society.

The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan fully guarantees the freedom of press and freedom of expression to its all citizens. Article 19 of the Constitution states!

“Every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, and there shall be freedom of the press, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, 1[commission of] or incitement to an offence.”

It may be noted that Section 4 of the Constitution (Fourth Amendment) Act, 1975 (71 of 1975) substituted the said words in place of the word "defamation", in Article 19, (w.e.f. November 21, 1975). The concept of press freedom was also covered in past constitutions in the following Articles.

Constitution of Pakistan, 1962 :	6 (III.9)
Constitution of Pakistan, 1956 :	8
Government of India Act, 1935:	nil

The concept of freedom of speech is often covered by the same laws as freedom of the press, thereby, giving equal treatment to spoken and published expressions.

Press freedom is a tricky issue in Pakistan as every government, whether democratic or civilian claims that media is totally free, independent and vibrant and there is no pressure on any component of the media from any corner of the government. However, media- men have their own reservations about it.

Media freedom should be our total commitment; as it helps to promote a responsible and democratic society and keeps a check on the government. And those societies where there is no justice and free media do not sustain for longer. Only free press could identify system flaws in any democratic country and our media stood side by side with the political workers during the dark days of dictatorship. What’s more important is that no nation can progress without involving half of its population in nation-building activities and progress of society depends on the empowerment of women. What we all need is to develop an affirmative environment for the emancipation of women in the media industry.

It’s a good phenomenon that the telecommunication and Internet industry has seen tremendous growth over the last few years. The emergence of satellite broadcasting in the early 1990s and the subsequent proliferation of cable television have led to the beginning of shift away from monopoly of state controlled media. This allows for greater choice, and access to a wider range of information and alternative viewpoints.

South Asia is a conflict ridden zone where divergence is an agreeing phenomenon. In this situation, media’s role increases manifold. However, what’s more important is that media should remain totally impartial, neutral and adopt dispassionate approach for solving all issues. By doing so, it can earn worldwide standing and credible repute.

Media has emerged in Pakistan as an effective power to reckon with. This is indeed a healthy symbol. TV channels in particular, are doing a yeoman service by keeping the public informed with their lively talk-shows.

The country is passing through a critical juncture. These are extraordinary times. The challenges being faced today, like terrorism, are daunting but certainly not insurmountable. What we really need is unity and sincerity of purpose, to rise to the occasion.

And media can help achieve that vital goal.

(qudratulla@gmail.com)

Read more...

Iranain blogger Omidreza Mirsayafi dies in prison. Time to support bloggers in Iran

Our friend Hamid Tehrani has told us that Omid Reza Misayafi has died in prison in Iran. Omid was sentenced in December to three years in prison for “insulting” Iranian religious leaders.

“(T)he reason for his death,” says Hamid, “has not been announced but he was in very bad psychological condition.”

Considering torture and other types of mistreatment are par for the course for free speech prisoners in Iranian prisons, Omid’s death may well have been a direct result of Iranian government actions. Considering the government usually places bloggers in prison with the most dangerous criminals, his death may only have been an indirect result. Either way, the men of the government of Iran and its prisons have a lot to answer for.

In the meantime, for what it’s worth, our heartfelt condolences go out to Omid’s family. They’ve killed one of us.

http://committeetoprotectbloggers.org/2009/03/18/omir-reza-misayafi-has-died-in-prison/

....

Iranian blogger dies in prison

By beth

Omid Mir Sayafi was an Iranian blogger who has died in prison in Iran after being jailed for insulting Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Omid Mir Sayafi was about 25-years-old and had been imprisoned in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran, Iran for insulting both the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. In February 2009, he was sentenced to 30 months in jail for the insults and on Thursday, February 19, 2009, it was reported that he had committed suicide in the prison.

Sayafi’s attorney, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, is pressing for an autopsy and inquiry into the cause of death.

Sayafi was initially arrested and imprisoned in April 2008. He was released on bail, but re-arrested and has been in prison every since that time. He was just sentenced last month.

Other bloggers have been arrested for similar crimes. One blogger was arrested for questioning Khomeini’s ties to Hezbollah. This is all part of Iran’s crackdown on bloggers and internet users that the islamic state deems to be hostile to Iranian authorities and islamic values.

Some of the others who have been arrested and imprisoned include Hoder Derashkhan, a Canbadian-Iranian journalist and blogger detained in Iran last November. Mr Derashkhan’s family is said to have had no news of him since his arrest.

....

I am a sensitive person

An Iranian blogger, Omidreza Mirsayafi, has died in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison. His sister told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that the death of her 28-year-old brother came under suspicious circumstances.

The media watchdog group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said it was "deeply shocked" by the news and called for an investigation into the details of the tragedy.

According to RSF, Mirsayafi's lawyer, Mohamed Ali Dadkhah, was told of his client's death by a doctor, Hesem Firozi, who is himself in prison.

Mirsayafi mostly blogged about traditional Persian music and culture, not politics.

He had been summoned to Tehran's Revolutionary Court for interrogation on February 7.

At the end of the questioning, he was placed in detention.

"The death of this young blogger is entirely due to a failure to provide assistance," Firozi said.

He said Mirsayafi had been despondent at the refusal of prison authorities to allow him to leave prison.

"I am worried," Mirsayafi told RSF in a recent e-mail. "The problem is not my sentence of two years in prison. But I am a sensitive person. I will not have the energy to live in prison. I want everything to be like it was before. I want to resume my normal life and continue my studies."

Mirsayafi was first arrested in April 2008. He was released after 41 days in custody on payment of bail of some 72,000 euros.

He was tried in November under articles of Iran's Criminal Code dealing with insults against the country's leaders.

"I am a cultural and not a political blogger," he told RSF after his conviction. "Of all the articles I have posted online, only two or three were satirical. I did not mean to insult anyone."

Source: www.rferl.org

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Call to prosecute officials after Iranian blogger dies in prison

• Robert Tait
• The Guardian, Friday 20 March 2009

An Iranian blogger convicted of insulting the country's religious leaders has died in jail after taking a drug overdose.

Omidreza Mirsayafi, 29, died in Tehran's notorious Evin prison on Wednesday, just over a month after a judge gave him a two-and-a-half year sentence for posting comments on his blog about figures including the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini .

Human rights campaigners called for prison officials to be prosecuted after Mirsayafi took extra doses of tranquilisers prescribed by prison doctors. He was suffering from depression and had previously attempted to commit suicide, according to a fellow inmate.

His death followed that of Amir Hossein Heshmatsaran, founder of an Iranian opposition group called the National Unity Front, who died on 6 March while serving an eight-year sentence. Heshmatsaran's family alleged that he had died because of negligence, after suffering a stroke.

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said the deaths illustrated contempt for political detainees' health.

"Iranian leaders have relegated the administration of the prison system to a group of incompetent and cruel officials who are showing their utter disregard for human life," said Hadi Ghaemi, the campaign's spokesman. "If the authorities do not move quickly to hold negligent officials responsible, they are reinforcing impunity and the lack of accountability."

Mirsayafi was convicted of insulting religious leaders and of making propaganda against the Islamic system. He was awaiting a further trial on charges of insulting "sacred Islamic values". The offences were allegedly committed on his blog, Rouznegar, which focused mainly on music and cultural issues.

Mirsayafi denied the postings were insulting and said they were only intended to be read by friends. Before being convicted, he told associates he would die if he was imprisoned.

Details of Mirsayafi's deterioration in prison were given by Hesam Firoozi, an imprisoned doctor who witnessed his treatment. Firoozi, who has treated some of Iran's best-known political activists, told Mirsayafi's lawyer that medical staff had denied him proper care by failing to send him to hospital.

Iran has come under scrutiny before for its treatment of imprisoned activists. Human rights groups voiced outrage in July 2006 when Akbar Mohammadi, incarcerated for leading anti-government student demonstrations, died in Evin prison after going on hunger strike. He had been fasting to protest against the lack of treatment for injuries suffered in captivity.

News of Mirsayfi's death emerged as officials announced the arrest of 27 people they said were involved in pornographic and erotic websites allegedly created by foreign powers aiming to foment a "soft revolution" against the Islamic regime.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/20/omidreza-mirsayafi-iran-blogger-rouznegar

.....

An excerpt from a blog post written on art and music by Mirsayafi

مصاحبه با كتي خواننده و نوازنده گيتار مقيم اسپانيا امید رضا میرصیافی omidreza.mirsayafi@gmail.com پنج شنبه 22 فروردين 1387 نسخه چاپ - ارسال براي دوستان کتی، خواننده و گیتاریست مقیم اسپانیا یکی از آن دست هنرمندانی است که فعالیت هنری خود را پس از ترک ایران، بر خلاف بسیار دیگری از هنرمندان، به دور از هیاهو های موجود در لس آنجلس دنبال کرد . ادامه زندگی هنری اش پس از خروج از ایران و ورود به اسپانیا با شرکت در کنسرواتوار و دوره های تعلیم صدا و سلفژ همراه می شود و گذرن زمان او را با آهنگسازان و موزیسین هایی چون Paco Viciana و Eduard Canimas آشنا می سازد و این آشنایی منجر به همکاری در تهیه آلبوم هایی با ملودی های اسپانیایی می شود . انسی که او با فرهنگ اسپانیایی ها (که نشات گرفته از شرقی ها است) دارد باعث شده تا ارائه کننده سبکی از موسیقی باشد که در آن تکنیک غربی و موسیقی شرقی به گونه ای جالب توجه هم تلفیق شده اند و همین باعث شده تا کاری که او ارائه می کند هم در بین اسپانیولی ها و هم در بین ایرانیان طرفداران خاص خود را داشته باشد . کتی به تازگی آلبوم جدید خود با نام «عطر نور» را در اسپانیا منتشر کرده است

http://www.artmusic.ir/news/show.asp?Id=16539

...

Time to support bloggers in Iran

Omid Reza Mirsyafi, was sentenced to two and a half years of prison in December 2008. He was accused of insulting religious leaders, and engaging in propaganda against the Islamic Republic. Over the past 5 years, several bloggers in Iran have faced jail and persecution because of their blogs. Some were detained for a few days while others were condemned to several years.

Simon Columbus, a researcher studying the cases of jailed bloggers around the world (article forthcoming), estimates that the number of Iranian bloggers who have been arrested solely for their blogging activities comes to about 20. He has counted a total of 30 Iranian bloggers who have been jailed for political activity, which may not be directly linked to their blogs.

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/12/18/iran-a-long-and-painful-story-of-jailed-bloggers/
Read more...

Aaj TV must apologize to Dr. Tahir-ul-Qadri. There is a fine line between the freedom of media and its abuse.

Bolta Pakistan 6-november-2008

[Nusrat Javed And Mushtaq Minhas discussing who can be a potential Obama for Pakistan]

Mushtaq Minhas: I recalled another [Pakistani] Obama. Do not try to make fun of me now. Do you remember there used to be a Maulana Tahir Ul Qadri. Once he came up with Awami Tehreek ……

Nusrat Javed: Now you are trying to bring comedy in this program. Oay, he was just a showbiz man yaar ! Source: bolta-pakistan-6-november-2008

The next day when Bolta Pakistan was on-air, AAJ TV continued to show live news report from their Islamabad office saying their office has been surrounded by followers of Allama Qadri and that they have disrupted the normal business of the office - “Tahir ul-Qadri k admiyoon ne AAJ TV kay daftar ka chand ghantoon se gheraao kar rakha hay …. nazreen hum apko phir batatay chalein…..“

AAJ TV tried to create a sensational news when it was just a peaceful protest...

The report tries to create a sensation out of nothing - I could recall the word ‘gheraoo‘ for more than a dozen time in this short clip when this was not a ‘gheraoo‘ at all. The image above is taken from the same news report which clearly shows a few peaceful prtesters with placards in front of AAJ TV Office. Let me share some interesting and sensitizing comments from this news report:

in logoon ne aise aa kar gheraao kia hay …. is se to mazeed pressure groups ban-nay ka khatra ho ga… ye dehshat gardi to khulay aam ho rahee hay !

inke pas hathyar ho saktay hain, kuch bhi ho sakta hay, sahafat ko nuksan ho ga ya faida ?

chand logoon ne (AAJ TV office kay) andar aa kar baat karnay ki koshih ki … humne kaha workers hatayen

The news bar claims that the protesters tried to enter the AAJ TV building while one of the AAJ TV personnel in the video says, in contradiction to this, that they came to talk to us but we asked them to first move your protesters away.

There seems to be obvious contradiction in the reporting by AAJ TV, so much that the audio of the news report does not match with the live video coverage being shown in the same report . Let me summarise my findings:

Contradition 1 : [Audio] More than 150 men of Qadri have surrounded the AAJ TV office. [Video] Just a few dozen men with placards peacefully protesting (rather, just standing, not even chanting slogans) in front of AAJ TV office ! [ Note: The geographics of the AAJ TV building does not allow any group to surround it, its already surrounded by other huge buildings on three sides ]

Contradition 2: [Audio] A few of them came of the office gate and tried to talk to us but we told them first they need to get their men away from the office and only then we will be ready to talk. [NewsBar] The news bar at the bottom states, “three to four persons tried to enter the office (forcefully)”

I feel that AAJ TV was playing this out of proportion. The news report tried to demonize these people in every way possible. Those who have threatened the anchors do not deserve any sympathy but those who came out to voice their concern in a non-violent protest have a right to register their protest. AAJ TV should have been honest in reporting the incident and should have avoided creating just another fancy news report out of nothing defaming someone they have a personal grudge over.

Nusrat Javed and Mushtaq’s comment regarding Dr. Qadri was a bit unwarranted. Nusrat is quite witty and I guess this was the case of wittism taken a bit too far. Being a responsible journalist I expected much better from him. It is fine not to agree with somebody’s point of view or somebody’s interpretation, but there has to be a difference between sarcasm and criticism when you tend to discuss someone’s personality.

What surprised me, rather disturbed me the most was the way Nusrat Javed and Mushtaq Minhas reacted in the next program of Bolta Pakistan, dated November 7th, 2008. That was totally irresponsible and immature journalism ! The hosts continued to bash Qadri and his supporters throughout the program which was uncalled for. The co-hosts called him names, made fun of him, his followers and his party/organization with statements which were hurting. I say so, though I am no fan of Qadri or his party.

Just as the journalists have always wished for a Free Media in Pakistan, they must not forget that Freedom of Expression is the right of every citizen of this state, thus every citizen has the right to protest peacefully for the matters of concern. Under the garb of ‘Free Media’, the journalists should not ridicule anyone just for the sake of it, and if they do, they should expect a reaction.


Source: ALE Xpressed; Edited: A&P

..........


What do ordinary Pakistanis think and say?

abuhaleema Says:
November 8th, 2008

Assalam o allaikum,

Nusrat Javed and Mushtaq’s comment regarding Maulana Tahirul Qadiri was totally unwarranted. It is ok to not agree with somebody’s point of view or somebody’s interpretation, but they were wrong to target him personally.

Secondly, I feel that Aaj has been playing this out of proportion. The above clip has been trying to demonize these people in every way possible and try to make it look like everything is organized and planned by this group.

I feel, that its not a surprise that these people came out to protest like this. Those who have threatened the anchors do not deserve any sympathy but those who came out to voice their concern in a non-violent protest have a right to register their protest.

I understand that Talat felt concerned but the way he said that he is going to gather all the journalist groups gives an impression that there is no accountability of media ever. I hope he doesnt mean that under the garb of ‘freedom of speech’, the media can ridicule anyone and expect that there will be no reaction.


Jazoo Says:
November 8th, 2008

What I am missing here is the reason why all this thing has started in the first place.

..... is giving one sided story like aaj tv.

My take is–Those who are condemning the stone throwing crowd gathered at aaj tv but not giving the reason why this all is happening at aaj tv why not at Geo & other channels.

Reason must be pretty strong & Nusrat Javed must be guilty as hell.

This all hollering about freedom of expression has many similarities not to be mentioned here.

I think ..... is equally incriminated for hiding the truth.

In case ...... did not print this post I will be e mailing to all the yahoogroups.


azizusman says:

Re: AAJ Tv News Office In Islamabad Has Been Attacked Nov 7

This is unfortunate to see such a vilification of his personality- Guys come on, do you really believe that Dr. Qadri deserves the comments made by Nusrat Javed, just compare him with our great President Mr. Zardari or the great Altaf Hussain, a quaid of poor mohajirs of karachi leading an affluent life style in the UK.

Only imbecile would actually believe on the rumors- I am sure none of those who have commented have ever listened to what he says or read his literature.

I think he is one of the sane voices among all the hardcore MULLAS that we have in Jamait Islami or JUI (Qazi and Molvi Diesel who use Islam to propel their political influence among illiterate and innocent people) who inculcates the teachings of the religion with logic.

I would request you all to make up your opinion on true knowledge instead of blaming someone outrightly merely on the basis of rumors-

May Almighty Allah Guide us towards the right path-

dervesh72 says:

I am agree with above comment's. I Like this program very much, but I am very frustrated when i listen about this "He is a show biz person". U should criticize but should be positive way not to make jokes, u r not joker u are live and addresssing people and This strongly condem what (Tahir ul Qadri) lovers are doing with these anchors. If u guys can go to next episode of this program all program is about this discussion, they are just expoliting this. Even talat remarks are not good. I am realy frustrated from media today. they should say sorry, atcually if journalism is independent than they are peaceful protest it is also there right why Ajj TV is crying. Just they are expoliting this issue to make themselves famous among people.

I think Criticism should be positive and should remain in the limits. Freedom of speech doesnot mean freedom to insult others, to hurt the feelings of others. A few points need attention:-

1. The video which is showing the protest of tahir ul qadri followers is not aggressive (if you know, what is the meaning of aggression in Pakistan; Atleast AajTV very clearly knows from Karachi episodes with MQM). They are displaying placards and demontrating in a very descent manner; even this much descency has not been shown by Aaj TV; rather they are enjoying the propaganda weapon in hand and using very aggressively.

2. The official statement of Minhaj ul Quran is rather interesting; Any one interested can see it on the official site of minhaj ul quran. "minhaj.org"

3. The people gathered at Aaj TV HQ are just at thier own with out any delebrate call from the central leader ship; otherwise every pakistani knows that Tahir ul qdri is not that unknown person in Pakistan that upon his call only 100 - 200 people (as per Aaj TV statement) would gather.

4. As a true pakistani and true muslim, we should think about our attitude; on one side we condemn "insulting comments about the leaders / holy personalities / holy books / faiths etc " and donot consider these acts as freedom of speech. We demend limits in freedom of speech and on the other hand, we our self create a scene on our own TV channels which is against this theme. Those who have seen the second day telecasts of Aaj TV on the said issue will support me out.

5. The heading / topic of this discussion is also interesting which is giving a wrong sense of the facts. After seeing the seen of demonstration by Tahir ul qadri people, can some one say this thing attack? Are the attacks are done in this way? Aaj TV is very much aware of attacks. How these are done nad what is left after the attacks?

jazoo Says:
November 8th, 2008

I must say something about Tahir-ul-Qadri

He was the first & only man ever happened in the 61 years history of Pakistan who resign from NA on principles.

We must learn to respect character.


Shaz Says:
November 8th, 2008 at 9:12 am

I find the article on this subject by Pkpolitics as one sided-story. Media has altogether no right to play with some individual, not having any of the public interest affairs. There should be the laws to protect anybody from the untowards comments. Tahir-ul-Qadri is a great scholar with lot of research on the modern day issues and Islam. Some ordinary level tv hosts are defaming others to fill the belly of their programs. Condemnable act from the host!

jazoo Says:
November 8th, 2008 at 10:34 am

Shirkuh & aftab do you know what are zombies.

They do not have brain of their own–they go with the trend without thinking.
Why should TQ go to Bolta pakistan–Why not they come to him & apologize.
I did not see a clip of stone throwing even at aaj TV–Mostly I see peaceful demonstrators registering their protest in front of aaj TV.

If you are so much against TQ then please post one incident where you can justify that he is a bad guy.

He represent most non violent religious group in Pakistan.


paindoo and dara Say:
November 10th, 2008

I am really happy to see tahir ul qadri and his attachment to sufi Islam; i love seeing him and his followers dancing and singing because this shows at least these people have Mullah has heart and soul. Those who think music and dance are not allowed in islam, may be want us to be stones or animals. you prefer taliban and their version of puritanical islam. i prefer tahirul qadri and his moderate version of real loving, all encompassing islam.


pejamistri Says:
November 8th, 2008 at 11:03 am

Well I must say one thing that amazed me in the Aaj TV coverage of their protest was that they were really peaceful and quiet. I know that they sent SMS and phone calls with threats and foul language but during the Aaj TV coverage the bearded fellows were standing very quiet with the banners in their hands. I was really impressed as it was for the first time when I saw more than two bearded fellows standing at a public place without chanting slogans , burning effigies and shouting.
Aaj TV was little dishonest in not giving this credit to those guys.


crazybynature Says:
November 8th, 2008 at 11:47 am

Shame Shame PKPOLITICS

First of all pkpolitics admins you have the freedom to speak the truth and you called that protest an aggression… WOW some guys holding signs and registering their protest non violantly , I thought you forgot what MQM guys did to AJJ Station.
I am not very religious and I don’t have any extreme religious believes but one thing for sure what Dr Tahir have given to the people around the world , these bolta pakistan puppets and their next thousand generations can’t give a fraction of it. So please don’t just take sides with so called free media and these clowns from Bolta Pakistan. I am glad they showed their real wisdom and journalism … for me it was a very desperate cheap attempt to gain popularity.


gg Says:
November 8th, 2008 at 12:38 pm

1st of all I agree with some people here that AJJ TV is hiding the truth by showing only 1 side of the picture, what did they say about Tahir-ul-Qadri? They don’t mention… and plus just imagine if any one of you is in a fight and you only tell a story you would always hide the bad part you did… same is the case here with AJJ TV … off course they will try to show them bad, as media is theirs, hey can potray any one the way they like… as long as it meets their purpose….or to defend themselves..
2nd as said people only tend to see 1 side with a narrow mind, and make a decision based on one side and not looking at the whole picture.. which is quite wrong.
For example… claims on his so called False Dream, is it false or true, how can you say… can any one Oath with Quran and say 100% that he lied and did not dream?
His Khwab (which is criticized a lot): Gosh man it’s a very old one…B&W

• http://youtube.com/watch?v=uissbMrtGxI
• http://youtube.com/watch?v=Fr2AR3grfaA

His Response to the accusations:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTxgC9ZVV3Q
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuS0gAMPnWI
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7aBGgZqziA
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFqyxuKAnic&feature=related
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8apPtJDDluA
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msN2U0XAVEk&feature=related

I think he has earned his respect and people in all times are against everybody in one way or the other… that is what our enemies enjoy, divide and concur… You have an objection on any of his acts, go and ask the scholar himself, and he will provide you with all the proves and daleels for any of his actions, and if he is wrong in any he would also admit it… People change… So did he… you need to accept that change as well…


amajid.malik Says:
November 8th, 2008 at 1:33 pm

minhaj version of the incident:
http://minhaj.org/en.php?tid=7168


HGNAHMED Says:
November 8th, 2008 at 7:30 pm

I have seen both the programmes of Bolta Pakistan, and today have sent the following e-mail to aaj t.v.

“I would like to draw your kind attention to your programme Bolta Pakistan dated 06/11/08 and 07/11/08 and request to investigate the matter immediately. Although it has nothing to do with me directly but being a Pakistani and Muslim who strongly believes in freedom of expression for everyone (but without insulting any individual or a group), I truly feel that your respectable presenters of this programme have, intentionally or unintentionally, crossed the boundaries. Being a human being it is our responsibility to be fair with everyone and not to target someone on the basis of our own personal views or agenda, especially, in the respectable field of journalism.

I, therefore, would like to record my protest on these unacceptable and highly offensive & insulting comments by your presenters in the following words.

1: I don’t belong to any political or religious party but truly feel that independent and freedom for journalism does not mean that one has got a certificate to insult any individual like this, especially, in his/her absence or, at least, giving them a fair chance to reply.

2: I see the comments in Bolta Pakistan on 6th of November with regard to Mr Qadri extremely insulting, unnecessary and ridicusly unreasonable. Even the body expression while saying those insulting words was and is unacceptable by any standards. Not only this, even, any impartial individual can not find any link, connection, reason or justification for the comments with regards to Mr Qadri, from what was aired or telecast in this program. I request you to review this programme that may help you to understand my point.

3: Now, if some people from his party have protested, they have got right to protest as long as they remain peaceful. However, your channel was making headlines and claiming that they were ’surronding’ your offices. But the tv footage on your own channel was clearly exposing your lies and exaggeration in this regard and one can see these protesters were standing peacefully in lines, holding cardboards with demands and chanting slogans.

4: If you truly believe in freedom of expression, you should be happy with their peaceful protest and should have reacted positively to listen to their complaint or demands that, unfortunately, you clearly failed to demonstrate at this occasion. If you want freedom for yourself to say whatever you want to say or criticise, even, to use insulting language for anyone, why you are not willing and ready to accept others right to make complaint or protest peacefully against what they feel is not right.

5: Your presenters comments in 7th November’s Bolta Pakistan in reaction to so called ‘life threatening’ and insulting phone calls, texts and protests etc were, even, dangerously provoking. It only shows your personal hatred for that man (Mr Qadri) for some reason and did not serve any purpose. I am sure, any impartial inquiry can very easily identify these offensive, insulting words and comments.

6: Despite all above, if some individuals (from Mr Qadri’s Party or from Agencies) are threatening the presenters or the tv administration, again, this is unacceptable behaviour and I condemn it. However, I, also, condemn your presenters senseless initial comments (on 06/11/08) and then, again, intentionally repeating these highly provoking & insulting comments (on 07/11/08) against our fellow pakistani (Mr Qadri).

7: I believe that neither Mr Qadri nor your presenters or anyone from us all are angels and, therefore, can commit mistakes any time or might have done so in the past. However, this does not mean that anyone of us, on the name of journalism or anything else, has got a liscence to intentionally use highly insulting & offensive language, especially, in the absence of the other party or, at least, giving them a fair chance to reply or clarify their position.
Now, the fair and best way out of this controversy is to accept the mistake and sincerely take steps to rectify the mistake and make sure these don’t happen again. As the initiator of this issue:

A: I expect Ajj tv’s presenters and the administration to start the heeling process by a fair and impartial investigation of this matter, identify the responsible and make them accountable, if necessary.

B: Secondly, you should contact Mr Qadri and give him a fair chance to respond to your accusations and any other issues/question for which you or your presenters need clarification/answer.

I hope you will consider all the above with an open mind and will do your best to satisfy me and many of your viewers in the next few days.


mya Says:
November 8th, 2008 at 7:39 pm

i hardly have heard about Tahir ul Qadri. i dont personally follow his preachings or whatever…

but wait a minute:

the other side of the story is that nusrat do object people when a caller starts critising ppp and he literally cant listen anything against zardari. if nusrat can always threaten/blackmail people to not go against zardari just because “aik wardi wala a jaye ga” or “tu app loggon ney ppp ko vote kiyun diye?” then he has absolutely no right to criticse someone else in this manner. there should be a balance and equality when you teach others about democracy and values.

see many of us live in UK, USA etc. and most of them are living in christian countries but these countries respect minorities and with the same token we have to respect everyone and every community.

therefore, we like Maulvi Tahir ul Qadri or not, we follow him or not is absolutely secondary thing. what matters most is that he represents a considerable amount of community and we can not disrespect just because we dont like him/her.

since when ppp started governing, i have seen this clown nusrat’s real face and i simply hate him. he is an absolutely stubborn man and lives in his own world. u can easily see how much he favours pppp regardless of anything. he always have some consipiracy theories whenever pppp does a blunder (which she almost does every day).
so the moral of the story is that we should respect each other. we may not like moulvies (or for that matter whoever) but that does not mean that their respect is not due.

hope i am clear in voicing my opinion.


Fireblade Says:
November 9th, 2008 at 4:03 am

After watching the show and the next day’s show aswell and being a neutral person i am saying that it clearly states that nusrat javed and rashid minhas both have used rubbish language also we can see the protesters they were ‘not’ in an offensive mode.Freedom of expression does’nt mean that media or anyone can use a market language and nusrat javed repeated his words in his show that he raised up in a company of those people who do not have any manners.Anyway i m not a supporter of Tahir ul Qadri nor i believe in his ideology but i also do not believe in these manners and i also condemn all type of threats to aaj tv but unfortunately aaj tv has made this a very big issue in reality which is not as we can see thoso protesters were not armed i m just laughing now because i see this topic’s title above “bullying against aaj tv” which is not.what should i expect from those whom i dont give respect? I finish my comment with these words “Give Respect To Get Respect”.


gg Says:
November 9th, 2008 at 4:54 am

Bullying Against AAJ TV

LOL…. Its AJJ TV who is a big bully here in this case….

It’s strange how the media can control minds…. That is why it’s known, very less people are actually intellectual
Shame on AJJ TV….abusing their media powers….


sahsan Says:
November 9th, 2008 at 5:29 am

It is very irresponsible of the hosts of Bolta Pakistan to present the personality of such a great scholar and lover of Allah and Rasool (PUBH) in a very mocking manner. Dr. Qadri’s message has been only peace and harmony among Muslims and between Muslims and other religions. AAJ TV has not shown credibility in covering the protest too in its true form. It is a fact that Minhaj-ul-Quran has never been involved in any type of extreme measures or violent demonstration throughout its history. This protest was initiated by small number of members at their own and central secretariat neither initiated nor endorsed this, still this was very peaceful. Everyone has a right to convey thoughts in a peaceful way and that’s what those people did, and AAJ acknowledged that fact too that all of those protesters remained peaceful, but the tone of the presentation of that protest was too biased and it is irresponsible of AAJ.


Usman Says:
November 9th, 2008 at 6:55 am

Here is the response of the Minhaj-ul-Quran rep and I think he does speak logic. One should NOT be biased.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzAfcGIyJR4&feature=related

Usman Says:
November 9th, 2008 at 7:02 am

& this understandably gives us an opportunity to learn more about Dr. Tahi-ul-Qadri and the type of work that he is doing. Here is the website:
http://www.minhaj.org/en.php

I think we should NOT blindly believe whatever these anchorpersons tell us without verifying the veracity of their information.

Aren’t we too caught up with the ANCHOR-O-PHILIA?????


Usman Says:
November 9th, 2008 at 7:55 am

@HGNAHMED!

I second your opinions 101%

here is the text of email that I sent to Bolta Pakistan email address before I watched their Nov 7th program. After watching that, I seriously regretted sending that email to bunch of MORONS who have NO respect whatsoever for any fellow Pakistani- They are cheap minded people who are gone mad with vanity and arrogance. They do NOT deserve any respect whatsoever:

Dear Nusrat Sb & Mushtaq Bhai,

Assalam-O-Alaikum,

Let me start with my introduction. By profession I am a medical doctor and currently working in the US. I am a regular viewer of your program (thanks to a few forums who put the recorded versions of the current affairs programs on their website) and must applaud your efforts in bringing a lot of important issues in the limelight. All the current affair programs deserve our deepest compliments and encouragement for educating and politicizing the great Pakistani nation and in due course of time, your efforts will certainly bring a well-deserved change in our beloved country, insha Allah!

I would like to discuss two things regarding your Nov 6th program. The first one is your topic “Obama of Pakistan- Imran Khan” [I believe it can become a famous slogan :-)] As you have also mentioned that it was greatly energized and motivated younger generation that made all the difference. To sum up Obama’s journey to white house, it was a spectacular display of “GRASS-ROOT ORGANIZATION” which the world has not seen in the recent past. We should keep in mind that it was the longest ever presidential campaign in the history of the US spanning over 21 months and he almost went to every nook of the country to gather support and it paid off.

I have been to a few meetings organized by US chapter of the PTI and by looking at its performance, I deduced that Imran Khan lacks the party structure. I would not like to delve into the details of lack of initiative that I witnessed (it could be an individual’s viewpoint and should not be generalized as such) but I think he should conduct a country wide tour (like once he did to gather money for SKMH in the 90’s) to gather momentum for what he stands for and I am sure that it is the only way he can create history as Obama did in less than 2 years of his struggle. Certainly there are big hindrances in his way but so were in Obama’s path. Greater things are ONLY achieved after overcoming greater obstacles.

Another thing that I would like to bring into your notice is some comments that were
made by Nusrat Sb regarding Dr. Tahir-ul-Qadri. I do understand that whenever someone chooses to come in the public life, especially in politics then he can be criticized but should NOT be insulted. One needs to distinguish between criticism and sarcasm. Regardless of his political ventures, he is one of the few sane scholars in our so-religiously charged up country who inculcates the religious concepts and teachings with logic. I have seen so many Muslims and non-Muslims in the west and European countries who earnestly admire him for his logical and non-confrontational approach towards religion with special emphasis on interfaith harmony. I am an avid reader of his literature and listen to him also. I candidly believe that Nusrat Sb’s comment were totally un-necessary. Even if someone has to be criticized, that can be done in a polite and respectable manner than calling somebody a joker. Please remember that millions across the globe watch your program regularly and your demeanor should be respectable towards people of “some” moral standards and following. Regardless of what Dr. Qadri has achieved in politics, I believe he is trying to educate and help people in other walks of life and that should be acknowledged. Even on the comparison chart, I doubt if Nusrat Sb would be willing to vouch that our current president deserves to be in the office on moral and intellectual standards or someone leading a lavish life in the UK deserves to be a Quaid of middle class muhajirs in Karachi. None of our leaders is perfect but that cannot justify vilification of their personalities. Each one of them has some influence and following and insulting them would infact amount to insulting their followers which is very unfortunate. I hope you will be careful in the future.
Please continue your good work and forgive me if I said something harsh.

..........

PAT and MQI strongly condemn ‘Aaj’ TV for its character assassination of Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri

http://www.minhaj.org/en.php?tid=7168

Nazim-e-Ala of Minhaj-ul-Quran International, Dr Raheeq Ahmad Abbasi, has said that it is on record that Pakistan Awami Tehreek and Minhaj-ul-Quran International have never resorted to violence and siege in their entire religious and political history and we have always condemned such acts. Minhaj-ul-Quran International has been a torch-bearer of independence of media and it has never tried to pressurize it in any way. He said the ‘Aaj’ TV’s allegation of laying siege around its Islamabad office against MQI was unjustified and belied truth. He said we strongly condemn such behaviour. Dr Abbasi said the truth was that Mr. Nusrat Javed and Mushtaq Minhas, anchors of an Aaj TV programme ‘Bolta Pakistan,’ used provocative, abusive and insulting language about Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, the founder and patron-in-Chief of Minhaj-ul-Quran International on November 6, 2008. This programme was re-telecast at 7 am in the morning on November 7 and at 2 pm on the same day. This programme was also repeated on other channels abroad, hurting the feelings of millions of Muslims, workers and associates of Minhaj-ul-Quran International across the globe. A letter was sent to the Chief Executive Officer of Aaj TV and its management demanding of them to take notice of critical issue and resolve the it amicably. Furthermore, the central leaders of MQI also tried to contact the owners and management of Aaj TV. They neither received these phone calls nor responded to letter. Afterwards, the central leader of MQI, Sardar Mansoor Ahmad Khan, went to the Islamabad office of Aaj TV to resolve the matter through negation but the management did not meet him.

In the meantime, we advised our workers to remain cool and calm but a few individuals got together on their own for peaceful protest in front of Aaj TV office in Islamabad. The 40-minute long coverage of Aaj TV bears testimony to the fact that the protestors kept their cool. MQI dissociates itself from this peaceful protest because no such call was issued to its members and workers. Interpreting the protest of a few individuals as violent siege and terrorism, Aaj TV management ascribed it to Minhaj-ul-Quran International. He said this attitude of Aaj TV is regrettable and deserves to be condemned in strong terms. Despite the fact that Aaj TV management had the telephone numbers of the central leaders of MQI, it did not contact them for their version on the events and chose to attribute peaceful protest of a few individuals to MQI. This is contravention of journalistic norms and values. On November 7, the anchors of ‘Bolta Pakistan’ in its next episode crossed all moral limits and used highly objectionable, abusive and immoral language about Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri.

Dr Raheeq Ahmad Abbasi deplored the character assassination of such a person who has devoted his entire life for the service of Islam and Muslim Umma, putting in place thousands of educational institutions and Islamic centres across Pakistan and abroad for promotion of awareness and enlightenment from which thousands of youth had received guidance and were spreading the peaceful message of Islam. He said Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri is globally known as an ambassador of peace, inter-faith harmony and brotherhood and his efforts of a few years have been instrumental in establishing a worldwide movement championing the causes of peace, interfaith dialogue and tolerance. He said bracketing such personality and his Movement with terrorism through character assassination was reprehensible and should be condemned in the strongest possible terms. He said we have advised our workers, associates and affiliates not to be provoked by such acts and to keep holding on to the golden principles of mutual tolerance and love as taught by their leader, Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri. Dr Raheeq Ahmad Abbasi said: “We demand of all the journalistic organizations, political parties, press clubs and the powers that be that they should take note of this heinous conspiracy against law and order. They should also take a strong notice of character assassination campaign in accordance with their rules and regulations and code of conduct,” he concluded.
Read more...

National Security and the Role of Journalists in Pakistan - By Syed Talat Hussain

Read more...

Hussian Haqqani gives Kashif Abbassi some good spanking.

Kashif Abbasi is a media juooni: The TV face/ mouth pieces of Taliban in Pakistan.


Regime of ‘hostile’ TV anchors
Daily Times - Saturday, June 21, 2008

Two particular encounters on two TV channels Thursday night revealed the mind of the “misplaced or hostile anchor” in Pakistan. The first was a discussion among a group of TV journalists on the accusation levelled against them that they are no longer impartial in their conduct of talk shows and tend to favour a political stance. The “consensus” was that encroachments on institutions of representative democracy by military rulers could not be viewed with impartiality, and that a show of partiality was dictated by the anchors’ loyalty to the Constitution. One opinion was that this obligatory partiality must be accompanied by “objectivity”; but it was not clear how the state of being “objective” could be reconciled with the state of being “partial”.

The other discussion was an interview with Pakistan’s ambassador Mr Hussain Haqqani by a TV journalist noted for his acerbity of approach and bias. The topic was the attack made by NATO-ISAF forces inside Mohmand Agency which resulted in the death of 13 Pakistani troops, souring Pakistan’s relations between Washington. The ambassador, while acknowledging his duty to bring the umbrage of Pakistan to the notice of the Washington Administration in the most forceful of terms, also charged the TV person with the obligation of looking objectively at the situation in which Pakistan found itself. He asked him if he took account of the ground realities in the Tribal Areas where the war against terrorism was clearly in the national interest of Pakistan. The ambassador argued for “realism” in the handling of such crises as the one resulting from the attack in the Mohmand area. But the TV anchor demanded that Pakistan approach the United Nations for a solution to the problem of the growing breach of Pakistan’s “sovereignty” and “territorial integrity”. The ambassador pointed out that the Security Council was an arena of power play, not a kind of Supreme Court where all plaintiffs were equal. The TV anchor then fell back on the argument of “national pride” and claimed to represent the people of Pakistan, arguing in favour of Pakistan opting out of the international war on terrorism. He had no answer, however, to the question about what Pakistan would do after that, after its various trouble spots are bombed by a combination of forces united inside the US Security Council.

The patriotically “partial” TV anchors began by opposing a military ruler and are now caught in a situation of political bias under democracy because of the dictates of their partiality. The 2008 elections have delivered a political battlefield where elected parties are trying to move together despite their different recipes and solutions. What should the TV anchors do now? Normally, they should have moved back and become neutral, letting the discussions be fairly judged by the viewers, but they continue to pose as arbiters and decide on their own such matters as the “mandate” of the 2008 elections, the “immorality” of the NRO, and the rough dismissal of President Musharraf from his job. But when matters are in dispute between elected parties and in parliament, it is the duty of the media to remain impartial in order to allow the people to make their own judgements.

While highlighting the “complaints” against the TV channels, one must be clear, however, about the over-all role played by our electronic journalism. Despite their early “philosophical” gropings, the TV channels are a sine qua non of our lives and their foibles of “partiality” are dwarfed by their achievement of creating awareness among the people on all other economic and social matters. For example, in Punjab, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is taking action, correctly, after watching TV reports on the malfunction of government institutions.

A sense of pride and sovereignty may take nations into war and humiliate them without making them understand what went wrong. This happened to Germany in the Second World War and in recent times to Serbia whose people, proud and sovereign, hate the world today for not understanding why they were killing Bosnians and Kosovars. But states don’t only feel aroused emotionally. They can also be cold-blooded. They can be motivated only by their self-interest whose pursuit might negate the state’s pride and sovereignty. When Iran and America confront each other, both tend to fly off the handle. In contrast, in Europe, where many nationalist wars were fought in the past, few feel as aroused.

Why shouldn’t a state feel emotional? Because being emotional may be contrary to its national interests. These interests are almost always economic. This is perfectly understandable because as long as a nation is prosperous and not dependent on outside creditors, its pride and sovereignty remain intact. But if a state is neglectful of its economy and pursues other emotional goals either unrelated or hostile to its economy it is bound to impose suffering on its people through the growth of poverty. And nothing removes pride and sovereignty from a nation more cruelly and quickly than poverty. Let us not forget that the organisation which kidnapped and beheaded the American journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002 called itself National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtOYSEhdWMQ&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5GxmWsWmtA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3fanwU4Blo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSyY2ZWXsH4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh5vOhew0aE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WIaagFjVFA&feature=related

Some Comments:

H Khan
I have kept Hussian Haqqani in disdain for quite sometime but here he gave Kashif Abbassi some good spanking.

FarazA
LOL... kashif took some serious beating... this little patheritc chaos creater wasn't able to answer a single question asked by Haqanni. Amazing journalist


H Khan:

This Kashif Abbassi represents the height of pathetic journalism in Pakistan. As one could see he has no training in journalism and how journalist should present themselves in front of dignitaries. Journalistic protocol has not even touched these types of idiots.

Kashif was interviewing Pakistani Ambassador to the USA in his office (which is the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington D C) while he was wearing some faded jeans.

My no means this was an interview but a solid ruthless bashing by Hussian Haqqani and he made Kashif Abbassi an example out of.

abaig:

True, this Kashif Abbasi (I've stopped watching his arrogant programs) interviewed Foreign Minister of PML-Q govt Khurshid Kasuri, some one year back. He was his usual arrogant and was in no mood to listen to the 4 point agenda Khurshid Kasuri gave on Kashmir. After some time, Khurshid Kasuri asked Kashif some questions back asking for solutuions to Kashmir problems .... leaving kashif answer-less and shame-less!

In this interview also, he rightly pointed out that we are emotional nation and we do not understand that we must expect equal footing ONLY if we are equal in heights and standing to USA. Eyes to eyes can be seen with someone equal to us!

The basic thing that these guys lack is "TEHZEEB" to talk to any dignitary. They think they're over-smart. Governor Salman Taseer rightly says, "They'll come to their senses, if their salaries are reduced from 10,00,000 to 10,000"

SSAAD:
Clue less idiots like Mr. Abbasi should at least google things before they start their stupid, populist rants. The way he shamelessly got his ass handed to him by HH should be an eye opener for him. Essentially HH told him to keep his trap shut!

I see Hamid Mir, Kamran and this idiot as all in the same league of BS, populist, wanna-be hard talking journalists without having the fundamentals of journalism or even common knowledge under their belts!

dara Says:
November 19th, 2008


I don’t understand what that Kashif Abassi the brave warrior thing is?
I agree up to the fact that we need to criticize and question government people, but when answer has received then there is no need to argue and being judgemental.
Kashif Abbasi sounds like immature and partisan. Every one has opinion and Kashif has aright to have one but as anchor you put a question but never react to answer the way kKashif does.

I hope you take my critical analysis in good faith.
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