Another van of The News set on fire

 

RAWALPINDI: Unidentified assailants equipped with lethal weapons set a van carrying the copies of ‘The News’ to Islamabad on fire after creating panic among the people here at the Committee Chowk on Friday morning.
The people who witnessed the scene confirmed that the assailants were carrying lethal weapons and acted as professional fighters. “Their delivery was not like normal citizens or agitators but they seemed trained people,” the witnesses said.

Driver of ‘The News’ van Muhammad Razzaq said that around 10-12 gunmen, carrying Kalashnikovs, and pistols suddenly jumped in front of the van and pointed their guns towards him, asking him to come out of the vehicle if he wanted to save his life or they would burn him alive. He said that three attackers were holding pistols and the remaining were carrying Kalashnikovs.

“I am working with the UDN (Universal Dispatch Network) attached with the delivery network of the Jang Group as a driver for the last two years,” Razzaq said in his complaint lodged with the police, adding that he left the Al-Rehman Building on his van (registration number RIS-1011) after loading 7,000 copies of ‘The News’ for the Akhbar Market, Aabpara, at 5:05am. As he reached the Committee Chowk bus stop at about 5:10am, 10 to 12 bearded people suddenly jumped in front of the van and asked him to come out of the vehicle or he would be burnt alive. On his resistance, they dragged him out of the van, sprinkled kerosene oil on the vehicle and newspapers and set them on fire.

“The leading assailants were speaking Urdu in a Pashto slang while others were silent but active,” the driver said. He said that two among them, carrying cans of kerosene, came forward, sprinkled it on different parts of the vehicle and newspapers, threw a burning match stick on the newspaper copies and set the vehicle on fire. The assailants kept watching the burning van for a while and later ran away while shooting in the air.

The vehicle was destroyed within a few minutes before firefighters of Rescue-1122 could arrive.An atmosphere of fear was created in the area and the people rushed to safer places when the assailants waved lethal weapons, the witnesses said, adding that traffic at the Committee Chowk and adjacent roads was choked and remained suspended for hours.

The police high-ups later reached the scene and took obligatory action after collecting evidence from the crime scene and recorded statements of the people who had witnessed the episode.After the burning of The News van, the newspaper copies were again printed and distributed late in Islamabad.

It is a general perception of the people belonging to civil society and other walks of life that pleading its case in the court of law and before the people of Pakistan is the basic right of theGeo/Jang Group but the power active behind the scene is trying to silence the voice of Geo and Jang by resorting to such heinous and low-bred tactics.

“Public opinion is turning in favour of the Jang Group after the group’s administration tendered an apology as the religious scholars unanimously believed that doors of Allah Almighty are forever open and He always accepts request for forgiveness,” experts said.

“The News and Jang are not doing anything against the social or religious norms but simply pleading their case to seek justice. In these circumstances, why did some people attack The News?” they asked, adding, “There are some other powers active behind the scene who want to gain their objectives in the garb of spreading hatred against the Geo/Jang Group.”

The police have taken up the case and registered an FIR with the Ganjmandi Police Station against the unknown assailants on the complaint of the driver of the van, Muhammad Razzaq, under sections 436, 341, 427, 148, 149 PPC and started an investigation.

Van carrying Jang, The News bundles set on fire in Rawalpindi

RAWALPINDI: A van carrying bundles of the Daily Jang and The News was attacked near Committee Chowk.

Eight to ten armed men attacked the van and set it on fire after dousing it with petrol. The van was travelling from Rawalpindi to Islamabad. The drive of the van remained was not hurt in the attack.

According to sources over 7,000 copies of the newspapers were burnt resulting in losses in the hundreds of thousands.

The driver of the van said he was dragged out of the vehicle and threatened. He added that the attackers were carrying pistols and Kalashnikovs.

In a similar attack unidentified bike riders set a vehicle carrying bundles of the Daily Jang and The News on fire in Lahore on Sunday.

The News Lahore team condemns attack on Hamid Mir

LAHORE: The News Lahore team Thursday organised a protest demonstration outside Jang/Geo offices at Davis Road to condemn the murder attempt on senior anchorperson Hamid Mir and to express solidarity with Jang/Geo.

The protesters, carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans in favor of Hamid Mir and Jang/Geo, condemned in strongest words the attack on the anchorperson. They termed the attack on Hamid Mir as an attack on the whole independent media. They demanded Hamid Mir’s attackers’ arrest as soon as possible.

They said journalists of Jang/Geo have rendered great sacrifices for democracy, freedom of press and freedom of expression and it would continue the same in future as well. They said through such coward acts like attacking and threatening journalists, the journalist community would not be scared and it would continue expressing its right of informing public about the truth. They said the government should introduce a law for all secret agencies to have a check on their working to avoid such circumstances, adding that the government should also adopt protecting measures for journalists.

Those who participated in the protest include Mansoor Ahmed, Babar Dogar, Ali Raza, Amer Malik, Khalid Khattak, Faizan Bangash, Waqar Gilani, Shehzada Irfan Ahmed, Sadia Salahuddin, Khan Numan Wahab, Sajid Bashir, Shahid Aslam, Sher Ali, Rubina Nazir, Akmal Bhatti, Mansoor Ahmed and Tariq Saeed and others.

Geo, The News, Jang blockade condemned

 

ISLAMABAD: The era of the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s has gone — when the media could be curbed according to the wishes of powerful forces —and the blocking of Geo TV, Jang and The News in cantonments is highly condemnable, senior politicians said. They also came down hard on Imran Khan for becoming a part of the smear campaign against Jang Group at the behest of the ‘angels’.
Senior politicians from the Pakistan Peple’s Party, Awami National Party and Jamaat-e-Islami were asked about the blacking out of Geo and the blockade of the Jang Group’s newspapers in cantonments, and the role of political parties, especially Imran Khan, on the issue. Both the censorship on the Jang Group and the role of Imran khan were condemned by the veteran politicians. They also urged the Judicial Commission to come up with its findings at the earliest.

Veteran PPP politician Mian Raza Rabbani, while talking to The News, said that the closure of Geo television in the cantonments and the banning of Jang and The News in the garrison areas is a highly condemnable matter. “Gone are the days of the ’60s and ’70s when the freedom of press could be attacked like this,” Rabbani said adding: “This is not the ’60s and ’70s.” He maintained that the Pakistan People’s Party has always advocated a free press.

Raza Rabbani further said that the current issue is sensitive in nature; therefore, it must be resolved legally and through reconciliation between both parties. He held that both parties should cool down and resolve the issue, and it could be solved.

While commenting on Imran Khan’s statement, in which he too joined the bandwagon of those who are spitting venom against the Jang Group, Mian Raza Rabbani said that those parties which have struggled for strengthening of democracy have a different point of view than those parties which want to see Pervez Musharraf as Prime Minister of Pakistan. “Those who want Musharraf as PM of Pakistan have been badly exposed before the nation,” Raza Rabbani concluded.

Senior Vice President of the Awami National Party, Haji Adeel, when contacted, condemned the blackout of Geo TV in cantonments and blockade of Jang Group’s newspapers in the army-controlled areas. “When the issue is with the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority then the decision of Pemra should be awaited instead of closing down Geo,” said Adeel. He maintained that all allegations against Geo should also be put before the Judicial Commission as the issues appears to be sensitive in nature. He, however, condemned the allegations of traitor on any media house or on any person. When asked about the doubtful role of Imran Khan in this issue, Haji Adeel commented that it was the media and the agencies which were promoting such elements and presented them as heroes before the nation.

“At this stage, all the political parties and media houses must play their role to strengthen democracy,” he added.

Senior Jamaat-e-Islami leader Liaquat Baloch commented that at a time when a complaint has been lodged before Pemra, no channel must be blocked or newspaper stopped.

“One must wait for the Pemra decision instead of shutting down Geo by using force,” Baloch held. Though the issue is serious even then the outcome of Perma and the Judicial Commission must be awaited, he said and urged the Judicial Commission to expedite its proceedings and bring its findings before the public as soon as possible.

While commenting on the role of Imran Khan in becoming part of the campaign against the Jang Group, Liaquat Baloch said political parties must refrain from fuelling the fire between the two sides.

‘Angels’ blocking Geo, The News, Jang

 

ISLAMABAD: Who says the chief of the ‘angels’ is ordering and monitoring the closure of all channels of the Geo Group through cable operators and stopping the distribution of daily Jang, which existed even at the time of the creation of Pakistan, and The News in cantonment areas? This is indeed happening in all cities across the country.
Geo has been blocked, and the circulation of Jang and The News stopped in all cantonments and companies and corporations under military officials’ control. Besides, in civil areas, attempts are under way to block Geo, and it has been pushed to the last numbers on TV in some areas. Following the life attempt on Hamid Mir, the well-known anchor of Geo News, the transmission of Geo group channels was initially being stopped in the cantonment areas but now the ISI has started contacting the cable operators in civilian areas and operators are being “asked” to block all Geo channels even in non-cantonment areas. The Geo/Jang Group, which according to its spokesman, was already facing the worst financial crisis in recent months has been badly damaged financially by the most recent blackout of its channels in many areas of different cities across the country.

The spokesman has said that agencies are playing a very negative role by blacking out the media channels and forcefully stopping the distribution of newspapers which played a role in the making of this country. The ISI is being maligned and defamed across the world because of this attack on media freedom. The spokesman has also added that the institution should not be maligned in this way and the agency should give up practices which are against the dignity and respect of their own institution, which is getting weaker and more isolated because of such illegal and unconstitutional acts.

The image of an institution is the most important thing which should not be compromised just because of ego and personal differences with individuals. Those holding such big and prestigious offices never come to the level of ordering subordinates to press cable operators to block TV channels or stop distribution of newspapers.

In a civilized society, in a situation like the one in Pakistan now, any institution would have given its complete point of view for publication in the said newspaper and would have followed the process of law to act against the media organisation if according to any institution there are intolerable excesses by the newspaper or news channel. However, what is happening in Pakistan is utterly disgusting and shameful. While an application has been moved to the Pemra through the Ministry of Defence, without waiting for the decision of Pemra’s authority, rogue elements have started getting Geo Group channels closed first in cantonments areas and now even in civilian areas. Distribution of newspapers was already stopped. Is this is what the institutions have learnt so far?

On November 3, 2007, neither the sitting government was toppled nor parliament dissolved. Rather parliament has passed a resolution to support the Nov 3 unconstitutional acts. Only one institution was attacked, yet it was an act of high treason. The present high treason case will set this principle that it is never necessary that a government is toppled or parliament or government is sacked by “revolutionaries” for committing the act of high treason, rather openly and obvious violation of any basic article of the Constitution is high treason. In the present case, one of the fundamental articles of the Constitution is being violated, which in future will formulate the act of high treason.

No one from the ISPR was ready to speak on the issue. However, retired officials close to the ISPR denied that any ISI individual was involved in threatening cable operators to block Geo in civilian areas. On the other hand, the Jang Group spokesman acknowledged some contacts with the government and the ISI but maintained that no concrete development regarding restoration of Geo channels had taken place.

The Jang Group has a history of facing adverse steps of the governments and institutions for speaking the truth. According to the Group’s spokesman, blocking of advertisements is a routine issue but the group was subjected to many harassing tactics in the past decades.

According to the spokesman, the whole nation remembers the closure of Geo for about three months when the channel and its newspaper group stood for the rule of law and the Constitution and faced losses to the tune of Rs6 billion, which were never given to the group and hearing a petition regarding this issue in Sindh High Court (SHC) is getting delayed because of responses from the government came very slow.

A spokesman for the Jang Group, when asked by this scribe how long this standoff of the group with government will continue, he replied that the group was already facing extreme financial constraints but now the situation will get worse and it will be facing great losses.

Asked how the group will face such a situation, the spokesman responded that after the latest brutal acts by the institutions to get the whole business of the group closed, there will remain no option but to lay off employees as it will become unavoidable.

When asked that Jang Group had faced all the worst government actions against it boldly and never adopted anti-workers policy in past, the spokesman insisted that the group’s management was not expecting such a shutdown on massive scale by state institutions in a situation when the sitting government and its regulatory body is completely helpless.

Journalists and media workers attached with the Geo/Jang Group are already facing bad conditions because of sky-rocketing inflation and any such a step would prove fatal for the journalist community and media workers, the spokesman said that the group had already faced huge losses and will fight to recover its financial health and even if it remains with no option but to say goodbye to its employees, it will do so in different phases.

Asked in how many phases and how many employees would be sent home in the first phase, the spokesman responded that 1,000 employees, including journalists and media workers, will be laid off in the first phase because of losses inflicted so far by the forceful closure by the institutions.

It would be a horrible scenario for the journalist community and media workers of the country as the leading media group of Pakistan would be laying off thousands of employees and simply in the first phase, 1,000 families will suffer across Pakistan.

It will be more horrifying to remember all this in history that how the top journalist Hamid Mir was first attacked and then his organization was pushed against the wall and was forced to face financial losses along with continued threats to its workers.