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RESOURCE CENTER - MEDIA MONITOR |
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Wednesday May 30, 2007
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A daily review of media coverage of media and communications issues. |
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Assault
Journalists attacked |
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Three unidentified armed men attacked local journalist Saino Lal, Tuesday, leaving him seriously injured. Police officials refused to lodge case against assailants. Soon after the incident local journalists held a meeting and demanded that a case be registered against the attackers.
(Daily Times-A2)
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Intimidation
Journalists get death threats |
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In what appears to be a direct death threat, bullets were found on Tuesday night in the cars of three senior journalists parked outside the Karachi Press Club. The cars belonged to secretary-general of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists Mazhar Abbas, Zarar Khan and photojournalist Asif Hussain. When the journalists opened their vehicles, each of them found a bullet wrapped in a brown paper envelope. It may be pointed out that names of Mazhar Abbas and Zarar Khan had appeared in a statement of the Mohajir Rabita Council in which they were described as anti-Mohajir chauvanists. The journalists immediately informed Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan and IG Police Azhar A. Farooqi. An FIR was lodged with the police. The Karachi Union of Journalists has strongly condemned death threats to the journalists and demanded that the culprits be brought to justice. It also demanded that the organisations whose names have appeared in this connection must publicly denounce and disassociate itself from such terrorist activities.
(Jang-8)
http://www.dawn.com/2007/05/30/nat4.htm
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\05\30\story_30-5-2007_pg7_5
http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/story/2007/05/070529_bullets_journo_ua.shtml
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Media Protest
Tribal journalists demand protection from extremists |
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The Tribal Union of Journalists (TUJ) said on Tuesday that the Khyber Agency’s political administration had failed to protect journalists and demanded that the NWFP governor take immediate steps to curb the growing sense of insecurity in the tribal district bordering Peshawar. The demand was made during a TUJ meeting with Governor Ali Jan Orakzai at the Governor House with Nasir Mohmand leading the delegation. “Delegation members told the governor that locals have lost faith in the political administration as the Lashkar-e-Islam has clearly challenged its authority by establishing a parallel administration, demolishing opponents’ houses and imposing fines on the Bara MNA,” the TUJ press release stated. The delegation called on the governor to inform him about the bomb attack on Journalist Nasrullah Afridi’s home by the Lashkar-e-Islami days after the group issued a verbal threat to the journalist. Afridi did not join the delegation, protesting against the government’s inability to protect him against the extremist group’s threats.
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http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\05\30\story_30-5-2007_pg7_54 |
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Media Regulation
Pemra control given to ministry |
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The government on Tuesday put the Pakistan Electronic Media Authority Regulatory Authority (Pemra) under the administrative control of the information ministry. “The decision has been taken to overcome problems being faced both by Pemra and the information ministry because of cross-media ownership,” Information Secretary Anwar Mehmood told Dawn. He rejected an impression that under the decision some powers of Pemra had been given to the information ministry. “It has nothing to do with the transfer of powers,” he added.
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http://www.dawn.com/2007/05/30/nat8.htm |
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Pemra to collect dues from defaulting cable TV operators |
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Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) Regional General Manager Javed Iqbal has described the formation of cable TV operators’ trade union by a handful of operators as against the prescribed law and vowed that authority would continue with its task of collecting outstanding dues from the defaulters. In a press release issued here Tuesday, the RGM said that it had come into his notice that some CTV Operators of NWFP to the account of 25 out of 113 had held a meeting in a local hotel on May 27, 2007, wherein they decided to register a Cable TV Operators’ trade union to meditate avenues to evade Pemra dues.
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http://www.thepost.com.pk/NatNewsT.aspx?dtlid=99763&catid=2 |
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Media Miscellaneous
Lal Masjid to consult media on Sharia |
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Lal Masjid chief cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz on Tuesday invited the media to a consultative meeting on Wednesday (today) to discuss the “enforcement of Sharia” in the country. In his open invitation to all columnists, analysts and journalists from print and electronic media, Aziz asked them to give their honest opinions on the enforcement of Sharia in Pakistan. However, he has banned cameramen from covering the meeting, which will be held in Lal Masjid.
(Khabrian-1)
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http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\05\30\story_30-5-2007_pg7_11 |
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Jamaatud Dawa may rename its publications |
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Leading jihadi outfit Jamaatud Dawa (JD) plans to resume publication of its entire catalogue seven publications with new names over fears that the government may impose a possible ban on the existing names, Daily Times has learnt. The JD was previously banned in January 2001 when it operated under the name of Lashkar-e-Taiba. Currently, JD publishes the weeklies Ghazwa, Zarb-e-Taiba and Taibaat along with the monthlies Adawa and Babul Islam in Urdu. It also publishes the monthlies Voice of Islam and Al-Ribaat in English and Arabic, respectively. These publications are said to propagate jihad and highlight the nationwide activities of JD. Sources told Daily Times that JD would rename its publications following a decision made during a recent meeting chaired by organisation chief Hafiz Saeed Ahmad. Yahya Mujahid, the spokesman for the organisation, did not confirm such plans.
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http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\05\30\story_30-5-2007_pg7_18 |
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Aurakzai hails end to rift among tribal journalists |
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NWFP Governor Ali Muhammad Jan Aurakzai has expressed satisfaction over end to split between the tribal journalists. The governor congratulated the newly elected office bearers of Tribal Union of Journalists led by Nasir Mohmand, who emerged as a representative body of tribal union of journalists through fair balloting under supervision of renowned journalist Rahimullah Yousafzai. Governor stressed the need for complete unity and cohesion among tribal journalists.
(News-3)
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UK academy offers Master of Communication Management in Iqra University |
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An education institution of UK Telecom Academy has offered to provide all possible assistance to initiate Master of Communication Management (MCM) classes in Iqra University. Iqra University administration has started considering the offer. Chairman of Telecom Academy Davaid Muller visited the university and praised the standard of the education.
(Express-3)
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Ashfaque Gondol assumes charge of secretary information |
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Ashfaq Ahmed Gondol has assumed the charge of Punjab Secretary Information Culture and Youth Affairs department in Lahore replacing Taimur Azmat usman.
(Nation-2) (Khabrin-1)
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Television
PTV bans ad on dancing bears |
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Pakistan Television has banned a public service announcement (PSA) that aims to educate people about the cruel treatment of dancing bears in Pakistan, deeming it to be too graphic, according to a statement received here from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia-Pacific. PETA bought a prime time spot for the ad, but PTV ad executives said the video – which shows a screaming man being burned and tethered through the nose like a dancing bear – was too graphic. “PETA’s subsequent attempts to meet PTV’s requirements and run the ad during late-night spots with a subtitle ensuring viewers that it was made using special effects were also met with resistance. The 40-second PSA, written by Tony Burke and directed and produced by the award winning London based production company Diamond Bullet Productions, has been forced on to the internet at ,” said the PETA statement.
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http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\05\30\story_30-5-2007_pg7_8 |
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PSP chief seeks TV station for Seraiki people |
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The Pakistan Seraiki Party (PSP) on Tuesday demanded a TV station in Multan so that Seraiki poets, writers and intellectuals could express their abilities. He said that a separate budget for southern Punjab's 18 districts be allocated, engineering, agricultural, women and health universities be established in Multan, royalty of cotton, sugarcane, wheat, electricity, uranium and minerals be given to the area.
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http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=58344 |
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Music
Junoon artiste says he was threatened by MQM activists |
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Salman Ahmed of rock group Junoon has said the MQM once threatened him that if he did not perform at its rally, his wife and children would be abducted. In a statement issued here, Ahmed described the incident as having happened in 1992. He said, “They have threatened me on many occasions in the past 15 years. One particular time was when I refused to perform at Altaf’s marriage function in Karachi and London where all other artists, including Ali Azmat, were brow beaten into going and performing for ‘his majesty’s’ pleasure. The man who threatened me was called ‘Khalid bin Walid’ and was a known terrorist and murderer.” Walid apparently told Salman Ahmed that his “Quaid” Altaf Hussain had specially demanded that he appear with Junoon to perform at his wedding. When the singer refused, the man called the singer’s staff and soundman, Ishtiaq Ahmed, and threatened them with dire consequences. According to Salman Ahmed, “Ishtiaq pleaded with me to go and perform or risk being killed. In 1992, the MQM also threatened to abduct my wife and children if I did not show up at an MQM rally to welcome their leader, Azim Tariq.”
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http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\05\30\story_30-5-2007_pg7_2 |
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Dawn Editorial “Taliban’s ban on music” |
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“THE government can no longer afford to ignore the threats being posed to society by Islamic militants, the latest being the Taliban ordering the shutting down of music shops by July 1 in Darra Adam Khel. By ignoring the question of Islamists trying to impose their version of religion on the people, the government is only strengthening the militants’ hold. They have been emboldened to issue all kinds of decrees in the name of religion — from disallowing girls to go to school to bombing music shops because they consider music un-Islamic — while the authorities look the other way. They are always slow to act and when they do — as in the case of Maulana Fazalullah in Swat by getting him not to oppose administering polio vaccine, among other things — the damage becomes difficult to undo. Had the government acted against the cleric much earlier, the number of children who did not get vaccinated would have been less than the 25,000 that it is today. The same is true about the Taliban in the tribal belt who have banned music cassettes from being played or sold and have gone to the extent of threatening music and even barber shops with bombings. They have stopped bus owners from playing music, at times removing cassette players and destroying them.”
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http://www.dawn.com/2007/05/30/ed.htm#3 |
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Art
National Art Gallery not to be renamed |
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Culture and Sports Minister Ghazi Gulab Jamal on Tuesday assured the Senate Standing Committee on Culture that the National Art Gallery would not be renamed, said a press release. “We are not changing its name,” he told the committee, when objections were raised by artists Salima Hashmi, Jamal Shah and Naiza Khan. The minister said the government was determined to promote art and culture in the country. The gallery has been the centre of controversy since its completion this year as it was renamed the National Centre of Performing Arts. Artists had taken the stance that the decision to combine creative and visual art would have serious implications on the promotion of creative art in the country.
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http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\05\30\story_30-5-2007_pg11_3 |
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A repository of arts an asset |
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The Senate Standing Committee on Culture which met under the chairmanship of Senator Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry has observed that a repository of the art works is a symbol of creative expression of the people and our national asset. It felt that there was a dire need of a national platform that could provide a national forum for the artists of Pakistan. The committee noted with satisfaction that National Art Gallery has been constructed which would serve as a vehicle for exchange of creative endeavour between the artists and the intellectuals of the county.
(Express-2)
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http://www.thepost.com.pk/IsbNewsT.aspx?dtlid=99746&catid=17 |
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Books
Libraries for 60,000 schools |
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The Punjab government is going to establish libraries in all schools in the province to encourage reading habit among children and to impart quality education to them. Punjab Education Minister Imran Masood said this while inaugurating US Consulate’s information resource center (IRC) here on Tuesday. Consulate’s Principal Officer Bryan Hunt also spoke on the occasion. The minister said libraries were very important for education, but unfortunately there was none in 60,000 Punjab schools. The government, he said, was now going to set up one-room libraries in all such schools with the help of a German donor agency. He regretted schoolteachers’ strike which badly affected the middle and 5th class examinations. “We want their welfare but their behaviour was affecting children appearing in the examinations. We will not allow blackmailing,” he said. He said the provincial government would enhance the education sector budget in the next fiscal year.
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http://www.dawn.com/2007/05/30/nat37.htm |
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Copy Rights
Researchers urged to obtain patents on inventions |
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Speakers at a national seminar deplored the lack of awareness on the significance of intellectual property rights (IPR) in the country and highlighted its role in strengthening the national economy. While calling for more government measures to strengthen science education infrastructure, they urged researchers to secure their inventions by acquiring patents for which institutions had been established to provide free support. The two-day seminar titled ‘Intellectual Property Rights Protection’ was the second one organised by the patent advisory cell of the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) Laboratories Complex Karachi, established a year ago. Speaking as chief guest on the occasion, the vice-chancellor of the Baqai Medical University, Lt- Gen (retd) Dr Syed Azhar Ahmed, said that the IPR matters were gaining importance these days especially in the perspective of the World Trade Organisation’s rules and regulations posing serious challenges to the economy of the third world countries.
http://www.dawn.com/2007/05/30/local13.htm
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=58310
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Corporate culture |
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Nation columnist Dr.Farida Mailk comments, “The Intellectual Property Organization (IPO) reports directly to the PM. Pakistan has to generate intellectual property before it can protect it. In the absence of a Technology Transfer Office (TTO) our research remains confined to reports while IPO is only protecting rights of multinationals. Recently raids were conducted on factories in Lahore to check for pirated software without any notice form Pakistan Inc. the matter is now in the court of law.”
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http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/may-2007/30/columns4.php |
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Telecommunication
400 PTCL cable cuts result in eight major disruptions in 5 months |
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PTCL officials rule out sabotage, attribute incidents largely to civic works projects. Sources allege there is evidence in some cases to suggest deliberate damage. In the past five months the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has suffered eight major disruptions caused by 400 cables being cut at various locations. PTCL officials rule out sabotage and attribute the incidents largely to civic works projects along with some incidents of drug addicts trying to steal copper cables. However, some PTCL sources claim there is evidence to suggest the damage was inflicted deliberately.
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http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\05\30\story_30-5-2007_pg7_32 |
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Obituary
Tahir Mirza passes away |
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Tahir Mirza, the former editor of Dawn, died peacefully in his sleep at the Aga Khan University Hospital here on Tuesday afternoon. Diagnosed with cancer a year ago, he was hospitalised for treatment of complications resulting from the fatal disease since April 22. He leaves behind his wife, a son, a daughter and four grandchildren. He was 70. The veteran journalist and columnist breathed his last at 2pm on Tuesday. His body is being taken to Lahore for burial, with the funeral planned to be held there on Wednesday after Asr prayers. He will be laid to rest at the Model Town G Block graveyard next to his late parents.
http://www.dawn.com/2007/05/30/top3.htm
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\05\30\story_30-5-2007_pg7_7
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Tahir Mirza---outstanding journalist |
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I.A Rehman tributes to Tahir Mirza, “one of the outstanding journalists of his day, has left his mark in several areas of mass communication—as a reporter, leader-writer, broadcaster, columnist and editor.”
(Dawn-3)
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Dawn Editorial, “Tahir Mirza” |
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“Tahir Mirza’s death on Tuesday in Karachi removes from the scene a versatile journalist who worked tirelessly throughout his life for the cause of the underdog. Most of his career was spent in print journalism, but he had self-fulfilling years in electronic journalism too when he escaped Ziaul Haq’s military dictatorship to work with the BBC’s Urdu service. Beginning his career as a reporter in Dhaka with a news agency, Mirza later moved to Lahore to work with the Civil and Military Gazette and after its closure with the Pakistan Times. Liberal and progressive in his views, Mirza associated himself with Mazhar Ali Khan to found the weekly Viewpoint. Despite its small circulation, Viewpoint represented the voice of non-conformism during the Bhutto and Ziaul Haq years, its pages testifying to the barbs in Mirza’s writings. He had two stints at Khaleej Times, first as an assistant editor and later as executive editor, but quit on a matter of principle, because the owner wanted him to do ghost writing for him. Throwing away a very handsome salary on grounds of principle, Mirza returned to Lahore to become Dawn’s resident editor. He became Dawn’s editor in 2003 after working as its Washington correspondent, during which he covered 9/11 and later the Camp David summit between President Pervez Musharraf and President George Bush.”
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http://www.dawn.com/2007/05/30/ed.htm#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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