Muscle defeats law, Constitution in Geo-ISI tiff

ISLAMABAD: On the issue of Geo, the government and the military establishment stand divided with the former not inclined to get the Geo off air while the latter insisting on the closure of the channel at all costs.

However, on the ground, the Geo network has been blocked in most parts of the country without any legal order from any authority. This situation is a mockery of the law, Constitution and legal course and has all the potential to invite international pressures and possible sanctions.

In case of any “violation” by any media house, the law prescribes certain procedures, including filing of a complaint, which have been followed in this case by the ISI through the Defence Ministry. However, without allowing the law to take its course, the Geo network in most parts of the country has been closed through coercive measures.

The law of the land and the decisions of the Supreme Court do not allow the cable operators to act as an adjudicator or arbitrarily block or shuffle the number of any channel on the cable. But in the case of Geo, it has been done without any fear of accountability.

Pemra, which is without any chairman and is faced with the worst kind of internal bickering, has been unable to check the illegal suspension of Geo transmission. Neither Pemra has passed any order on Geo’s controversial April 19th coverage regarding the ISI nor any such judgment has been handed over by any court of law, yet the channel has been made to bleed through illegal means.

Background interactions reveal that the government is anxious to get the Geo-ISI tiff resolved amicably whereby the respect of the institutions of Pak Army and ISI is upheld without the closure of the channel. The government believes that what Geo did on April 19th was unfair but it does not want to go to the extent of closing down the leading television channel of the country.

Sources said that the ISI, however, is desirous to see the Geo channel suspended, if not closed. The government, however, is apprehensive that such an extreme action against Geo would not only compromise its democratic credentials but would also bring a lot of pressure from international players.

Some major economic concessions, including the GSP-Plus offered to Pakistan by the European Union, would be under serious threat in case Geo was shut down. The sources said that freedom of expression has been one of the conditions for the grant of GSP-Plus status to Pakistan.

More importantly, the government realises that no channel could be arbitrarily shut down in the presence of an independent judiciary. What happened on April 19th has to be adjudged ultimately by the judiciary in line with the law and Constitution. The court has to ultimately decide whether it was a bad editorial judgment or a conspiracy to defame the ISI.

The government is, in fact, in a dilemma over the Geo-ISI tiff. On the one hand, it is under pressure to shut Geo and also get from it an apology while, on the other hand, it has received a large number of complaints that Geo has been either closed or its place has been changed to last numbers on the cable by cable operators.

The government does not want to close Geo because it can be used as a precedent by the present and future governments to close any channel on the complaint of anyone against it. Politically, it suits the government to close any channel any time that criticises it but Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid and others do not want to use such negative tactics. The government is of the view that the issue should be resolved by apology and fine. Moreover, the government does not want to shut Geo because Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif realised that the journalist unions and Jang Group workers are planning to launch countrywide protests if journalists and workers were rendered jobless as a result of a ban on Geo.

The government, however, is not taking action on the complaints against the cable operators just to please the military establishment that wants Geo’s closure and an apology.According to a Geo spokesman, Geo has sustained losses of billions of rupees besides damage to its reputation because of its illegal closure or change of number on the cable.

President Mamnoon downplays army-govt tiff

 

KARACHI: President Mamnoon Hussain on Thursday downplayed the apparent tiff between the army and the government, saying that prime minister will handle the situation once he returns from China after attending the 2014 Boao Forum for Asia.
“I know Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s mind. He will manage the situation. He will not allow any of the differences to magnify,” President Mamnoon told The News in an interview at the State Guest House — his abode in Karachi.

“The situation is certainly not grave as being painted by the media. An unnecessary hype has been created... the media should play a responsible role,” said the president while urging national unity and cohesion.

Hussain, the supreme commander of the Pakistani armed forces by virtue of his office, claimed that the army chief Raheel Sharif and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif remain on the same page on all the important national issues. “I have exchanged views with the top army leaders, including the army chief, in recent days. The army continues to play a positive role and backs democracy,” he said.

Earlier this week, Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, in a first of its kind statement, warned detractors against undermining the institution of the armed forces. “The Pakistan Army upholds the sanctity of all institutions and will resolutely preserve its own dignity and institutional pride,” the army chief had said on Monday while visiting commandoes at their base near Tarbela. General Sharif’s remarks created an uproar and triggered speculations that ties between the civil and military leadership remain strained over the handling of former army chief Pervez Musharraf’s trial on treason charges and the government’s initiative of holding talks with the local Taliban responsible for the killing of thousands of civilians and security personnel.

However, President Mamnoon believed that an unnecessary controversy had been generated out of the army chief’s remarks. “I agree that some statements were not needed and could have been avoided,” said Mamnoon in an apparent reference to the derogatory remarks made against Musharraf by Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.

The prime minister had categorically told his party leaders not to issue any statements against Pervez Musharraf as his case is in the court and remains sub judice, said Mamnoon praising what he called the prime minister’s political maturity and vision for the country.

“The prime minister does not believe in any personal vendetta… he is a mature politician and wants to focus only on putting the country’s battered economy back on the track and improving the law and order.”

Mamoon’s reconciliatory remarks are an indication that the civilian government is moving fast to control any possible damage in the civil-military ties. Mamoon, the soft-spoken and easygoing businessman from Karachi, is known for his closeness with Sharif. He stood by Sharif when many of the party stalwarts deserted their leader during the former military-led government.

“The army knows that Pakistani economy is facing a crisis-like situation and fully backs the government’s efforts for its revival… the army also supports the holding of talks with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan,” Mamoon said.

He, however, admitted that the public opinion remains divided over the government’s talks initiative. “There are people who have suffered at the hands of the Taliban… they have seen their near and dear ones killed by terrorists. Therefore, they oppose talks… but still a majority favours this process.”

He said that the talks may result in brokering peace with some of the militant groups. This means that even if the government decides to launch an operation, then it would have to face a fewer number of militants, the president added.

Mamoon said that the country’s economic revival remains impossible without peace in the country, especially in the financial capital of Karachi.“The operation (against criminals and terrorists) in Karachi is going in the right direction, but we need more efforts by the Sindh government for its complete success,” he said.

“If there is peace in Karachi, the Sindh province will benefit the most… the provincial government should realise this,” he said.While giving details of the government’s efforts to boost growth and investment, Mamoon said that that China had promised $32 billion worth project financing and investments spanning over the next five years. “At least 22,000 megawatts of electricity will be generated through a mix of coal, nuclear and wind energy projects with the Chinese help.”

An economic corridor of roughly 4,000 kilometers will also be built connecting the Chinese city of Kashgar with Gawdar and Karachi, he said promising “extra security” to the Chinese investors.

Sallu Has a Tiff With Akshay?

Salman Khan is quite generous when it comes to doing cameos for friends. However, he is particular that he has to be the centre of attraction. He was to shake a leg in the title track of Akshay Kumar's Fugly.

 

After the shoot started, Sallu realised that it was Akki who was hogging most of the limelight in the special song and was allegedly quite upset. A source revealed to the TOI, "Sallu did not know about the details of the song and was briefed when he arrived on the set. Since Akshay had more screen time in the song, he coolly walked off after shooting the first stanza of the song, much to everyone's shock."