Hamid Mir: Groups condemn Pakistan TV host suspension

[MenInG]

Journalist bodies and human rights organisations on Monday condemned the move to take veteran journalist and TV show host Hamid Mir "off air".

Mir told BBC Urdu he had been informed by the Geo News management that he would "not go on air on Monday" to host his five-days-a-week show Capital Talk.

Although there was no official comment from Geo News, sources from the channel's management confirmed to Dawn.com that Mir has been sent on forced leave for some time.

The TV channel's administration had earlier confirmed the same to BBC Urdu, which quoted officials as saying that Mir would not host his talk show from Monday (today) and that "he has been sent on leave for some time".

The management said Mir was still associated with the Jang Media Group; another anchorperson has reportedly been asked to host the programme in place of Mir for now.

Mir, the longtime host of the popular Capital Talk, had just days earlier delivered a fiery speech in Islamabad calling for accountability for repeated assaults on journalists in the country. He was speaking at a protest against the recent attack on journalist and YouTuber Asad Ali Toor.

"The management asked me to either explain or refute the speech outside the [National] Press Club," Mir told BBC Urdu, adding that he asked in return "Who is asking you for this?"

"I told them if they arrest the persons who attacked Asad Toor then I am ready to apologise, let alone issue an explanation," the journalist said.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, meanwhile, without addressing Mir or Geo, tweeted in the evening that the government had nothing to do with the internal decisions of organisations.

"Broadcasters themselves decide which programme they have to broadcast and what its team will be," said Chaudhry, adding that all institutions were responsible for devising their policies under Article 19 of the Constitution.

'Family threatened'
Earlier in the day, as reports started circulating that Mir would no longer host his show, the anchor via a tweet said that a ban would be "nothing new for me".

"I was banned twice in the past. Lost jobs twice. Survived assassination attempts but cannot stop raising voice for the rights given in the Constitution. This time I am ready for any consequences and ready to go at any extent because they are threatening my family," he wrote, refraining from naming anyone.

While talking to BBC, Mir alleged that his wife and daughter had been threatened, while his brother had been summoned by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in some old case.

Dawn.com has made repeated attempts to contact Mir for a comment.

In 2014, Mir was critically wounded in a gun attack in Karachi.

'Fascist tactics'

As the news continued to make rounds on social media, condemnations by rights bodies followed, including from the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Amnesty International South Asia and Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) — all of which were shared by Mir on his official Twitter account.

PFUJ strongly condemned the "ban" on Mir, saying: "The Geo management should let the journalist fraternity know what prompted them to take such a decision within 72 hours of Hamid Mir's speech in front of the National Press Club on Friday where he condemned non-democratic forces for lodging attacks on media persons and Asad Toor."

The body, in a statement, termed the move an attack on the freedom of expression and press.

"First journalists are attacked and when media persons protest against such attacks, the government employs fascist tactics to silence them," it said, warning of protests outside Geo offices if Mir's show was not "restored".

Amnesty International South Asia said the "punitive action of taking [Mir] off the air following a speech at a protest calling for accountability for an attack on [Toor] severely undermines the responsibility media outlets and authorities have to protect free speech in an already repressive environment".

"Censorship, harassment and physical violence must not be the price journalists pay to do their jobs," it stressed.

Mir "must be allowed to resume his professional duties immediately and the threats against him investigated", urged HRCP.

"That Mr Mir has been promptly silenced and his family allegedly threatened is now a tipping point for freedom — and one that will not be resolved through the optics of law-making in the shape of the long touted and heavily criticised journalists' protection bill," it said in a statement.

PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz too criticised the decision, saying banning Mir's programme's was "not the solution but giving rise to further difficulties and problems for oneself".

"It will not extinguish the fire but add inflame it further. But who can explain?" she tweeted.

Protest against attack on journalist
Toor was severely beaten up by unidentified assailants outside his residence in Islamabad's Sector F-10 on May 25.

According to police, some people had gathered outside Toor’s residence located in an apartment building. A scuffle took place between him and these people who fled the scene after thrashing him.

Subsequently, he registered a complaint with the police, who are investigating the incident.

On Friday, journalist organisations held protest demonstrations against the attack on Toor and growing incidents of violence against journalists. A number of prominent journalists, politicians and civil society activists attended the protest in Islamabad and spoke against assaults on members of the media industry.

In a strongly worded speech at the protest, Mir accused non-democratic forces of being behind the incident and warned of retaliation if attacks on journalists continued.

He said he would start to gradually speak up and "whoever wants to get me fired can do it because if I am fired I will get freedom, and I will use that to unmask your faces".

"You are not unknown," Mir had said referring to those he held responsible and condemned the allegations that Toor had concocted the whole incident to get political asylum.

He also highlighted that multiple journalists had been picked up or harassed by unknown persons in recent times while many had been labelled "traitors".

Soon after clips of Mir's speech went viral, hashtags in favour and against Mir started trending on Twitter in Pakistan; as many called for him to be fired or arrested, others applauded him on his speech.

The next day, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in a statement said the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the country’s premier spy agency, had “totally disassociated” itself from the attack on Toor.

The statement said that a “high-level contact” was established between the ministry and the ISI over the incident in which a digital media journalist was “allegedly attacked” in Islamabad and the ISI had stated that it had nothing to do with the incident.

“Such continued allegations against ISI show that the ISI is being a target of the fifth generation war under an organised conspiracy,” said the statement, issued a day after journalist organisations held protest demonstrations against the growing incidents of attacks on journalists.

Dawn

 

[ChTab]

Pakistani journalist Mir ‘taken off air’ after military outburst

Prominent Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir has been taken off the air just days after he spoke out against the country’s military at a protest against an attack on another journalist.

Mir told Al Jazeera he has been informed he will not be hosting “Capital Talk” on Geo News from Monday evening.

“I’ve only been told by Geo management that I won’t be hosting the show,” Mir said.

“They said there is a lot of pressure [after the statements at the protest last week]. They did not say who it is coming from.”

With specifying a reason for the move, Geo News’s management confirmed to Al Jazeera that Mir had been taken off-air and would not be hosting the show.

Informed sources told Al Jazeera that Geo News had been “pressured to fire [Mir]”.

Last week, independent Pakistani journalist Asad Ali Toor, known for his critical coverage of the country’s government and military, was attacked in his Islamabad home by three unidentified men, who beat him up and warned him about his work.

In his speech at the protest against the attack in Islamabad on Friday, Mir had threatened to identify those responsible for a spate of recent attacks on journalists in Pakistan. He used several terms implying the involvement of the Pakistani military and named Pakistani army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

“If you’re breaking into our homes to assault us, well, we cannot enter your homes as you have tanks and guns, but we can make things public, things from inside your homes,” Mir said at the protest, alluding to the military’s involvement.

In 2014, Mir survived a shooting attack by unidentified attackers shortly after he hosted an episode of his programme that focused on alleged rights violations by the military in the southwestern Balochistan province.

“The space is completely shrinking. In fact, I’d say it is finishing. You are not even allowed to express yourself while you are not on duty,” said Iqbal Khattak, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) representative in Pakistan and head of media rights group Freedom Network, in response to Mir being taken off-air.

“I think we were proven right that the state and the government are putting pressure to influence the editorial independence of certain media houses.”

Khattak said the threats against journalists specifically targeted those who reported in a critical manner on the government and the military.

“Journalists who are critical of the government policies are under pressure, and those who are saying that ‘everything is fine’, they have no issues as far as their security and safety are concerned.”

ISI’s involvement
Toor, who was attacked on Wednesday, said in a police report that one of his attackers identified himself as belonging to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the country’s main intelligence agency.

On Saturday, the Pakistan government termed the accusation “a well-thought-out conspiracy”.

Pakistan’s military has directly ruled the country for roughly half of its 74-year history, and critics say it continues to exercise control over many aspects of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government.

In 2019, an Al Jazeera investigation found that journalists, editors and managers at news organisations across the country reported their work was being censored by the government and the military through the targeting of their news organisations using financial means.

In July 2020, prominent television news host Matiullah Jan was abducted from outside a school in Islamabad. Jan said he was blindfolded, gagged, bound and assaulted by the unidentified attackers during 12 hours in custody.

In April, senior journalist Absar Alam was shot in the abdomen while he was out for a walk in Islamabad. Alam survived the attack, with a lone attacker seen on security camera footage fleeing the scene.

No arrests have been made in either case.

In January, the BBC was forced to stop broadcasting a daily Urdu news bulletin due to “interference” in its editorial content.

“The Pakistani media, which have a long tradition of being very lively, have become a priority target for the country’s ‘deep state’, a euphemism for the military and ISI … and the significant degree of control they exercise over the civilian executive,” says media rights watchdog RSF.

“The influence of this military ‘establishment’, which cannot stand independent journalism, has increased dramatically since Imran Khan became prime minister in July 2018.”

Pakistan ranks ninth on the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Global Impunity Index, with at least 15 unsolved murders of journalists.

In 2021, the country was ranked 145 out of 180 countries on RSF’s World Press Freedom Index.

The government denies involvement in attacks against journalists or press censorship, with PM Khan frequently repeating his claim that media in Pakistan are independent.

Pakistani Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry did not respond to an Al Jazeera request for comment, but last week denied the existence of press censorship in the country while also accusing journalists of fabricating attack claims “to get immigration” to other countries.

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/...ournalist-taken-off?__twitter_impression=true

 

[Bewal Express]

Pakistani journalist Mir ‘taken off air’ after military outburst

Prominent Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir has been taken off the air just days after he spoke out against the country’s military at a protest against an attack on another journalist.

Mir told Al Jazeera he has been informed he will not be hosting “Capital Talk” on Geo News from Monday evening.

“I’ve only been told by Geo management that I won’t be hosting the show,” Mir said.

“They said there is a lot of pressure [after the statements at the protest last week]. They did not say who it is coming from.”

With specifying a reason for the move, Geo News’s management confirmed to Al Jazeera that Mir had been taken off-air and would not be hosting the show.

Informed sources told Al Jazeera that Geo News had been “pressured to fire [Mir]”.

Last week, independent Pakistani journalist Asad Ali Toor, known for his critical coverage of the country’s government and military, was attacked in his Islamabad home by three unidentified men, who beat him up and warned him about his work.

In his speech at the protest against the attack in Islamabad on Friday, Mir had threatened to identify those responsible for a spate of recent attacks on journalists in Pakistan. He used several terms implying the involvement of the Pakistani military and named Pakistani army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

“If you’re breaking into our homes to assault us, well, we cannot enter your homes as you have tanks and guns, but we can make things public, things from inside your homes,” Mir said at the protest, alluding to the military’s involvement.

In 2014, Mir survived a shooting attack by unidentified attackers shortly after he hosted an episode of his programme that focused on alleged rights violations by the military in the southwestern Balochistan province.

“The space is completely shrinking. In fact, I’d say it is finishing. You are not even allowed to express yourself while you are not on duty,” said Iqbal Khattak, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) representative in Pakistan and head of media rights group Freedom Network, in response to Mir being taken off-air.

“I think we were proven right that the state and the government are putting pressure to influence the editorial independence of certain media houses.”

Khattak said the threats against journalists specifically targeted those who reported in a critical manner on the government and the military.

“Journalists who are critical of the government policies are under pressure, and those who are saying that ‘everything is fine’, they have no issues as far as their security and safety are concerned.”

ISI’s involvement
Toor, who was attacked on Wednesday, said in a police report that one of his attackers identified himself as belonging to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the country’s main intelligence agency.

On Saturday, the Pakistan government termed the accusation “a well-thought-out conspiracy”.

Pakistan’s military has directly ruled the country for roughly half of its 74-year history, and critics say it continues to exercise control over many aspects of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government.

In 2019, an Al Jazeera investigation found that journalists, editors and managers at news organisations across the country reported their work was being censored by the government and the military through the targeting of their news organisations using financial means.

In July 2020, prominent television news host Matiullah Jan was abducted from outside a school in Islamabad. Jan said he was blindfolded, gagged, bound and assaulted by the unidentified attackers during 12 hours in custody.

In April, senior journalist Absar Alam was shot in the abdomen while he was out for a walk in Islamabad. Alam survived the attack, with a lone attacker seen on security camera footage fleeing the scene.

No arrests have been made in either case.

In January, the BBC was forced to stop broadcasting a daily Urdu news bulletin due to “interference” in its editorial content.

“The Pakistani media, which have a long tradition of being very lively, have become a priority target for the country’s ‘deep state’, a euphemism for the military and ISI … and the significant degree of control they exercise over the civilian executive,” says media rights watchdog RSF.

“The influence of this military ‘establishment’, which cannot stand independent journalism, has increased dramatically since Imran Khan became prime minister in July 2018.”

Pakistan ranks ninth on the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Global Impunity Index, with at least 15 unsolved murders of journalists.

In 2021, the country was ranked 145 out of 180 countries on RSF’s World Press Freedom Index.

The government denies involvement in attacks against journalists or press censorship, with PM Khan frequently repeating his claim that media in Pakistan are independent.

Pakistani Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry did not respond to an Al Jazeera request for comment, but last week denied the existence of press censorship in the country while also accusing journalists of fabricating attack claims “to get immigration” to other countries.

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/...ournalist-taken-off?__twitter_impression=true

Hamid is a certified liar. This whole drama from the mafia to defame the institutions has been exposed.

 

[MenInG]

International rights groups have condemned the suspension of a prominent Pakistani journalist and talk show host from his regular television programme.

Hamid Mir was taken off air on Monday, just days after he spoke out against the country's powerful military.

He accused them of censoring the media and persecuting journalists.

Critics say journalists in Pakistan are increasingly under threat, although the government denies this.

Mr Mir hosts one of Pakistan's highest-rated political talk shows - called "Capital Talk" - on Geo News, part of the country's largest media group.

He told the BBC that on Monday, management told him that he would not be going on air.

Geo News did not give a reason for why he was suspended but confirmed that the veteran journalist would be off air for some time.

News agency Reuters cited unnamed officials at Geo News as confirming that the channel was pressured to act by the military.

The suspension follows comments the TV host made last week.

He was speaking at a protest rally after Asad Ali Toor, another journalist critical of the military, had been attacked in his home by three unidentified men.

Mr Toor says the attackers assaulted him and threatened him about his reporting.

In his speech, Mr Mir called for accountability and said he would identify those responsible for a series of attacks on journalists in Pakistan.

"If you're breaking into our homes to assault us, well, we cannot enter your homes as you have tanks and guns, but we can make things public, things from inside your homes," he said.

What has the reaction been?
Amnesty International condemned the "punitive action" taken against Mr Mir, saying that it "severely undermines the responsibility media outlets and authorities have to protect free speech in an already repressive environment".

Steven Butler of the Committee to Protect Journalists warned the development underscored "the lack of true press freedom in Pakistan".

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan "strongly condemned" the suspension of Mr Mir, saying the he should be allowed to resume his job immediately and that the threats against him should be investigated.

Tweeting after his suspension, Mr Mir appeared defiant and unwilling to buckle under pressure.

"I was banned twice in the past. Lost jobs twice. Survived assassination attempts but cannot stop raising voice for the rights given in the constitution. Nothing new for me."

In 2014, Mr Mir was critically wounded by a gun attack, after his talk show covered alleged rights violations by the military in southwestern Balochistan province.

His attackers have never been identified.

What is the political background?
The military has ruled Pakistan for many decades since independence, and although a civilian government led by Imran Khan is currently in power, many say military leaders continue to exercise control.

Critics of the military and the government say there has also been a campaign in recent years to supress dissenting voices in the media.

Both the military and the government deny the allegations.

Local journalist unions however say that since 2018, around 3,000 media workers have lost their jobs.

Anger as video shows Pakistan reporter's abduction
Pakistan is ranked among the five deadliest countries for journalists to work, according to Reporters Without Borders.

Senior journalist Absar Alam survived a bullet wound after being attacked by an unidentified gunman in Islamabad in April.

In July 2020, another prominent journalist, Matiullah Jan, was abducted by unknown gunmen in police uniforms. He was blindfolded, gagged, bound and assaulted for 12 hours before being released.

Earlier this year, the BBC was forced to stop broadcasting its daily Urdu bulletin due to "interference" in its programme.

BBC

 

[MenInG]

The Geo/Jang Group has issued a statement after journalists and rights bodies condemned the move to take veteran TV show host Hamid Mir off air.

A day earlier, Mir told BBC Urdu he had been informed by the Geo News management that he would "not go on air on Monday" to host his five-days-a-week show 'Capital Talk'.

In a statement, the Geo/Jang Group said that the veteran journalist had made a speech "that has resulted in backlash from different segments of society".

"The editorial committee and lawyers will check for violation of policy and law. Meanwhile, ‘Capital Talk’ will be hosted by a temporary host," it said.

"We would like to remind our viewers and readers that Geo and Jang Group were shut down, our journalists were beaten up as they faced hundreds of fake allegations of corruption, blasphemy and traitorhood, shot at, financially strangulated more than any other media organisation in the country. The organisation has lost more than Rs10 billion to keep viewers and readers informed.

"However, it becomes difficult for the group and its editors to take ownership of the content that is delivered outside the purview, input and guidance of its editors, and which are not fact-checked and approved by the editorial teams," the statement said.

It added that the disappointment and frustration being felt by Mir and other journalists was a "shared and grave concern but better ways exist on how to channel that energy for productive gains for the safety of journalism and journalists".

"Too many journalists lose their lives and their liberty in Pakistan while their fight for the right of the public to know continues," the statement said, adding that many human and media rights organisations have advocated that the government must protect journalists. "No respite has been given till now."

Mir had just days earlier delivered a fiery speech in Islamabad calling for accountability for repeated assaults on journalists in the country. He was speaking at a protest against the recent attack on journalist and YouTuber Asad Ali Toor.

"The management asked me to either explain or refute the speech outside the [National] Press Club," Mir told BBC Urdu, adding that he asked in return: "Who is asking you for this?"

"I told them if they arrest the persons who attacked Asad Toor then I am ready to apologise, let alone issue an explanation," the journalist said.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, meanwhile, without addressing Mir or Geo, tweeted in the evening that the government had nothing to do with the internal decisions of broadcasting organisations.

"Broadcasters themselves decide which programme they have to broadcast and what its team will be," said Chaudhry, adding that all media institutions were responsible for devising their policies under Article 19 of the Constitution.

DAWN

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: In a protest demonstration by civil society and media rights organisations for a journalist Asad Toor who was beaten up by yet to be identified men, Geo’s senior anchorperson Hamid Mir made a speech that has resulted in a backlash from different segments of society.

The Editorial Committee and lawyers will check for violation of policy and law. Meanwhile, ‘Capital Talk’ will be hosted by a temporary host. “We would like to remind our viewers and readers that Geo and Jang Group were shut down, our journalists were beaten up as they faced hundreds of fake allegations of corruption, blasphemy and traitorhood, shot at, financially strangulated more than any other media organisation in the country. The organisation has lost more than Rs10 billion to keep viewers and readers informed.

However, it becomes difficult for the Group and its editors to take ownership of the content that is delivered outside the purview, input and guidance of its editors, and which are not fact checked and approved by the editorial teams.

The anger, disappointment and frustration that Hamid Mir and other journalists feel on fellow colleagues being attacked is a shared and grave concern but better ways and means exist on how to channel that energy for productive gains for the safety of journalism and journalists.

Too many journalists lose their lives and their liberty in Pakistan while their fight for the right of the public to know continues. The PFUJ, Human Rights Commission, Pakistan Bar associations, PBA, APNS, AEMEND, CPNE as well as international human and media rights organisations all have advocated on many occasions that the government must proactively protect journalists and act against the perpetrators but no respite has been given till now.

GEO

 

[Bewal Express]

Does anyone know where these rights bodies were when a journalist was killed for speaking up in Sindh? Was the life of Aziz Memon worthless? Or are the rights of guys with Foreign agendas only ones that matter

 

[Lonewarrior]

make him example for others .

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: Senior jour*nalist Hamid Mir has offered apology over his recent speech at a protest against attacks on journalists and said he had no intention to defame Pakistan Army.

A joint statement issued by a committee formed by the Rawalpindi Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ), the National Press Club and Mr Mir on Tuesday said Mr Mir briefed it about his speech at a protest demonstration on May 28. He said he had no intention to defame the army, had high regard for the sacrifices rendered by it and had covered army operations from Siachen to the LoC.

Mr Mir said he made a speech during a protest outside the NPC against attacks on journalists. He said he got carried away after spee*ches by other speakers as he too had faced an attack in the past.

Mr Mir offered an apology if his speech hurt the feelings of any person. He said he had no differences with the army nor did he name any person.

After Mr Mir’s speech the Geo TV management had decided to take him off air.

Later on June 4, the committee comprising former PFUJ president Afzal Butt, RIUJ president Amir Sajjad Syed and NPC president Shakeel Anjum was formed to seek an end to the confusion created after the speech.

When contacted, Mr Mir said he had made the explanatory statement before an elected body of journalists. He said the Geo TV management had also sought an explanation from him, but he did not respond as he had made his speech from PFUJ platform and not Geo.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2021

 

[PetroDollars]

This is just silly, wheter you like HM or hate him.

Hardly anyone noticed his speech against the army till he was banned, what they are doing now is just making him popular all over the world, the sympathy he is reciving from western journalists is breaking records and if he is not allowed back on air, im afraid he will get new slots on CNN and NYT to take his propaganda against pak army global.

 

[cric_man]

this is a good synopsis of the situation.

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[PetroDollars]

this is a good synopsis of the situation.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tZb1Rs3I6nk" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Geela Titar is just a pawn of the gov. the worse journalist you want to watch

 

[King_Kohli]

Pakistan a democracy only in name: Hamid Mir

LONDON: The anchor and host of the now-off air primetime show Capital Talk on Geo, Hamid Mir, in a wide-ranging interview to the BBC World Service, criticised the shrinking space for press freedom and the growing “climate of fear” for journalists in Pakistan.

Hamid Mir spoke from Islamabad with Stephen Sackur, the host of the BBC show HardTalk.

“There is democracy in Pakistan but there is no democracy. There is a constitution in Pakistan but there is no constitution. And I am a living example of censorship in Pakistan,” Mir told Sackur, who asked if the Pakistani state is out to silence independent journalism.

Sackur introduced his guest as a high-profile journalist who has faced a string of threats and attacks. In the 90s, Mir was kidnapped and interrogated, and later survived two assassination attempts. Sackur told listeners that since June 2021, Mir’s show and his column for Jang Group have been banned by his employers after he made a speech about intimidation and attacks against journalists.

“He [Mir] says shadowy forces operating beyond public view wield enormous power in Pakistan and are seeking to control the media,” Sackur said.

Anchor speaks about curbs to press freedom, censorship in BBC interview

Sackur pushed Mir to name names, and asked who these forces are who silence journalists, but Mir shied away from taking names. Instead, he said in the past he had named the head of an intelligence agency as allegedly conspiring to attack him, but that individual did not appear before a high-powered commission probing the attack.

When asked by Sackur if intelligence agencies were behind the attack on journalists, including Asad Toor who was attacked in his home in the capital by masked men, Mir said: “These are documented facts and the state agencies and the intelligence agencies were blamed again and again for organising attacks or kidnapping journalists.”

Sackur then drew attention to the six sedition cases lodged against Mir, reminding him that if he is convicted he could serve life in prison. To this, Mir said: “I am ready to face a life in prison because if they will… convict me at least the whole world will come to know what is going on in Pakistan. The whole world is already aware of what is going on because I am living example of censorship in Pakistan. Everybody knows what happened to Hamid Mir and why he is banned and everybody knows the names of the people which I have not mentioned.”

Mir added that journalists want the rule of law to be established in Pakistan. “If a journalist is asking questions, don’t try to silence his voice.”

Sackur asked Mir why, on the one hand he “sounded absolutely sure that he knows who is responsible for attacks on journalists, but on the other hand in his Washington Post article he said he did not name anyone.

Mir said he was not backing off, and that the article referred to a case filed against him in Gujranwala which alleged that he tried to malign senior generals.

“So I clarified, that I never mentioned any name...I thought that maybe my tone was very harsh and maybe some people were trying to give the impression that I was blaming the whole institution, so I clarified my position that I am not blaming the whole institution. I only talked about some individuals who are trying to silence the voice of the media.”

When Sackur asked Mir if he was disappointed by his employers for not standing by him, Mir said: “Yes, certainly I am disappointed but I can understand the circumstances.”

Sackur asked Mir whether he thinks Prime Minister Imran Khan personally wants him taken off air and tried. Mir said: “Imran Khan is not directly responsible for imposing a ban on me. I don’t think he wants me to be off air. But like past prime ministers, he is not a very powerful prime minister…he is helpless and he can’t help me.”

https://www.dawn.com/news/1639713/pakistan-a-democracy-only-in-name-hamid-mir

 

[Major]

what happened with Hamid MIr represents the kind of govt in place. This is a violation of freedom of speech yet no one from the ruling party will talk about it.

 

[Bewal Express]

This crooked thug only believes there is democracy when the mafia loot and plunder and he get access to the corridors Lakh ki lannat on the loser.

 

[Forward Defensive Push]

This crooked thug only believes there is democracy when the mafia loot and plunder and he get access to the corridors Lakh ki lannat on the loser.

Sometimes we need to remove our biases and try to see things objectively Will definitely help.

 

[Bewal Express]

Sometimes we need to remove our biases and try to see things objectively Will definitely help.

Please explain. The journalist in Sindh gets killed for showing up Billo and this guy can't utter a word, Why? When the NS fake illness campaign started he was at the forefront to get him out. And not forgetting his pathetic attempt to promote a bankrupt anti Democracy movement in the form of the PDM. The PDM was led by the great Democrat Fazlu and 2 scions of crooks.

This loser is part of an orchestrated campaign by the enemies of PK. You may have noticed the Guardian article 2 says ago and the trends on twitter calling for sanctions on PK. And it's laughable that an nondescript like him gets a slot on Hard Talk.

 

[Rinnegan Sasuke]

This crooked thug only believes there is democracy when the mafia loot and plunder and he get access to the corridors Lakh ki lannat on the loser.

This would never happen in a country like the UK, any attempts to muffle press and other forms of expression will always be deemed a fascistic and authoritarian move. Just because you don't like what he says or feel as though he doesn't have journalistic integrity, trying to silence someone's voice should always be fought against.

This is an issue that goes beyond politics and whichever side of the spectrum we all subscribe to. It is never for the state to decide what its citizens can or cannot say. It is certainly not something one would consider a democratic value.

 

[Bewal Express]

This would never happen in a country like the UK, any attempts to muffle press and other forms of expression will always be deemed a fascistic and authoritarian move. Just because you don't like what he says or feel as though he doesn't have journalistic integrity, trying to silence someone's voice should always be fought against.

This is an issue that goes beyond politics and whichever side of the spectrum we all subscribe to. It is never for the state to decide what its citizens can or cannot say. It is certainly not something one would consider a democratic value.

You don't have to tell me what happens here.In the UK you have strong defamation laws and thats stop paid agents from spreading fake news. You maybe aware of what happened to Press TV. So this often trotted line holds no water

 

[Bewal Express]

This would never happen in a country like the UK, any attempts to muffle press and other forms of expression will always be deemed a fascistic and authoritarian move. Just because you don't like what he says or feel as though he doesn't have journalistic integrity, trying to silence someone's voice should always be fought against.

This is an issue that goes beyond politics and whichever side of the spectrum we all subscribe to. It is never for the state to decide what its citizens can or cannot say. It is certainly not something one would consider a democratic value.

In the UK do you have journalists creating anti democratic movements using children as sacrificial lambs led by fake Mullahs.

 

[Rinnegan Sasuke]

You don't have to tell me what happens here.In the UK you have strong defamation laws and thats stop paid agents from spreading fake news. You maybe aware of what happened to Press TV. So this often trotted line holds no water

So the solution is to open the fascist playbook? Rather than focus on bringing in reforming legislation that strengthens regulatory press laws you throw a blanket ban on whomever you deem guilty?

Besides, we all know why he was taken off-air, and there would have been no legal standing to revoke his broadcasting license. This is coming from someone with no love lost for Hamid Mir.

As I said, this is beyond the political us vs them, whichever way you look at this situation, it's authoritarian.

 

[Bewal Express]

So the solution is to open the fascist playbook? Rather than focus on bringing in reforming legislation that strengthens regulatory press laws you throw a blanket ban on whomever you deem guilty?

Besides, we all know why he was taken off-air, and there would have been no legal standing to revoke his broadcasting license. This is coming from someone with no love lost for Hamid Mir.

As I said, this is beyond the political us vs them, whichever way you look at this situation, it's authoritarian.

So when you reform the press they will play the same Azaadi press card as they do now. This is a mafia and you can't negotiate with them, they believe they have an inalienable right to loot and no one has the right to challenge them.

You may have noticed how this thug changes his narrative according to who he is addressing. A few weeks ago he said that it was IK that is suppressing the freedom of the press( you can look up his articles), in Hard talk he said its not IK, who he claimed was powerless but its the army. This was done to placate the Srivastava group narrative and This is next level 5th generation warfare and no country would allow this sort of crap. PK is under attack because billions of $ have gone to waste in Afghanistan and these agents are used to weaken PK.

 

[Rinnegan Sasuke]

So when you reform the press they will play the same Azaadi press card as they do now. This is a mafia and you can't negotiate with them, they believe they have an inalienable right to loot and no one has the right to challenge them.

You may have noticed how this thug changes his narrative according to who he is addressing. A few weeks ago he said that it was IK that is suppressing the freedom of the press( you can look up his articles), in Hard talk he said its not IK, who he claimed was powerless but its the army. This was done to placate the Srivastava group narrative and This is next level 5th generation warfare and no country would allow this sort of crap. PK is under attack because billions of $ have gone to waste in Afghanistan and these agents are used to weaken PK.

Again, it is the way things are being done that needs to be called out. It is a dangerous slope, and if left unchecked it can blowback on us badly.

Once reforming press laws, one can have legal standing to revoke an individual/entity's license. A blanket ban only gave Hamid Mir more credibility, I don't think that's what you want, right? Most media laws in Pakistan were ordinances through dictators and were not thorough, and need proper amendments to allow a fair and just system of accountability.

 

[Bewal Express]

Hamid Mirs life is under threat after numerous death threats. Its Ironic that played a full role in the regime change and then realised the full implications of what he had done. Today, those same establishment he helped to bring to power want him dead for speaking