'Attack on freedom of press': PPP to become party in Geo News case

KARACHI: The PPP will become a party in the petition filed against broadcast restrictions faced by Geo News , PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto's spokesperson, Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, said Tuesday.

Khokhar added that the party has decided to become part of the petition filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC). PPP's Secretary-General Farhatullah Babar will launch an application in the IHC tomorrow to officially become a party to the case, he noted.

Restrictions on the airing of Geo News and pushing it back in the list of channels on cable TV is an attack on freedom of media, he said, adding that PPP had always struggled for freedom of the media.

On Monday, the PML-N, JUI-F, and JI jointly filed a petition in the IHC against the arrest of Jang Geo Media Group Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, who was detained by the NAB on March 12 in relation to a property he had purchased from a private party 34 years ago.

Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Ahsan Iqbal of the PML-N and lawmakers from the JUI-F and JI signed the petition.

The petitioners, through Barrister Zafarullah Khan, have cited the NAB chairperson, secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and the chairperson of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) as respondents.

The parties in the petition said that by arresting MSR, the NAB chairperson had abused his powers and that it was in violation of constitutional guarantees of fundamental rights and the law laid down by superior courts.

'NAB fighting for its own survival'

Journalists on Tuesday continued to condemn MSR's arrest by the NAB, a body they said was out to ensure its own survival.

While responding to a question by Geo News' show host Hamid Mir, Express News anchor Javed Chaudhry said the NAB's actions were "wrong".

"On the one hand, there is a reference ready against a minister whom you are afraid of arresting thinking the government will collapse, while, on the other, you are arresting a person against whom the inquiry has not yet been completed and no reference has been prepared," Chaudhry said.

Munizae Jahangir, an Aaj TV journalist who was part of the panel invited by Mir on his show, expressed disbelief on the manner in which the NAB was feigning ignorance over the specifications of the arrest.

"Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman is a guru and you are nabbing such person without knowing that this is on the basis of a complaint verification form and you are expressing ignorance," Jahangir remarked.

"We have all seen governments come and go. These people are here today and won't be tomorrow," she added.

Dawn News' Mubashir Zaidi said the manner in which the NAB had made the arrest is "a clear indication that the NAB is fighting for its own survival".

"They too know that they might be [axed] next so they thought let's make some new arrests so our importance remains intact."

NAB arrests MSR in fake case

On March 12, the NAB had arrested MSR in connection with property allegedly bought illegally from a government entity more than 34 years ago. The property was in fact bought from a private party 34 years ago and all evidence of this was given to the NAB and legal requirements fulfilled, such as duty and taxes.

According to a Jang Group spokesperson, the appearance before the NAB was in a relation to a call-up notice for the verification of the complaint, yet an arrest was made. Islamabad High Court's recent judgement against the NAB's violation of the country’s law and a violation of the NAB's own rules has been committed.

"In the past 18 months, NAB has sent our reporters, producers, and editors — directly and indirectly — over a dozen notices, threatening a shutdown of our channels (via PEMRA) due to our reporting and our programmes on NAB," said the spokesperson.