ISLAMABAD:
“He must be very happy that I am here in Pakistan, we had a plan to come
to Islamabad together but that could not happen because ... (a pause),”
Kati Marton shared thoughts recalling her late husband, Richard
Holbrooke, former US special representative for Afghanistan and
Pakistan, not long ago a household name in our region before his death
in December 2010. Marton stopped short of using the word ‘died’ for him.
Being
Holbrooke’s widow is not her only source of introduction. She is an
award-winning journalist and author of eight books. Marton is in
Pakistan in her capacity as board member of Committee to Protect
Journalists (CPJ) to discuss with higher authorities the security issues
facing Pakistani journalists. She was seemingly touched with the
memories of her husband with whom she had visited number of countries of
the world but Pakistan.
Holbrooke was her second husband.
Marton’s first marriage was with Peter Jennings, a journalist. She had
met Holbrooke, a career diplomat, in New York, and tied the knot with
him in 1995. A Hungarian-American, Marton had deep memories attached
with Budapest, a city where she was born, raised and later chose for
wedding ceremony as she went for the second marriage.
We
were introduced to each other by Bob Dietz, CPJ’s director Asia, only
Thursday night at a dinner in a local hotel.Marton’s questions about the
journalists’ security in Pakistan to the participants of the dinner
forced me to request our friend Bob Dietz for having an appointment with
Kati. The next morning I was sitting with her one-on-one, thanks to
Bob, whom one always found smiling.
Marton, who led the
CPJ delegations in meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif the other
day, recorded her impression about it. Nawaz Sharif was very happy to
see her due to his close association with Holbrooke. PM Nawaz Sharif
told Marton that her husband would reach him often when he was even in
the opposition. Holbrooke had urged him not to participate in the Long
March due to reports about serious threats to his security, PM told
Marton.
“Mr Sharif did not forget that and he shared this
with me how my husband had phoned him and how much he was concerned for
his life,” Marton said.In March 2009, during the lawyer’s movement,
Nawaz Sharif led a long march from Lahore to Islamabad to restore the
judges of the superior courts who were sent home by former dictator
Pervez Musharraf.
Hours after starting the long march the
then Army Chief Gen Kayani had informed Nawaz Sharif that his demands
had been accepted by the government, marking the end of this historic
march. Nawaz Sharif for the first time revealed this that not only the
then Pakistan People’s Party government and military but also US
authorities did not want him to join the long march.
What
was the reaction of the PM when you raised the issue of security of
Pakistani journalists, I asked Marton. “It was really unusual because he
was not defensive,” she said. And she explained how. “Whenever I meet
with any head of the state I find them defensive trying to tell us that
we have some wrong information. PM Sharif was altogether a different
man. He neither defended nor disputed our concerns and rather assured us
that he would do whatever he could to ensure the safety of the
journalists,” Marton said.
The PM went a step forward, she
explained, adding two more things in this connection from his side. One
was the announcement of special prosecutors to deal with the cases of
journalists in all the provinces and the other was the setting up of a
committee comprising journalists and government officials to oversee the
progress related to the security measures.
PM nominated
Ahmed Rashid, the internationally known famous author as the head of
that committee, she said. “I found PM Sharif a different kind of head of
the state.”Marton was equally upset to note the lack of cooperation
from ISI leadership that denied a meeting request. Asked why she wanted a
meeting with ISI, Marton said: “I am not naïve, neither was my
husband.” She said Pakistani journalists are facing a “combination of
threats.”
Asked what motivated her concerns about the
security of journalists in Pakistan and the rest of the world, Marton
said her father and mother both were journalists in Budapest. They were
working for American news organizations. I still remember when I was
only six and had opened the door and secret police entered home and
arrested my mother, in front of me. My father was already arrested.
Marton still feels the pain.
Her parents were later
declared the spies of CIA and sent to prison for two years leaving
Marton behind with her only elder sister to experience the trauma. Once
released, her parents migrated to the US.
Marton has a
master’s degree in journalism from George Washington University and
started working, first for radio and then television.She also authored
several books. Marton believes that Pakistani journalism has a room of
improvement but it is doing great.
Her book “The Polk
Conspiracy” deserves particular mention wherein she exposed the secret
role of US and UK governments in the killing of a journalist. When she
told me this I wondered if any Pakistani journalist can dare exposing
the role of our governments in a similar way. There was no definite
answer in my mind.
LAHORE:
PML-(Functional) Chief Pir Sibghatullah Rashidi met Prime Minister
Muhammed Nawaz Sharif at his Raiwind residence on Thursday.
WASHINGTON:
US President Barack Obama's national security team met on Saturday to
weigh policy options after Russia's parliament endorsed military action
in Ukraine, a White House official said.