Explosive list of ‘bribed’ journalists to be made public today

[waqar goraya]

The Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered on Monday for the names of 282 journalists , who received payments or gifts from the secret fund of the information ministry in its bid to seek their support in writing in favour of the government, to be made public.

The list of 282 journalists would be uploaded on the SC website later in the day. This is the first time that any such list has come into light as in the past the secret fund of the information ministry was never made public.

Another list of 155 journalists who received payments or gifts would also be made public later.

The order of the SC came during the hearing of the case pertaining to petitions file by two private television channel anchors who had requested the court to probe the matter of media accountability and payments made to journalists by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)- led government in 2011-2012.

Earlier last year, the court had begun its probe and sought information and froze the funds of the information ministry after the petitioners had sought a probe and requested an end to the secret funds of the information ministry.

The information ministry had then denied the allegations.

Later this year , the apex court found out that that the federal information ministry had distributed gifts worth millions from its secret funds among a few journalists during the year 2011-12.

The court had later also learnt that former prime minister Raja Parvez Ashraf had approved on March 16, the last date of his government, a summary sanctioning payment of over Rs1.32 billion for media campaigns.

http://dawn.com/2013/04/22/explosive-list-of-bribed-journalists-to-be-made-public-today/

Boht maza ae ga...Can not wait any longer....

 

[Pak_Jazba]

Its already made available. You can download it from the Supreme court or Express tribune web page.

Though it doesnt have any of the big names that one would expect.

 

[mnoman15]

Nazir Naji, Fareeha Idrees, Arif Nizami, Nusrat Javed, Mujahid Barelvi, Rauf Klasra, Sohail Waraich, Asma Chaudhry, Raza Rumi, Waseem Badami, Journalists of SAFMA

These are the names included in Lifafa Journalists list uploaded on supreme court Website. Please comment below if I have missed any lifafa journalist.
Here the full list:http://www.supremecourt.gov.pk/web/user_files/File/list-A.pdf

 

[asifp]

Waseem Badami will have his own 11th hour now!

anyways this is Pakistan, people don't actually ever read or pay attention to the real details

So many people open theifs and corrupt people yet they are back.

 

[waqar goraya]

SO,it has been made public...

But why delay the list 2?

Lets have some more names first....

 

[waqar_ahmad]

Klasra? Interesting. I think he has been going after PPP big time

 

[waqar goraya]

I think journalists awarded tickets for PM's foreign tour coverage can be treated little less harshly...It is a lesser evil but still an evil because of secrecy...

 

[PakPrince]

these naming and shaming of politicians and other public figures never really works in Pakistan.
If anything they rope in more support, by bringing the saazish aspect into play.

It'd be much better to link them with Jewish connection or gambling story with them

 

[waqar goraya]

"Ghost writers" most expensive, says ministry

The information ministry apparently failed on Tuesday to convince the Supreme Court on why it was claiming privilege not to make public one list pertaining to expenditure of its secret fund which had not yet been declassified.

It conceded that `content writing` by `ghost writers` on certain subjects was the most expensive item for which handsome payments had to be made.

`When one fine morning incidents like May 2, 2011, in Abbottabad compound happen, the ministry lacks the ability to counter the negative fallout for which we have to request the best available writers in the market, Mohammad Tahir Hassan, a director in the ministry, explained before a threejudge bench.

The bench, hearing a set of petitions regarding media accountability initiated by some television anchors, was discussing a request by the ministry to keep secret the list `B` which contains 174 items and shows an expenditure of Rs86.8 million from its secret fund.

The court had already ordered to make public the list `A` containing 282 items on which Rs177.9m had been spent on journalists etc.

Mr Hassan said the media challenge was increasing day by day and when expenditures from the head of the secret fund was made, `we consider it classified`, but now the ministry was also getting educated from these proceedings.

Advocate Raja Amir Abbas, representing the informationministry, said there were many journalists who did not want to come upfront because of the threat associated with it when they wrote against terrorism or Taliban. `They write under fictitious names.

The ministry official said the war against terrorism had not ended and huge expenses had been incurred during the Swat operation against militants, especially when a large number of people were displaced.

However, the court was not convinced by the explanation and said operations like Swat were among the best campaigns which should not have been kept hidden from the nation.

The director said details of money spent on informants for providing information about the whereabouts of the mobile radio stations of Maulana Fazlullah, nicknamed `Mulla Radio`, could not be divulged.

Justice Jawwad S. Khwaja said the money paid to informants should not come under the publicity fund and no one was calling for revealing the names of the informants.

`We are not asking the ministry to disclose any information regarding payments made in respect of Fazlullah, but only what the ministry paid to the newspapers and television channels,` he said.

`We will accept justification for sensitive information regarding defence and security.

When the director tried to explain that a media coordination committee on defence planning, headed by the information secretary, decidedabout the payments on which the ministry was claiming privilege, the judge cited a news item in which an information secretary had expressed his ignorance about the existence of such a committee in the ministry.

Anchorperson Hamid Mir said an impression was being created as if journalists who did not take money from the secret fund were not working in the national interest.

Justice Khwaja wondered whether the `medal of patriotism` had to be given by the information secretary.

He said the nation should know whether a piece of writing was a spin, a paid slot or independent writing. `This is an opportunity and the court wants to avail this.

The information ministry conceded that items in list B were not subjected to audit by the Auditor General (AGP), although the expenditures under the constitution were liable to be audited under the Auditor General`s (Functions, Powers and Terms and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2001.

The court ordered a senior functionary of the office of the AGP to appear on April 25 and inform it how long it would take to audit the items mentioned in the list.

`Appropriate orders in respect of the items in list B will be passed on the next date of hearing,` it said.

The court also asked Mr Mir to submit a reply on an application filed by the ministry`s counsel that had accused him of using inappropriate language in talk shows in an attempt to influence the proceedings.

From Dawn

 

[*syed59*]

ab kya zaroorat hai.... during Musharraf tenure the stone brained people on forums would lieterally praise agents like Shahid masood and Hamid Mir for their "off the hook" analysis and "exposing" certain things..

The jihaalat of this nation has already caused the damage. and there will be more damage because even after realizing their mistakes such as siding with Lal masjid khabees at a time when the governement and army needed support from the awaam... and believing people like these anti Pakistan anchors.. jaahil people still fail to acknowledge and improve themselves... instead become hypocrites as if the they don't know anything.... yeh to haalat hai aaj hamari awaam ki

abhi aaraha hai "naya" pakistan... whole nation has been made mentally ill.

 

[youboy]

Millions paid from secret fund but billions not revealed

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has released the list of journalists, media houses and the staff of the ministry of information who benefited from the secret fund of the information ministry. The list includes a top media house, which has been paid Rs35 million and the towering figures of the media industry directly paid by the government since 2011.
The secret fund runs into billions but the Supreme Court has only been told about the details of Rs177.98 million of which a major chunk has been paid to the Institute of Regional Studies. Questions are being raised where those billions were spent and why the details of the entire fund have not been released.
The initial reaction in the media circles was one of extreme displeasure as the lists were called eyewash and a fraud as no big names were disclosed and over 90 per cent of the funds were kept secret.
The list shows a sorry tale of what our governments do with the national heroes as singer Reshman was paid Rs25,000 only while the so-called journalists who are a black spot on the face of journalism have been paid millions by the PPP government to manipulate the media.
A quick reading of the list also shows how low can a few journalists stoop to get benefits from the government as quite a few fell for air tickets, boarding and lodging, dinners etc.
According to the list released by the Supreme Court, on 30-09-2011 a channel CNBC was paid Rs35 million from the secret fund for a show “Pakistan This Week” and this was approved by the prime minister. On 01-02-2012 a payment of Rs37 million was made to Midas Pvt Ltd for media campaign titled ‘Benazir Bhutto Song’.
The president of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, Pervez Shaukat, was facilitated by the information ministry’s secret fund on various occasions under the head of boarding and lodging in different hotels.
Columnist Nazir Naji has been found taking benefits from the fund of the ministry on many occasions for boarding and lodging and getting cars on rent. The president of Multan Press Club, Shakeel Anjum, a known friend of former Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, has been found getting the maximum benefits for boarding and lodging.
His namesake and one of the most credible journalists of the country and senior Crime Correspondent of The News Islamabad, Shakeel Anjum, has clarified that he has earned respect and credibility in his 35 years of journalism but his namesake is getting benefits from the government and is defaming him.
The list includes the names of Raza Rumi, Sohail Warriach, Amir Mir, Ali Ahmad Dihlon and Mr and Mrs Adeeb Jawadani who were facilitated in boarding and lodging in Islamabad Hotel on 06-08-2011.
It is pertinent to mention here that whenever the journalists or analysts are invited to Islamabad or any other city to attend any seminar, convention, programme, workshop etc arranged by any government department/ministry, the budget of such programme is always approved and is never secret. However when any influential journalist has to visit any of these cities for his personal engagements, such money is issued from the secret fund of the information ministry and is shown as boarding/lodging in this list.
Similarly all foreign visits of the prime ministers are approved and total expenses are meted out from the sanctioned budget. However, the journalists who are included in the list of those who would accompany the PM at the last stage, their expenses are meted out from the secret fund of the information ministry.
The list further reveals that a sum of Rs239,755 was spent on air tickets for Abbas Ather of Express and Iftikhar Ahmad plus lunches for 90 people.
A so-called journalist Shoaib Bhutta has been paid Rs107,143 as financial assistant but ironically ten widows of late journalists were only paid Rs6500 each. The loot and plunder of the secret fund can be judged from the fact that widows of late journalists are paid a small amount but those who have no credentials but are close to the rulers have been paid a huge amount. Bhutta has also been found getting benefits of boarding/lodging on a few occasions including Rs100,000 for a ‘special assignment’.
Muhammad Saleh Zaafir has been paid more than half a million for ‘special assignments’, which he has been doing for the government of the day. One wonders what a special assignment means. A sum of Rs2.4 million has been spent on dinners hosted by the minister and Eid cakes to the journalists on at least nine occasions. The incumbent information minister once came to meet the prime minister and his ticket was paid from the secret fund.
A news agency has been paid Rs600,000 as financial support by the government form the fund. The media commission of Supreme Court has also been paid Rs4 million from the same fund. Jasmine Manzoor, Ejaz Khokhar and Asadullah Ghalib also did not stay behind in grabbing whatever they could get from the secret fund.
Many journalists of Multan Press Club and others across the country have also been given financial assistance ranging from Rs20,000 to Rs50,000.
Meanwhile, Sohail Warraich, Amir Mir, Iftikhar Ahmad and Nazir Naji have expressed their surprise at appearance of their names in the Information Ministry list. They said it is an established practice that the government invites journalists and pay for their travel, lodging and boarding expenses. They said the government often invites journalists in groups and sometime individually. They said many respectable editors were also off and on invited by the government. They said all government ministries have officially sanctioned funds to bear expenses of such nature. They said it happens all over the world that the governments pay for journalists expenses when they invite them. They said the Information Ministry spending on such visits is borne out from sanctioned funds.
They said the payment shown by the Information Ministry from secret fund has made the whole matter suspicious. They said it is possible that such payments were also made from officially sanctioned funds besides being shown as made from secret funds. They said the possibility of misappropriation by the Information Ministry officials warrants that the Supreme Court should order probe into this issue.
Clarifying his position Pervez Shaukat, President Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, said he along with other journalists made Lahore visits to appear before Salim Shehzad Commission. Justice Saqib Nisar, who was the chairman of the commission, is witness to this fact. The commission used to meet in Lahore. He deplored the fact that his name was mentioned in the list although he was not alone to visit Lahore. He demanded probe into the matter that why names of others have been omitted and why this expenditure was made from secret fund. He said only Rs10,000 were shown to be spent for his lodging and boarding in two years.
Taking exception to appearance of his name in the list, Saleh Zaafir said it is not based on truth. He said he would challenge the mentioning of his name in the list in the Supreme Court. He said how he could be paid by the government that did not like him.

http://images.thenews.com.pk/23-04-2013/ethenews/t-22413.htm

 

[*syed59*]

who will release list of "bribed judges" and "bribed chief justices" ?

 

[waqar goraya]

There is no dearth of trolls in our media or judiciary as well...

 

[asifp]

Justice in this country is reserved for Mushy only.

Our Judiciary thinks it is running the country now days, needs to be reigned back. Whatever happened to the case against the son of Iftikhar Chaudry himself!

 

[from_da_lost_dim3nsion]

What did badami get ?

 

[Zarrar]

Loving the Mushy clones squirming...God don't like arrogance...

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

Imran Khan messaged me one day 'Have you taken money from PML N' - Interesting debate with Kashif Abbasi and Meher Abbasi


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