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A daily review of media coverage of media and communications issues. |
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MEDIA UNDER SEIGE |
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The press was under siege on a Friday that turned into a black day due to the use of brute force by the police. The office of The News, Islamabad and Geo’s capital headquarters located on the same premises were vandalised by the Punjab police without provocation, as Islamabad’s deputy commissioner and the senior superintendent police kept standing at the corner of the building.
While we were preparing to evacuate to save ourselves from the thrashing by the police, which had entered the premises, the thick smoke of teargas enveloping the surroundings prevented us even moving an inch.
(The News) |
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http://www.thenews.com.pk/arc_default.asp |
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"I apologize" Says Musharraf |
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President Pervez Musharraf on Friday condemned the attack on the offices of Geo TV, The News and Jang in Islamabad and apologised for the incident. “I want to tell the nation that the sense of our reforms include freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom of the media,” President Musharraf said on Geo television following the shocking attack on the Geo TV/The News offices by the police in a fit of anger to gag the media.
The president said: “We support freedom of journalism and want its supremacy.” He said the incident should have not happened and termed it a conspiracy to sabotage the whole process. He said our mandate is to uphold human rights and “we condemn its violation”.
(The News) |
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http://www.thenews.com.pk/arc_default.asp |
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14 Police Officials Suspended |
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The authorities on Friday night suspended 14 police officials following the attack on the offices of The News and Geo TV.
An official handout says: “It is submitted that today (Friday), ie 16.03.2007, during performance of law & order duty in Islamabad, the following police officers/officials forcibly entered into the premises of Geo TV and caused damage to the Geo’s property, so due to their involvement in this unlawful act, they have been placed under suspension with immediate effect and closed to police lines. Further departmental action will be taken in accordance with the enquiry report.
(The News) |
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http://www.thenews.com.pk/arc_default.asp |
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/story/2007/03/070316_attack_geo_rr.shtml |
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/story/2007/03/070316_jeo_attack_fz.shtml |
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Big arm’ of law reaches media| Police attacks TV channel office |
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Around 25 armed policemen Friday stormed inside Geo News/The News, leading print/electronic media outlets’ building at the A K Fazl-e-Haq Road while smashing down various electronic devices as well as glass-make doors. Hamid Mir, Geo Bureau Chief, told TheNation that he received various ‘messages’ before the attack on the office, to stop airing live video footage of police clashes with protesters gathered at various points in the surroundings of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. “But our channel continued covering the events from the office rooftop,” he said, adding that sometime later he was told about the police attack.
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http://nation.com.pk/daily/mar-2007/17/index4.php |
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I apologise, says Musharraf |
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President Pervez Musharraf on Friday condemned the attack on the offices of Geo TV, The News and Jang in Islamabad and apologised for the incident. “I want to tell the nation that the sense of our reforms include freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom of the media,” President Musharraf said on Geo television following the shocking attack on the Geo TV/The News offices by the police in a fit of anger to gag the media
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http://www.thenews.com.pk/arc_default.asp |
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Media under Siege During Judicial Crisis |
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/story/2007/03/070317_police_suspended_sq.shtml |
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/story/2007/03/070317_geo_attack_planned.shtml |
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/story/2007/03/070317_human_rights_watch_fz.shtml |
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/story/2007/03/070316_journalist_protest_rs.shtml |
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Media under siege |
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The press was under siege on a Friday that turned into a black day due to the use of brute force by the police. The office of The News, Islamabad and Geo’s capital headquarters located on the same premises were vandalised by the Punjab police without provocation, as Islamabad’s deputy commissioner and the senior superintendent police kept standing at the corner of the building. While we were preparing to evacuate to save ourselves from the thrashing by the police, which had entered the premises, the thick smoke of teargas enveloping the surroundings prevented us even.
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http://www.thenews.com.pk/arc_default.asp |
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Police storm office of TV channel: Musharraf apologises for raid |
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About two dozen personnel of the Punjab Police on Friday attacked and ransacked the offices of a private TV channel some 30 minutes before the conclusion of the Supreme Judicial Council proceedings against Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, apparently in an effort to stop the channel from airing live pictures of police action against protesting lawyers and activists of various political parties.
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http://www.dawn.com/2007/03/17/top2.htm |
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Police storm Geo TV’s office |
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Police stormed Geo TV’s offices and tear-gassed employees on Friday after its editors refused to stop broadcasting pictures of protests against the chief justice’s suspension, as Aaj TV’s transmission was reportedly “disrupted” and as its head of the news section said the channel was working under great pressure over the chief justice trial.
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http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\03\17\story_17-3-2007_pg1_5 |
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Musharraf condemns attack |
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The president, prime minister and politicians on Friday condemned a police attack on Geo TV’s office in Islamabad. President Pervez Musharraf called Geo TV’s office over the telephone and apologised for the attack. “Action will be taken against those who are responsible for this,” he said, adding that Geo would be compensated for damages. PM Shaukat Aziz has ordered an immediate judicial inquiry into the incident. Benazir Bhutto said not only Geo had been attacked, but also freedom of the press had been assaulted.
(Nation-5)
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http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\03\17\story_17-3-2007_pg1_6 |
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Musharraf apologises for raid, orders strict action | Jang Group offices stormed |
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15 policemen charge-sheeted | Aziz orders judicial probe | CPNE, Durrani, Elahi, Nawaz, BB, Altaf condemn attack
President General Pervez Musharraf Friday promised a strict action against the culprits after the Jang Group offices building was stormed by the riot police. The president personally apologised for the raid on the building in a rare live telephone interview with the channel.
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http://www.thepost.com.pk/Arc_Fb_ShortNews.aspx?fbshortid=1735&fcatid=14&date=03/17/2007&bcatid=14&bstatus=Archive |
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Police attack Geo News office in Islamabad |
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Police entered Geo News office building, shattered glasses and started shelling within office premises here Friday. Large number of policemen entered the office manhandled newsmen and other staff members of Geo News. Policemen shoved senior journalist Hamid Mir. They baton-charged and injured several staff members. Policemen also damaged vehicles of Geo News. Police officials also demanded closing camera coverage of protests in Islamabad. Staff members resisted the police aggression to save the premises. Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani rushed to Geo News office soon after incident. While talking in a Geo News programme ‘Kamran Khan Ke Saath,’ Durrani termed the incident as ‘unnecessary.’ He said that the incident by the police force was totally irrational and vowed stern action against the Islamabad police.
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http://www.geo.tv/geonews/printversion.asp?id=3491 |
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Ban on Geo Kamran Khan challenged in High Court |
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PEMRA ban on Geo programe “Aaj Kamran Khan ka Sath” has been challenged in Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench. Raja Fasial Ghani had submitted plea through advocate Ilyas Siddique. Plea has requested to remove ban on program.
(Jang-1)
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Geo building declared all clear after bomb hoax |
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In view of bomb scare at Geo TV building, the bomb squad has given all clear and the staff members have returned back to their premises. It should be noted that earlier building of Geo office in Karachi have been evacuated due to bomb threat. It was learnt that the information of a bomb in Geo News building was given by some unknown caller, after which the staff members were evacuated from the building.
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http://www.geo.tv/geonews/details.asp?id=3504¶m=1 |
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Attack on media widely condemned |
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Bodies representing the media have come out with the strongest words against the government over Friday’s attack on the offices of Geo News in Islamabad, imposition of ban on a talk show a day earlier and threats issued to other news channels by the government.
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http://www.dawn.com/2007/03/17/nat3.htm |
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Journalists express solidarity with lawyers |
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Journalists held a demonstration here on Friday to express solidarity with lawyers in their struggle for independence of judiciary. Members of the Khyber Union of Journalists, who held the demonstration outside the Peshawar Press Club, also deplored the “new restrictions” on the electronic and print media covering the judicial crisis. Carrying placards inscribed with slogans supporting press freedom and independence of judiciary, journalists marched up to the Peshawar High Court building where they were received by lawyers who were on a hunger strike. The volunteers of Aurat Foundation were with them. KhUJ president Jan Afzal, secretary Nasir Hussain and Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists’ executive committee member Abdul Qadoos led the procession.
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http://www.dawn.com/2007/03/17/nat8.htm |
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Protest continues against attack on media, judiciary |
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Lawyers and mediapersons on Tuesday continued their protest against attacks on the media and “judiciary” and demanded free press and judiciary in the country. Lawyers continued their protest by observing a hunger strike at the high court, while mediapersons, under the banner of the Hyderabad Union of Journalists (HUJ), also observed a hunger strike outside the press club. Chanting slogans against the police action against lawyers and journalists, the mediapersons along with lawyers demanded of the authorities to resolve the crisis as early as possible.
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http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=47751 |
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Govt blamed for storming of Geo TV |
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The people belonging to different walks of life on Friday strongly condemned the police attack on Geo News and The News offices in Islamabad in strongest words, holding the federal government solely responsible for the attack. The journalist community of Balochistan came out on the roads in their respective districts and strongly condemned the highhandedness of the police in Islamabad. They demanded of the government to take immediate action against the Punjab police.
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http://www.thenews.com.pk/arc_news.asp?id=2 |
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Imran flays attack on TV channel’s office |
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After attacking the third pillar (judiciary), the government has attacked the fourth pillar (the media) of the state, says Imran Khan. Addressing a press conference here on Friday, he condemned police invasion of a private television channel’s Islamabad office and termed it an attack on the press.
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http://www.dawn.com/2007/03/17/nat27.htm |
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Altaf slams attack on Geo office |
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Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Altaf Hussain has condemned Friday’s attack on the office of Geo TV in Islamabad. According to a press release issued by the Muttahida’s International Secretariat from London on Friday, Altaf condemned the ransacking of the Geo TV office and manhandling of the staff by the police who used batons to smash furniture and broadcast equipment.
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http://www.thenews.com.pk/arc_default.asp |
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Being Pakistani, I am ashamed of Geo News attack’, says Jatoi |
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Former Pakistani Premier Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi said Friday that being Pakistani he is ashamed of police attack on Geo News. Talking to Kamran Khan, he said he had no words to condemn the incident. Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi said it is being claimed that Pakistan is a democracy; but in this democratic era, these incidents are happening.
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http://www.geo.tv/geonews/printversion.asp?id=3498 |
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Lawyers announce total boycott today: Attack on media flayed |
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The Supreme Court Bar Association expressed dismay over the treatment meted to Chief Justice of Pakistan and condemned the manner in which he was humiliated. The Pakistan People’s Party has said the police action on the office of a TV channel in Islamabad was an incident of state terrorism and a well-planned attack on press freedom.
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http://www.dawn.com/2007/03/17/local1.htm |
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Call for black day today against police brutalities |
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To condemn police brutalities against political leaders and lawyers in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad and attack on offices of a private TV channel, black day will be observed in Sindh on Saturday. This was announced by President of the Awami Tehrik, Rasool Bux Palijo, at a hurriedly called press conference at the local press club on Friday.
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http://www.dawn.com/2007/03/17/local9.htm |
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Lawyers observe strike; condemn attack on media |
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The legal fraternity observed a countrywide strike on Friday to protest the presidential reference against chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and condemned the police assault on the Geo TV and The News offices in Islamabad.
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http://www.thenews.com.pk/arc_default.asp |
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Attack on Geo TV shocking for viewers in twin cities |
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TV viewers in Rawalpindi were stunned and shocked when they watched the footage of Punjab Police's attack on the office of 'Geo Television' in Islamabad Friday. "I wish I could be there and fought with the police," said an annoyed-looking Mirza Abdul Haqeeq, a shopkeeper in Rawalpindi. He was watching the coverage of Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry's hearing on 'Geo Television' from the Supreme Court with some of his friends in his shop.
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http://www.thenews.com.pk/arc_default.asp |
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Civil society condemns hooliganism |
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Leading members of civil society Friday strongly condemned the unprecedented police attack on the office of the 'The News' and Geo TV Islamabad offices. According to human right activists, the government on the one hand claima that it believed in the freedom of the media, but on the other hand, it was trying to suffocate the voice of media for showing the true picture of events.
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http://www.thenews.com.pk/arc_default.asp |
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4 police officials suspended |
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The authorities on Friday night suspended 14 police officials following the attack on the offices of The News and Geo TV. An official handout says: “It is submitted that today (Friday), ie 16.03.2007, during performance of law & order duty in Islamabad, the following police officers/officials forcibly entered into the premises of Geo TV and caused damage to the Geo’s property, so due to their involvement in this unlawful act, they have been placed under suspension with immediate effect and closed to police lines. Further departmental action will be taken in accordance with the enquiry report.
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http://www.thenews.com.pk/arc_default.asp |
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14 policemen suspended on charges of attacking Geo News office |
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At least 14 policemen identified as attackers on Geo News office in Islamabad Friday have been suspended, DPO Rawalpindi told Geo News. The suspended policemen include: Inspector Khalid Mehmood, Constable Muhammad Jawad, Farhat Mehmud, Zahoor Ahmed, Kamran, Iftikhar Shah, Nadeem Abbas, Israr KHan, Muhammad Adnan, Muhammad Ali, Naseer Ahmed, Muhammad Naseer, Faisal Mehmud and Asif Mehmud, he added.
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http://www.geo.tv/geonews/details.asp?id=3513¶m=1 |
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Geo punished for showing the truth |
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People from all walks of life in the NWFP were on Friday unanimous in observing that the attack by unruly cops on the offices of The News, Daily Jang and Geo TV in Islamabad was an attempt to curb the press freedom, contrary to the tall claims by the government.
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http://www.thenews.com.pk/arc_news.asp?id=7 |
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Hamid Mir terms attack preplanned attempt |
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Geo Bureau chief Hamid Mir has said that attack was a targeted attempt. Police kept damaging Geo office for 20/25 minutes. Information Minster Mohammad Ali Khan Durrani himself observed the destruction.
(Jang-1)
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Faisalabad newsmen hold rally to protest Geo office attack |
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Journalists held a rally here to protest against police attack on Geo News Islamabad office. The participants of the rally organized by the Faisalabad Union of Journalists, held march from Chowk Ghantaghar to Press Club Faisalabad. The speakers addressing the rally said with these incidents journalists being halted from their professional duties. They demanded action against the officials involved in attack on Geo News Islamabad office.
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http://www.geo.tv/geonews/details.asp?id=3522¶m=1 |
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Attack on media condemned |
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The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Friday called on the government of Pakistan to appoint an independent judicial commission to investigate and report on Friday’s ‘outrageous assault’ by uniformed police on the offices of Geo TV and the daily Jang in Islamabad.
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http://www.dawn.com/2007/03/17/top9.htm |
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US Call to respect press freedom |
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The United States urged Pakistan on Friday to ensure that journalists and media organisations were free to carry out their professional duties. “Journalists and televisions institutions should be free to air events without repercussions,” a State Department official told Dawn. Acknowledging that “Pakistan has a lively press and strong civil society”, the official said the US was concerned about the unrest and incidents of violence towards the media.
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http://www.dawn.com/2007/03/17/nat4.htm |
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Balochistan PA expresses solidarity with Geo TV |
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Expressing solidarity with the Geo television network over Friday’s attack on its offices in Islamabad, the opposition in the Balochistan Assembly staged a token walkout from the House. The House met on Friday with Speaker Jamal Shah Kakar in the chair. Opposition leader Kachkol Ali advocate, and opposition lawmakers belonging to different political parties, including Shafiq Ahmed Khan, Rehmat Baloch, and Jan Muhammad Buledi, condemned the police attack on the offices of Geo TV and a ban on one of its programmes ‘Aaj Kamran Khan Kay Sath’.
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http://www.thenews.com.pk/arc_news.asp?id=2 |
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CPNE, PBA slam raid on Geo, The News offices |
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An emergency meeting of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors’ (CPNE) Standing Committee, presided over by Syed Faseikh Iqbal, President CPNE, declared here on Friday in a resolution that the council is committed to the rule of law and upholding press freedom in Pakistan as guaranteed under the Constitution of Pakistan and for which the editors in Pakistan have constantly struggled over the past 59 years. The meeting said the attacks on the electronic media are most regrettable. It said the abuse of executive authority in the raid on the electronic media in Islamabad on Friday is unprecedented in the history of Pakistan and its suo moto notice should be taken by the highest judicial authority so that such executive abuse of authority against the media does not occur again. Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation has condemned the attack on Geo channel office. PBA in its statement has said that there was no such example in last 60 years in which government officials had raided the Geo channel. It was an attempt to curb press.
(Jang-1)
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http://www.thenews.com.pk/arc_news.asp?id=2 |
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It’s an assault on Pakistan ideology, press |
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Teachers and students stood united in condemning the police attack on Geo TV and The News offices in Islamabad on Friday and termed it an assault on ideology and the press in the country. President of the Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA), Dr Sohail Barkati, said the government was digging a hole for itself by such shameless tactics. “The police, on their own, could not take such an initiative without orders from higher authorities,” he believed.
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http://www.thenews.com.pk/arc_news.asp?id=5 |
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APNS condemns attack on TV channel |
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All Pakistan Newspapers Society General Secretary Kazi Asad Abid has strongly condemned the attack on the premises of Jang, The News and Geo TV in Islamabad and flayed the restrictions being imposed on the press.
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http://www.thepost.com.pk/Arc_NatNews.aspx?dtlid=87622&catid=2&date=03/17/2007&fcatid=14 |
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APNS condemns attack |
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Kazi Asad Abid, secretary general of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society, has strongly condemned the attack on Geo television at Islamabad and flayed the restrictions being imposed on the press.
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http://nation.com.pk/daily/mar-2007/17/nationalnews8.php |
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'CPNE will defend press freedom' |
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An emergency meeting of the Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors (CPNE) Standing Committee in a strongly worded resolution on Friday declared that the CPNE was committed to the rule of law and upholding press freedom in Pakistan as guaranteed under the Constitution of Pakistan and for which editors in Pakistan had constantly struggled over the past 59 years.
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http://nation.com.pk/daily/mar-2007/17/nationalnews7.php |
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British media shocked |
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The British media was shocked over Friday’s events in Pakistan, as all the major newspapers carried the stories of an attack on the offices of Geo TV and The News, besides flashing the arrest of former president Rafiq Tarar as breaking news on their web editions.
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http://www.thenews.com.pk/arc_default.asp |
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Geo earned govt ire due to CJP coverage: host |
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The anchor of Geo TV’s Aaj Kamran Khan Key Saath said on Friday that the government ordered his programme off the air because of its in-depth coverage of the president’s suspension of the chief justice as the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) accused Musharraf of rolling back press freedom by ordering to stop the airing of the programme. “Under increasing political pressure at home and abroad, the Musharraf government is resorting to heavy-handed tactics in dealing with critics and the independent media,” said CPJ Asia Programme Coordinator Bob Dietz in a statement.
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http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\03\17\story_17-3-2007_pg7_5 |
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CNN on Geo TV attack |
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Pakistani riot polie raided a TV station as protests were staged ahead of a controversial court hearing of the country’s dismissed top judge. CNN’s Syed Mohsin Naqvi in Lahore said Pakistan’s media regulatory authority issued written and verbal warnings to local media outlets demanding that journalists not to report on judicial proceedings.
(News-8)
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World media covers Geo News attack |
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Police attack on Geo News was condemned on international level and world media gave coverage to the incident occurred on Friday. Condemning the attack on Geo TV and The News, New York Committee to Protect Journalists termed it unjust and barbaric act. Talking to Geo News correspondent Azeem Mian, Communication Director of the organization Abbey Right held the attack extremely deplorable and tantamount to the sabotage of democratic values.
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http://www.geo.tv/geonews/details.asp?id=3505¶m=1 |
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Foreign missions report the attack to respective capitals |
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Sources have claimed Foreign diplomatic mission have decided to report Geo attack incident to their capitals. In this regard reports were being finalized covering all aspects of incident to forward to respective capitals.
(Jang-8)
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Journalists join lawyers |
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The Khyber Union of Journalists (KhUJ) on Friday joined lawyers in their protest against suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, and demanded that the government should not stop print and electronic media from arranging or producing talk shows and other programmes concerning the chief justice’s reference. Journalists, led by KhUJ President Jan Afzal, marched from the Peshawar Press Club towards the Governor’s House and later joined the lawyers’ protest at the Peshawar High Court (PHC).
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http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\03\17\story_17-3-2007_pg7_11 |
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Attack on Geo office condemned |
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Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on Friday condemned the ransacking of the Geo office in Islamabad. In a press statement, Elahi said that the press, especially the electronic media, was enjoyed unprecedented freedom in the country for which the credit went to President Pervez Musharraf. He said that the president had taken strict notice and expressed his regret over the incident. Elahi said that the elements involved in the incident would be punished.
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http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\03\17\story_17-3-2007_pg13_4 |
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Nawa-i-Waqt editorial on PEMRA ban |
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Nawa-i-Waqt editorial condemns PEMRA ban for media. Editorial rejects the government claims for freedom of press.
(Nawa-i-Waqt- Editorial)
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The Dawn Editorial - Threat to basic freedoms |
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Going by the government’s behaviour, what the nation should worry about is not so much the outcome of the ‘non-functional’ chief justice’s case as the fate of civil society. Some of the developments appear to be portents of a darker scenario with a possible flashback to Ziaul Haq’s days. The media stands in danger of becoming the regime’s whipping boy: a popular talk show on a TV channel has been forced to discontinue, yesterday the channel’s offices and those of The News in Islamabad were ransacked by the police, and two TV channels were made to go off air on Tuesday because they showed scenes of a police baton charge on protesting lawyers in Lahore.
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http://www.dawn.com/2007/03/17/ed.htm#2 |
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The Nation Editorial “Stop Press” |
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IN a way, the affront to freedom that happened yesterday in Islamabad was only the next logical progression in the series of recent events. The government’s improper treatment of the judiciary had already cleared it to take on another vital element of a free civil society: the press. The police’s attack on the Islamabad offices of the Jang Group, which house both its print and electronic broadcasting units there, cannot be condemned enough. The raid’s crudeness was matched only by its audacity; law enforcers manhandled journalists in broad daylight, without any validating pretense whatsoever.
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http://nation.com.pk/daily/mar-2007/17/editorials1.php |
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The Post Editorial “Heads must roll” |
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It must act against those more loyal than the king who used power to cope with the protest and had the impertinence to attack the media. They have made Pakistan a laughing stock in the world due to their puerile actions. Heads must roll.
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http://www.thepost.com.pk/Arc_EditorialNews.aspx?dtlid=87675&catid=10&date=03/17/2007&fcatid=14 |
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The News editorial “A brazen attack on media freedom” |
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It is difficult to express enough outrage and anger at the brazen attack by the police on the offices of Geo television and The News in Islamabad's Blue Area on Friday afternoon. Without any provocation, dozens of members of the Islamabad and Punjab police descended on the offices of the TV channel and newspaper and began breaking windows, smashing office equipment, manhandling staff and employees, and lobbed tear-gas shells inside the building. This is nothing short of a blatant and well-planned attack on the media.
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http://www.thenews.com.pk/arc_news.asp?id=8 |
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A blow to media freedom |
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Mir Jamilur Rahman The News columnists says “One wrong decision and the whole edifice of democracy, free press and good governance stumbled to the ground. The government may have acted constitutionally by directing the Supreme Judicial Council to inquire against Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, but it acted in haste and impatiently when it suspended the Chief Justice and placed him and his entire family, including children, under house arrest. The police, which have a special talent to embarrass the government, did the rest.”
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http://www.thenews.com.pk/arc_news.asp?id=9 |
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Letter to editor “Abusive minister” |
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The federal law Minister hurled naked abuse in a live Voice of America (VoA) radio discussion on Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry's deposition, which was heard world-wide.The law minister lost his cool, to put it mildly, when veteran journalist Ansar Abbasi joined the panel of participants which included seasoned politician and lawyer Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan. Earlier in the programme, Aitzaz Ahsan had threatened to break off due to the foul language of the law minister, but was persuaded by the host to continue.
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http://www.thenews.com.pk/arc_news.asp?id=11 |
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Information dept’s bifurcation sought |
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A summary suggesting the bifurcation of the Punjab Culture and Information Department is lying with the Punjab chief secretary, Ministry of Culture sources told Dawn on Friday. Sources said the proposal was first sent to Culture Secretary Taimur Azmat Usman who forwarded it to Chief Secretary Salman Siddique. The summary reads that other three provinces have separate culture departments but Punjab has a joint information and culture department. It says the Culture Department has many sub-departments which need proper attention, so a cultural secretary should be appointed.
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http://www.dawn.com/2007/03/17/nat25.htm |
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Afghan journalists face threats |
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Musa Khan Jalalzai comments on state of Afghan journalists in Afghanistan. “Attacks and threats against Afghan journalists have increased sharply in recent weeks. One journalist went to a police commander in Kabul to seek protection, but the commander told him that senior officials had ordered him not to help.”
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http://www.thepost.com.pk/Arc_OpinionNews.aspx?dtlid=87706&catid=11&date=03/17/2007&fcatid=14 |
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Telecoms down briefly |
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Terrestrial and mobile telephone as well as Internet connections to some parts of the country stopped working for a period of time Friday, witnesses said. Services were largely restored after less than an hour. Ali Qadir Gilani, a spokesperson for the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), told Reuters: "There was a fire near a manhole in the Gulshan area in Karachi, which damaged a router and some cables that caused the disruption. Our maintenance team has reached there and already started working, and the lines will soon be restored." Federal Minister for Information Technology Awais Ahmed Leghari, meanwhile, said sewerage department workers had caused the damage to a fibre optic cable in Karachi. "Now communications have been restored, and Internet and call centres are working fine," he told Reuters.
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http://www.thepost.com.pk/Arc_MainNews.aspx?bdtl_id=5108&fb_id=2&catid=14&date=03/17/2007&fcatid=14 |
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Electronic media damaging Urdu’ |
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Participants of the Impact of Media on Urdu in Pakistan forum on Thursday said that the media was damaging the Urdu language. The discussion panel included Dr Shabih-ul-Hassan, retired banker Khalid Shafiq and actor Shujaat Hashmi. The forum was organised by the Quaid-e-Azam Library. The panelists stressed the need to record Urdu literature on CDs and DVDs. They said that the literature should be on the Internet.
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http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\03\17\story_17-3-2007_pg7_40 |
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Poet hacked to death |
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A local poet and artist, Abdul Sattar Andaz, was hacked to death allegedly by his brother-in-law and accomplices in his house near Choohar Jamali on Thursday night. Two women and two relatives of the deceased were also injured in the incident. According to reports, Ibrahim Manchharo and his accomplices allegedly barged into Sattar’s house and attacked him with hatchets and sticks. Sattar sustained severe injuries which led to his death. Nazirunnisa, Gulabunnisa, Gulshan Abbas and Maher Ali were injured seriously. The body of the deceased and the four injured people were shifted to the Government Hospital Choohar Jamali. The Choohar Jamali police registered a case on the complaint of Gulshan Abbas, son of the deceased. They arrested Ibrahim and started investigations.
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http://www.thenews.com.pk/arc_news.asp?id=2 |
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DISCLAIMER: The contents, including news and headlines, in this newsletter are reproduced from their respective publications ad verbatim as a public service to media observers. Internews does not author the contents and these, therefore, do not necessarily reflect organizational policy.
Updated at 11:00 PST (06:00 GMT) |
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