Jang Group "Identifies" BLACK SHEEPS IN PAKISTANI MEDIA!

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari and his close associates have formulated a two-pronged strategy to use the media against the judiciary and to use sections of the media against the critical media, just to divert public attention from corruption scandals. This dangerous strategy is being run by elements close to Zardari. These elements have started raising a hue and cry in the name of unbalanced reporting and about one-sided talk shows but they have not informed PM Gilani about their anti-media plans despite the fact that Gilani is a major stakeholder in the system. Two media groups have started their “sponsored” campaigns not only against the judiciary but also against all the journalists who are not ready to become part of anti-judiciary campaign. The owners of these two media houses are in contact with Zardari who asked government departments to shower advertisements on these anti-judiciary media groups. The thinking process of Zardari is no more a secret. Every enemy of the independent judiciary is his friend and every supporter of the judiciary is his enemy. Interestingly, some PPP leaders leveled baseless allegations against many journalists of Jang Group and even declared some of them as “Indian agents” but the same PPP is supporting and promoting some elements in the media who are famous for their Track-2 diplomacy with India. Three years ago, former dictator Musharraf was patronizing these friends of India in Pakistani media. Now President Zardari is also supporting these elements but his critics are openly being accused of being Indian agents. REFERENCE: Plan to use media against media and judges by Hamid Mir Sunday, November 07, 2010 11/7/2010 Zi Qad 29, 1431 A.H. http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=1890&Cat=13

Fight amongst Pakistani "Sanctimonious" Journalists on Residential Plots - Part 1

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bHv22LyLQc&feature=player_embedded

Fight amongst Pakistani "Sanctimonious" Journalists on Residential Plots - Part 2

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pheTYDYd8JA&feature=related

JOURNALISTS: Sohail Ilyas, Mujeebur Rehman Shami, Abdul Ghani Ch, Zia Shahid, Rukhsana Saulat Saleem, Mohammad Anwar Khalil, Abdul Wadood Qureshi, Mian Ghaffar Ahmed, Rana Tahir Mahmood, Malik Abdul Rehman Hur, Nadeem Fazil Khan, Hamad Raza Shami, Farooq Ahmed, Rana Assar Ali Chohan, Azeem Chaudhry, Aslam Khan, Mohammad Naeem Chaudhry, Mohammad Aniq Zafar, Abdul Saeed Khan Qamar, Mohammad Dilshaad Khan, Naveed Miraj, Tahir Masood Ikram, Sultan Mohammad Sabir, Saghir Khalid, Mazhar Barlas, Maqbool Elahi Malik, Mohammad Arshad Yousuf, Javed Iqbal Qureshi, Haroon Rashid, Malik Shakeelur Rehman Hur, Wajid Rasool, Ashfaq Ahmed, Mohammad Zahid Jhangvi, Tahir Khalil, Khalid Azeem Ch, Mian Khursheeduzaman, Abdul Mohi Shah, Hilal Ahmed, Khalid Sial, Amir Iyas Rana, Zamir Hussain Shah, Aziz Ahmed Alvi, Ahmed Hussain, Rafaqat Ali, Syed Najamul Islam Rizvi, Mohsin Raza Khan, Irfan Ahmed Qureshi, Syed Ibrar Hussain Shah Kunwal, Nasir Aslam Raja, Mohammad Arshad, Ch Iylas Mohammad, Ghazanfar Ali Zaidi, Fazeela Gul, Iftikar Shakeel, Syed Ejaz Shah, Mohammad Ayub Nasir, Mohammad Saleem and Tariq Aziz. REFERENCES: New list of plot beneficiaries presented in Senate Saturday, January 16, 2010 By our correspondent http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=219055 Journalist and Plots, read page 4 of Daily Jang Friday, January 15, 2010, Muharram 28, 1431 A.H  http://jang.com.pk/jang/jan2010-daily/15-01-2010/main4.htm The News Senate gets list of judges, bureaucrats who got two plots each Friday, January 15, 2010 By Rauf Klasra http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=218849 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=218849&Cat=2&dt=1/15/2010

Friday, November 26, 2010, Zilhajj 19, 1431 A.H

http://jang.com.pk/jang/nov2010-daily/26-11-2010/main3.htm

(Capital Talk 25 Nov 2010) Conspiracy: International/National Media VS JANG/GEO TV & Hamid Mir.

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ0Xl9hqlm8

Black Sheeps in Pakistani Media.

A total of 172 journalists were also allotted plots in keeping with government policy in G-13 and G-14. The policy stipulated that only those journalists who did not have a house in Islamabad nor had a plot allotted to them in the past could apply. Of the 650 journalists who applied in 2004 for G-14, only 172 could get plots after due process. Meanwhile, as a list of 172 journalists is lying before the PAC, a new one of 35 journalists has surfaced. These journalists were also given plots in G-8 Markaz in 1996 during Benazir Bhutto’s second term. Some of the prominent journalists allotted plots for construction of flats in G-8 Markaz were Ayaz Amir, Hamid Mir, Aroosa Alam, Ehtashamul Haq, Nusrat Javed, Ishaq Chaudhary, and Nasir Malick. Mir, Haq and Alam have already sold their flats at a premium, after paying approximately Rs800,000 to the government. Many journalists had then applied for a second plot in G-13 and G-14. Some succeeded in getting them despite receiving a plot from the Bhutto government in 1996 as well. For a complete list of beneficiaries from the bureaucracy and to read earlier stories on the allotment issue, click here. REFERENCES: Generous bonanza : One plot, two plot Published in The Express Tribune, November 24th, 2010. http://tribune.com.pk/story/81020/generous-bonanza-one-plot-two-plot/

List of journalists given plots in Islamabad

Public Accounts Committee is in possession of list of 172 journalists who were given plots in Islamabad.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is in possession of a list of 172 journalists who were given plots in the federal capital in line with their two per cent quota in G-13 and G-14 sectors. The names of journalists who were given plots against payments were:

Sarwar Munir Rao Sohail Iqbal Ayesha Haroon Syed Fahd Hussain Shakeel Ahmed Turabi M Najeeb Sarmad Salik Sheikh Zamir Ahmed Qadri Rana Qaiser Absar Alam (he later returned the plot) Hanif Sabir Muhammad Malick Nazir Naji Shoaib Bhutta Mustansar Javed Kh Sharif Ahmed Sami H Zubari Aslam Javed M. Ziauddin Zafar Rashid Muhammad Ilyas Bhatti Noor Faizi Khan Zaman Malik Shaukat Ali Syed M Qasim Tahir Khan Ikram Hoti Syed Qamar Abbas Shamim Sherrei Sardar Shakil Sheikh Abdul Aziz Muhammad Abrar Ali Saeed Syed Farhan Bokhari Muhammad Ashraf Muhammad Ishaq Ch. Muhammad Ilyas Rashida Begum Butt Iftikhar Nazar Muhammad Sarwar Awan Muhammad Afzal Nadeem Aqeel Ahmed Ejaz Malik Muhammad Fayyaz Altaf Hussain Bhatti Muhammad Ehsan Elahi Ali Raza Shahid Mahmood Malik Zafar Malik Wajih Siddiqi Farman Ali Muhammad Bilal Arif Rana Syed Itrat Hussain Rana Ghulam Qadir Saleem Khilji Abdul Saleem Safdar Hussain Imran Nallam Ahmed Abdur Rauf Masood Majid Syed Zahid Khawaja Muhammad Akram Syed Zargoon Shah Kunwar Rashid Habib Anis Ahmed Waseem Akthar Rao Khalid Abdul Manan Haid Jehangir Raja Shaukat Rehman Malik Muhammad Javed Akhtar Akthar Munir Muhammad Javed Muhammad Nawal Nasir Chishti Malik Safdar Abrar Mustafa Muhammad Latif Suleman Hidyat

Murad Shaz Khattack Attaur Rehman Tahir Maqsood Mehdi Muhammad Jamil Khan Kh Javed Bhatti Kaleem Ahsan Shah Khadim Husain Muhammad Javed Iqbal Khakwani Mazhar Ali Khan Syed Qasir Sherazi Karim Madad Ghulam Hussain Zia Shahid Azam Ahmed Khan Khalid Awan Khalid Mahmood Tanveer Shahzad Seema Mir Najumul Islam Usmani Khalid Mustafa Saleem Usmani Syed Ali Nasir Jaffiri Shahid Butt Zulfikar Ghuman Abdul Razak Ali Imran Syed Raza Shah Muhammad Aslam Shabir Khamid Bukhtawari Shagufta Jabeen Bashir Ahmed Shad Syed Aswad Ulfat Agha Mahrooz Haider Nasir Iqbal Masood Abdul Raheem Raja Mahmood Bashir Usmani Muhammad Ilyas Khan Muhammad Mushtaq Ghuman Mashkoor Hussain Shah M Taimur Masroor Mohsin Gilani M Ibrahim Khan M Shahbaz Khan Amir Sajjad Mumtaz Alvi Azhar Jamal Shakil Awan Tanveer Alam Habibur Rehman Naveed Akram Syed Azhar Hussain Mubashir Raza Arif Hussain Jabbar Zakriya Muhammad Farooq Khan Rahat Naseem Saeed Murad Ali Imran Javed Ejaz Khan Munir Aziz Muhammad Riyaz Akhtar Rahat Munir Jahanzeb Muhamamd Afzal Malik Afzal Nadeem Muhammad Jameel Mirza Abdul Mateen Khan Hamidur Rehman Saadat Bashir Akhtar Ali Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan Khalid Mahmood Muhammad Rizwan Khan Rafiq Hussain Khan Malik Muhammad Ilyas Sohail Nashir Uzair Khan Zahid Hussain Hashwani

Four journalists Rauf Klasra, Amir Mateen, Khaleeq Kiani and Javed Ch were given plots in light of the Lahore High Court decision of 2006 in their favour after their names were deleted from the final list on the orders of the then prime minister Shaukat Aziz. The list also contains the names of PTV employees who were given plots. They include Nazir Tabsum, Qamar Mohiuddin, Nisar Baloch, Syed Javed Ali, Khalid Iqbal Warriach, Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah, Ayub Minhas, Asmatullah Khan Niazi, Muzamil Ahmed Khan, Majeed Afzal Khan (Sajan Khan), Awaid Butt, Rashid Baig, Ramzan Khalid, Muhammad Arshad Saleem, Muhammad Zakariya, Musadiq Kaleem, Arif Mahmood. Reference: List of journalists given plots in Islamabad

November 1, 2010 http://tribune.com.pk/story/70940/list-of-journalists-given-plots-in-islamabad/

Arif Nizami was lecturing everybody under the sun in Capital Talk 25 Nov 2010 whereas as per a noted and a very incisive blogger "f*politics"

"QUOTE"

And that to without taking a breath! I felt like I had just witnessed a bukkake but instead of the star being a girl, it was this slimy old man…(puke!)

That it is going to be a BJ by Mr Nizami becomes clear from the very start:

Finally, Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, a dark horse, has accepted the coveted job of adviser to the prime minister on finance, revenue and economic affairs. Better late than never, Pakistan finally has a finance minister.

It’s all down hill from there. Next he puffs that low life up on pedestals made of sand:

Dr Hafeez Sheikh, a US-trained economist, who served in the World Bank as its country head in Saudi Arabia, is not new to Pakistan. Belonging to a landed family of Sindh closely related to the Soomros, he served as the provincial finance minister and later as the minister for privatisation and investment in the Musharraf regime. Despite showing good results in both the slots, he resigned from his post over policy differences. Since then he has been heading an investment firm based in Dubai.

Of course any fool can study economics in US, serving World Bank only means he s an economic hit man, belonging to a landed family closely related to Soomros means he is NOT from an old landed family and someone in his family is married to a Soomro (a fact that should be hidden and not displayed), and it probably happened when he was the provincial minister. The lousy job he did as minister for privatisation and investment in the Musharraf regime is something we are well aware of and suffering from even today. And you nicely hide over the fact that though he’s been working in Dubai, who it is that he had been working for.

Next, Mr Nizami turns his face towards Mr tarin and says “I want it right in my mouth”:

Admittedly, Mr Tarin ably steered the economy in very turbulent times. Despite the country being virtually in a state of war, riddled with suicide attacks, he managed the economy well, bringing a modicum of economic stability.

So Mr Nizami wants us to believe that Mr Tarin had “ably” steered the economy and brought us “economic stability”. He seems to have slept through the last two years while are economy was “ably steered” right into the middle of the IMF iceburg for which Mr Tarin was hired to prevent and if this is “economic stability” we are living under, then I don’t know what economic instability is!

Soon Mr Nizami follows it with the biggest of lies and it for sure takes the cake for the biggest lie one can tell:

The former finance minister can also take due credit for bringing inflation down from 20 per cent to 9 per cent in two years.

Wow! So the prices of everything have been skyrocketing because the rate of inflation has been going down? Simply fucking amazing!!! And the fact that he is lying and he knows he is lying becomes apparent in the very next paragraph where he states:

the bulk of the population living below the bare sustenance level, facing endemic shortages of basic foodstuffs at prices increasingly beyond their reach.

Repeat that again? Do tell me Mr Nizami how can we with an economy that has been “ably steered” for the past two years with inflation more than halving do we end up with “the bulk of the population living below the bare sustenance level, facing endemic shortages of basic foodstuffs at prices increasingly beyond their reach”??

He further exposes his lies in the following paragraph:

State corporations like the national airline, WAPDA, railways and the Steel Mills – packed with cronies and political appointees by successive governments – are massively contributing to the burgeoning budget deficit. A projected GDP growth rate of just over three per cent during the current financial year is barely sufficient to keep pace with the rate of population growth.

So I ask once again Mr Nizami, how can we with an economy that has been“ably steered” for the past two years with inflation more than halving do we end up with “State corporations…packed with cronies and political appointees by successive governments [that includes the previous government of which your new Knight in Shining Armor was a major part of] with “GDP growth rate of just over three per cent during the current financial year is barely sufficient to keep pace with the rate of population growth”?

Through the rest of his half of his article Mr Nizami goes to bat for his other benefactors — the bankers — calling laws against their totally free hand “draconian”, etc. But near the end he comes back to earn his bonus and states:

The IFIs and donor countries, primarily the US, will be relieved that here is a person they can do business with. Being no walkover[Ha, ha!], Dr Sheikh will hopefully be able to ward off competing vested interests [He is a FUCKING VESTED INTEREST]vying for influence on the basis of cronyism and political connections. Hopefully, he will be given the authority and the freehand he demanded before joining the cabinet.

REFERENCE: Debbie Does Dallas But Arif Nizami Does Sheikh, Tarin, WB, IMF, and ALL Bankers Published March 20, 2010 http://fkpolitics.wordpress.com/2010/03/20/debbie-does-dallas-but-arif-nizami-does-sheikh-tarin-wb-imf-and-all-bankers/

Remember Debbie Does Dallas But Arif Nizami Does Sheikh, Tarin, WB, IMF, and ALL Bankers?

Well, that filthy act has paid big dividends for Arif Nizami and his masters — surprised it’s a banker? — have given him a new porno rag to spread his filth. The paper is named Pakistan Today which launched recently and is financed by “Mian Muhammad Mansha of MCB, Izzat Majid and a few others”. The group is, curiously, named Nawa Media (same folks as Nawa-i-Waqt group from which he got fired? Remember that too is a very pro-Nawaz group and Mian Mansha did get to steal Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) courtesy of Nawaz Sharif. Dont know who this Izzat majid fella is but found this short description: “Izzat Majeed, Lahore’s London-based millionaire, philanthropist and patron of the arts.” Hmmm, gotta be a crook And this article about him certainly tells a lot. Will look him up, time permitting).

REFERENCE: Follow-Up: Debbie Does Dallas But Arif Nizami Does Sheikh, Tarin, WB, IMF, and ALL Bankers Published November 2, 2010 http://fkpolitics.wordpress.com/2010/11/02/follow-up-debbie-does-dallas/ عارف نظامی برطرف

علی سلمان

بی بی سی اردو ڈاٹ کام ، لاہو

Wednesday, 9 September, 2009, 23:52 GMT 04:52 PST

http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/2009/09/090908_arif_nizami.shtml

نظامی خاندان کی عدالتی جنگ شروع

عبادالحق

بی بی سی اردو ڈاٹ کام، لاہو

منگل, 24 نومبر, 2009, 14:08 GMT 19:08 PST

http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/2009/11/091124_arif_nizami_notice_zee.shtml

"UNQUOTE"

LAHORE, Nov 24: Justice Mian Saqib Nisar of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday admitted for hearing a petition that sought winding up of The Nation Publications (Private) Limited and issued notices to respondents for Wednesday (today). The respondents included Majid Nizami, chief executive of The Nation Publications (Private) Limited, and Ms Rameezah Nizami. Arif Nizami, son of the founder of the Nawa-i-Waqt Group, the late Hameed Nizami, has filed the petition in his capacity of a director and share-holder of The Nation Publications (Private) Limited as well as the founder editor of ‘The Nation’. He is being represented in the case by Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, Abid Hasan Minto and Uzair Karamat Bhandari. Mr Nizami was sacked as the editor of “The Nation” on Sept 7, 2009. It has been argued in the petition that though the company was incorporated as a private limited company, in essence, it was a family concern being managed solely by its members and was in the nature of a partnership. Relying on decisions of Supreme Court and the House of Lords of England, counsel submitted that the company was, therefore, subject to the principles for dissolution applicable to partnership concerns. The petition levels allegations of acts of omission and commission in violation of the Companies Ordinance, 1984, and the Memorandum & Articles of Association of the publications. Petition also alleged illegal dilution of shareholding, oppression and mismanagement of the company and says Arif Nizami had been illegally ousted from management. Arif Nizami moves court —Staff Reporter Wednesday, 25 Nov, 2009 http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/arif-nizami-moves-court-519

LAHORE: Arif Nizami, director and former editor of The Nation, filed a petition with the Lahore High Court (LHC) through senior advocates Aitzaz Ahsan and Abid Minto, seeking closure of The Nation Publications (Pvt) Ltd over a feud among the partners. It is pertinent to mention here that Arif Nizami is the son of the founder of the Nawa-i-Waqt Group, late Hameed Nizami. He is one of the directors and shareholders of The Nation Publications (Pvt) Limited as well as the founder and former editor of The Nation. The petition came up for hearing before Justice Mian Saqib Nisar of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday. It may be recalled that Arif Nizami was sacked from office on 7 September 2009 by his uncle Majid Nizami. The petition has been filed against The Nation Publications (Private) Limited and its shareholders, including Majid Nizami, Chief Executive of The Nation Publications (Private) Limited, and his daughter Rameezah Nazami.

It has been urged in the petition that though the company is incorporated as a private limited entity, in essence, The Nation Publication (Private) Limited, is a family concern being managed solely by family members and is in the nature of a partnership. Relying on decisions of the Pakistan Supreme Court and the House of Lords of England, the counsel submitted that the company was, therefore, subject to the principles of dissolution applicable to partnership concerns. It has been further urged that Arif Nizami with the status of a partner has been deliberately, wrongfully and illegally ousted from management of the company affairs, an irreversible state of deadlock exists in the company; and there is complete mistrust and a total lack of confidence among the parties. Thus, it is only just and equitable that the company be wound up. The petition levels serious allegations of the acts of omission and commission in violation of the Companies Ordinance, 1984 and the Memorandum & Articles of Association of The Nation Publications (Private) Limited on the part of Majid Nizami. Other grounds urged in the petition include illegal dilution of shareholding, oppression and mismanagement of the company. Justice Mian Saqib Nisar was pleased to admit the petition for hearing on Tuesday. REFERENCE: Arif sues Majid Nizami for The Nation closure Wednesday, November 25, 2009

http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=210392

Apathy of Jang Group on their very own Mr. Umar Cheema!!!

"QUOTE"

Would Mr. Shaheen Sehbai, Mr. Hamid Mir and last but not the least Mr. Ansar Abbasi like to explain as to who did this?

Umar Cheema, 34, a reporter for The News, was kidnapped and beaten on the outskirts of Islamabad on Sept. 4 after having written several articles that were critical of the Pakistani Army. ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — An investigative reporter for a major Pakistani newspaper was on his way home from dinner here on a recent night when men in black commando garb stopped his car, blindfolded him and drove him to a house on the outskirts of town. There, he says, he was beaten and stripped naked. His head and eyebrows were shaved, and he was videotaped in humiliating positions by assailants who he and other journalists believe were affiliated with the country’s powerful spy agency. At one point, while he lay face down on the floor with his hands cuffed behind him, his captors made clear why he had been singled out for punishment: for writing against the government. “If you can’t avoid rape,” one taunted him, “enjoy it.” The reporter, Umar Cheema, 34, had written several articles for The News that were critical of the Pakistani Army in the months preceding the attack. His ordeal was not uncommon for a journalist or politician who crossed the interests of the military and intelligence agencies, the centers of power even in the current era of civilian government, reporters and politicians said. “I have suspicions and every journalist has suspicions that all fingers point to the ISI,” Mr. Cheema said, using the acronym for the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, the institution that the C.I.A. works with closely in Pakistan to hunt militants. The ISI is an integral part of the Pakistani Army; its head, Gen. Shuja Ahmed Pasha, reports to the army chief of staff, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.

Officials at the American Embassy said they interviewed Mr. Cheema this week, and sent a report of his account to the State Department. In response to an e-mail for comment, a spokesman for the ISI said, “They are nothing but allegations with no substance or truth.” Mr. Cheema had won a Daniel Pearl Journalism Fellowship to train foreign journalists in 2008 and worked in The New York Times newsroom for six months at that time. He has worked at The News since 2007. The attack was believed at the time to be unpopular in the army ranks because many soldiers were reluctant to fire on fellow Muslims. Moreover, courts-martial are rarely mentioned in the Pakistani news media, and reporters have been warned not to write about them. In his article, Mr. Cheema reported that two members of the Special Services Group, an elite commando squad, were being denied fair justice during the court-martial proceedings. In another article, Mr. Cheema wrote that the suspects in a major terrorist attack against a bus carrying ISI employees were acquitted because of the “mishandling” of the court case by the intelligence agency. In an article in early August, the reporter described how Army House, the residence of the chief of army staff, was protected by 400 city police officers and not by soldiers, as required by law. In January, in Islamabad, the home of Azaz Syed, a reporter for Dawn, the main English-language daily, was attacked by unknown assailants days after he was threatened by supposed ISI agents over an investigative article he was researching related to the military.

Kamran Shafi, a leading columnist and himself a former army officer who writes critically of the military, was harassed and his house was attacked last December by “elements linked to the security establishment,” according to his own account. In the last several years, journalists in the tribal areas, where the army is fighting the Taliban, have faced special risks and found it increasingly difficult to work for fear of offending either side. In September two journalists were killed in or near the tribal areas, under circumstances that remain unclear. Pakistan has developed a rambunctious news media spearheaded by round the clock television news channels in the last decade. The military and the ISI are treated with respect by the powerful television anchors, and by newspaper reporters who extol the deeds of the army in battling the Taliban. The ISI is rarely mentioned by name but referred to as “intelligence agencies.” One reason for the deference, according to a Pakistani intelligence official who has worked with the media cell of the ISI, is that the agency keeps many journalists on its payroll. Unspoken rules about covering the military and its intelligence branches are eagerly enforced, Babar Sattar, a Harvard-trained lawyer, said. A journalist who trespasses over the line is told to behave, Mr. Sattar said. Earlier this year, Mr. Cheema said he was called to a coffee shop in Islamabad by an ISI officer and warned to fall into line. At a journalists’ seminar in Lahore, the editor of a weekly newspaper, Najam Sethi, said it was up to the ISI to declare who had attacked Mr. Cheema. “If the ISI hasn’t done it, they should tell us who did it because they’re supposed to know,” Mr. Sethi said. “If they don’t tell, the presumption remains they did it.” But in a column titled “Surprise Surprise” in Dawn, Mr. Shafi said, “We will never find out what happened to poor Umar Cheema because the Deep State does not want us to find out.” REFERENCES: EDITORIAL Who Attacked Umar Cheema? A version of this editorial appeared in print on September 29, 2010, on page A30 of the New York edition.http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/opinion/29wed4.htmlPublished: September 28, 2010 After Pakistani Journalist Speaks Out About an Attack, Eyes Turn to the Military By JANE PERLEZ Published: September 24, 2010 A version of this article appeared in print on September 25, 2010, on page A7 of the New York edition.http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/25/world/asia/25cheema.html?_r=4&ref=nfhttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/25/world/asia/25cheema.html

"UNQUOTE"

Mr Mohammad Malick and Mr. Ansar Abbasi also said in the above clip of Capital Talk 25 Nov 2010, that their [JANG/GEO/The News International] stories are beyond any mistakes.

"QUOTE"

Jang Group Eats Crow After FIA Declares LHC Assassination Conspiracy As ‘Unverifiable’

While most of the country is preparing for an Eid feast this week, Jang Group is sitting before a giant plate of crow. Recently, the star reporter for Jang’s English newspaper The News, Ansar Abbasi, wrote a column that caused an outcry among the media, judiciary, and executive office of government. He claimed to have revealed a conspiracy by federal officials to assassinate Chief Justice LHC Khawaja Muhammad Sharif. After months of investigation and unknown resources, it has been concluded that no such conspiracy existed.

The News followed up Abbasi’s conspiracy story with a number of sensational articles implying that the judiciary was being threatened by administration authorities. Soon after, Jang Group suffered the embarrassment of having the Supreme Court request it to publish a correction “to set the record straight”. Now, another blow to Ansar Abbasi and Jang’s credibility has been dealt.

According to Express Tribune the report of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) inquiry team has concluded that Ansar Abbasi’s column was based on hot air.

It may be recalled that on September 11, a report was published in The News that the Special Branch had unfolded a plot to kill the Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court. Amidst the ensuing hue and cry, an inquiry was ordered on the allegation carried in the newspaper report that three key government officials were behind the plot.

FIA Director Zafar Qureshi said in his report that the FIA inquiry team could not find a single shred of evidence into the alleged plot to kill the Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court. Key witnesses related to this intelligence report refused to record their statements despite several requests. Special branch officials also kept changing their statements, thus raising serious doubts about the authenticity of the intelligence report reportedly issued by the Punjab Police’s Special Branch.

The question remains as to how much this wild goose chase has cost the government which has had to pay for an inquiry only to discover that Ansar Abbasi’s conspiracy theory was untrue. Additional expenses for increased security, meetings by members of the judiciary and their staffs, and other official actions taken as a result of the incorrect reporting.

In addition to the unknown cost to the national purse there is the strained relationship between the official agencies and the time that was spent by officials which could have been used working on solutions to the actual problems facing the country.

This is why conspiracy theories and sensational yellow journalism is a problem. One might find it more entertaining when the news is like a professional wrestling programme, but there are consequences to this unprofessional behaviour beyond simply discrediting the reporters and media companies who choose to engage in it.

When Nusrat Javed spoke on the occasion of the 4th national conference of SAFMA, he pledged to support “across the board accountability”. Just as government officials must be held accountable for their actions, so too should journalists who forget their proper duties and spread conspiracies and misinformation. Ansar Abbasi and Jang Group should enjoy their plate of crow this week, it is a small consequence compared to what they have cost the nation. REFERENCE: http://pakistanmediawatch.com/2010/11/08/jang-group-eats-crow-after-fia-declares-lhc-assassination-conspiracy-as-unverifiable/

Ansar Abbasi vs. Ansar Abbasi on 18th Amendment

There is a famous saying that no man has a good enough memory to be a perfect liar. Ansar Abbasi could never be a good liar because his memory is so short that he cannot remember even what he has claimed the day before. Within the past two days, Abbasi’s statements in his columns about the SC verdict on 18th Amendment come into direct contradiction.

Yesterday, in a bit of irony that did not go unnoticed by many,Ansar Abbasi claimed that the government was unhappy with the SC verdict because they were hoping to cause a conflict between the government and judiciary.

The otherwise aggressive Presidency, whose men unleashed unending scathing attacks on the judiciary following the apex court’s NRO decision, has gone on the backfoot as the Supreme Court’s latest decision has won more sympathisers for the judiciary, even within the government and in the Presidency.

According to a credible source, a president’s top aide and federal minister, whose advice really matters a lot in the Presidency’s decisions, did not show any appreciation after getting the details of the interim order. The source said that the minister wore a sullen face as soon as he got to know as to what the apex court had ruled.

The source said that the negative reaction of such grim faces was expected to be reflected discreetly through the media. “Some panic phone calls have already been made to certain friends in the media to encourage media persons to pick up holes in the judgment,” the source said.

In only 24 hours, Ansar Abbasi must have forgotten his talking points, though, because his column for today makes the opposite claim.

Sardar Latif Khosa, a former cabinet member and one of the legal aides of the president, has already welcomed the SC decision, terming it as well considered and well thought-out. He added that the SC order suggested the best way to deal with the issues that were brought before the judiciary. Yet another presidential aide and President Zardari’s political aide Faisal Raza Abidi had also termed the SC order as “excellent” and “judicious”.

Generally, the PPP legislators and even the government representatives are excited about the decision as it has successfully averted the much-feared confrontation between the judiciary and parliament.

So how does such an experienced journalist as Ansar Abbasi make such an error? Actually, he gives himself away today. Here is what Ansar Abbasi explains:

There are fears amidst political and journalistic circles that the Presidency and its top legal mind and Law Minister Babar Awan have some reservations about the Supreme Court’s interim order because of which they are not coming up with their response.

It is alleged that some of the presidential aides are instead encouraging their friends in the media to pick up holes in the SC’s interim order and raise the question if it interferes in the legislature’s domain.

Whether he intended to or not, Ansar Abbasi has exposed himself and too many of his media colleagues, though they may be unnamed here. There is no evidence that the government is trying to cause a conflict with the judiciary, and there is no evidence that the government or the President himself is unhappy with the verdict. Actually, this is all only the gossip among political and media elites.

Recent events have already suggested that there are some media elements fueling the executive-judiciary tensions. Ansar Abbasi has just given more evidence. It is time for the media to stop playing games and reporting their office gossips. Please, stick to the facts. REFERENCE: http://pakistanmediawatch.com/2010/10/23/ansar-abbasi-vs-ansar-abbasi-on-18th-amendment/

The News vs. The News On Deedar Hussain Shah

Yesterday’s edition of The News (Jang) included another example of politicized reporting that even contradicts other reports in the same newspaper.

Ansar Abbasi’s top news story, “New NAB chairman, a Jiyala from A to Z” accuses President Zardari of appointing a political crony as the new NAB chief. His report calls Deedar Hussain Shah “controversial” and includes statements that PML-N through Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan found the candidate unacceptable.

But another report by Rauf Klasra in the same paper, “Nawaz trusted the new NAB chairman”, describes this new opposition to Deedar Hussain Shah as NAB chairman as like a tiger changing its stripes.

The court documents show that Nawaz and his legal team were satisfied with the role of the SHC CJ, Deedar Hussain Shah, because they believed that in line with the norms of justice, he neither allowed a speedy trial of Nawaz nor he formed a full bench like his successor.

Deedar Hussain Shah, when he was the SHC CJ, had actually appointed a three-member bench comprising Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Justice Rabbani and another judge, to hear the Nawaz case and the former prime minister was quite satisfied with this bench and its proceedings. After reading these papers, it becomes quite obvious that Deedar Hussain Shah was sent to the Supreme Court because General Musharraf was unhappy with him during the trial of Nawaz Sharif.

The official record shows that Nawaz’s legal team had praised the then SHC CJ Deedar Hussain Shah in the petition no. 172/2000, which was filed to challenge the speedy trial and formation of a full bench by the new SHC CJ. The petition was filed on June 27, 2000, challenging whether Sindh High Court registrar could constitute a full bench for hearing of anti-terrorism appeals under Rules 2 and 5 of the high court.

Nawaz Sharif’s lawyer had complained in writing to the SHC after the elevation of Deedar Shah as the SC judge followed by the appointment of the new SHC CJ that the role of secret agencies had suddenly become important in proceedings that had greatly disturbed Nawaz. He complained in the petition that after the appointment of the new SHC chief justice, inconveniences had been created by four intelligence agencies.

But, today after the lapse of 10 years, the PML-N leaders have come out to attack the same judge and challenged his appointment as the NAB chairman on grounds that once he was a PPP worker and had contested election on its ticket. But Nawaz’s legal team and leaders did not question him or his past political affiliation as they had found him a professional judge who did not allow secret agencies to disturb the court’s environment or form a full bench or order his speedy trial as it was done later.

The documents revealed that with the elevation of Deedar Hussain Shah to the SC in April 2008, Nawaz Sharif was not happy, telling the court in writing that when he (Deedar Shah) was the SHC CJ, environment of the court was smooth, orderly and peaceful. Deedar Shah had also worked with Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhary and had retired without any complaint against him as he enjoyed a good record as a judge.

This sudden change of opinion is well documented and makes for an important news story. When citizens hear that one politician is challenging the appointments of another, they must have the knowledge of history to determine if these challenges are being made in good faith, or are political theatre only.

Despite The News having access to all the information about Mian Nawaz Sharif praising Deedar Hussain Shah for so many years, Ansar Abbasi seems to have ignored this information and did not even ask probing questions to get to the heart of the matter. He simply repeated, in very political terms, the opposition talking points.

By calling Deedar Hussain Shah a ‘Jiyala’ (PPP activist) through-and-through, Ansar Abbasi is acting like an opposition agent, not a journalist. Please, we have enough political operatives – what we need are journalists. REFERENCE: http://pakistanmediawatch.com/2010/10/10/the-news-vs-the-news-on-deedar-hussain-shah/

LHC Assassination Conspiracy Theory Threatens Jang Group’s Believability

The News (Jang) finds itself in a rather embarrassing situation today as the Supreme Court has issued a public statement that an article in Sunday’s newspaper is misleading and requested Jang to publish a correction “prominently, preferably at the same spot on the front pages of the two newspapers in order to set the record straight.”

“It is clarified that the above-mentioned caption is misleading in so far as it gives the impression that the judges of the Superior Courts have direct clear threats from administrative officials, which is not the true reflection of the issue discussed in the above mentioned meeting nor the press release issued in this regard refers to any such threats. In fact, the meeting discussed the security related situation in view of the purported information ‘emanating from administrative authorities’ in relation to the alleged plot to target the Hon’ble Chief Justice of Lahore High Court as mentioned in the report of the Special Branch of the Government of Punjab.

“Unfortunately, your above-mentioned captions portray the totally different message as if the Hon’ble judges of Superior Courts are being threatened by the administrative officials, which is not the case. It is expected that an appropriate clarification may please be published prominently, preferably at the same spot on the front pages of the two newspapers in order to set the record straight.”

The Supreme Court should be commended for pointing out the misleading nature of this headline, possibly chosen for its sensationalism.

It should also be noted that the truth of the underlying story – that there is a plot to assassinate the Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court – is questionable in its own right.

The article which originated this claim, “Plot to kill Justice Sharif unearthed,” was written by Jang reporter Ansar Abbasi on 11 September and contains several items which call into question the claim’s legitimacy.

First, according to Abbasi,

The report titled “PLAN TO ELIMINATE A VALUE TARGET” was recently submitted to the Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif as “Most Immediate” and “For the CM’s eyes only”.

If a high-level intelligence report labeled as “For the CM’s eyes only” has fallen into the hands of Mr Ansar Abbasi, a skeptical reader must ask himself what the purpose of this leak could possibly be. Sending a “Most Immediate” and top secret intelligence report to a newspaper reporter would be a serious breach of security.

Furthermore, though Mr Abbasi claims that

The report also contains the names of the hired assassins but this information is being withheld by The News on the request of the source, who insisted that the disclosure of their names would make it hard for the provincial government to get hold of them.

This claim is difficult to believe. After all, regardless of whether or not the names of the individuals are reported, surely the alleged assassins know who they are and, seeing that their plan was published in the newspaper, would immediately destroy all evidence and probably flee the country.

Of course, this basic common sense did not stand in the way of a good story for Ansar Abbasi especially as it of course concludes by accusing an unnamed federal minister of participation in the plot as a means to advance PPP power.

But even this claim undermines this conspiracy theory. If Ansar Abbasi or anyone else has evidence that a federal minister is plotting the assassination of the LHC Chief Justice, should not that evidence be made public immediately so that the individual can be removed from position of power?

Of course this has not happened, rather Ansar Abbasi and his fellow “reporters” at Jang continue to concoct the most outrageous tales with none of the characters – either good or bad – named. It is simply rumour and innuendo hiding behind the crass exploitation of journalistic privilege.

Ansar Abbasi and Jang Group were handed a ‘black eye’ over the week end when it was reported that Special Branch has denied the legitimacy of the report completely.

Former chief of the Special Branch of Punjab Police, Col (retd) Ehsanul Haq, finally broke his silence on Friday and said that neither he nor his subordinates had authored a report about a plot to assassinate Lahore High Court Chief Justice Khwaja Mohammad Sharif.

“I have nothing to do with this report. The report that appeared in a local newspaper is not that of the special branch. My department did not issue any such report,” Col Ehsan said while talking to Dawn.

This did not stop Jang from continuing to peddle the conspiracy theory, however. Instead, they changed the byline from Ansar Abbasi to Sohail Khan and published the article titled, “CJs express concern over judges security; threats from administration”

Finally, even the Supreme Court has seen that Jang Group has gone too far by making patently false accusations and requested them to immediately and prominently admit their fault.

Despite Ansar Abbasi’s insistence that he received the report from a reliable (anonymous) source, why did he not verify the authenticity of the report with the Special Branch before he wrote his article? Why did he not consider the very common sense questions that are mentioned above and call into question the validity of the report? Was it because the story fit a particular political agenda that he, or his employers at Jang Group are trying to promote?

If Col Ehsan from Special Branch is correct in his claims that he is being pressured by political operatives in Punjab to produce a report that accuses PPP officials, is this not the actual news story?

[Col Ehsan], however, appeared to be under immense pressure because sources say that the Punjab government wants him to give a statement of its liking.

The “so-called” special branch report which does not even have the signature of any official or seal claims that three PPP personalities – a federal minister, a federal government’s nominee in Punjab and a PPP Punjab office-bearer – has planned to assassinate Justice Khwaja Sharif.

Why has this angle been ignored by Jang reporters? As in the past, we are forced to ask whether Jang has stopped being a legitimate news source, choosing instead to work in political propaganda.

This story is more important than simply one misleading headline. It raises serious questions about the believability of all news items reported by Jang Group’s media companies, particularly by reporters such as Ansar Abbasi who have a long history of reporting questionable material with a specific political bias. The proper response for Jang Group is not to simply issue a headline clarification and continue to operate in the same manner.

Jang should immediately begin a public, internal investigation into this case to determine if its star reporter Ansar Abbasi took proper journalistic steps to verify the authenticity of his story, or whether he has acted outside his role as a journalist and begun performing the work of political propaganda. Until answers are provided for why this continues to be a problem at Jang, the validity of Jang’s reporting must be viewed with extreme skepticism. REFERENCE: http://pakistanmediawatch.com/2010/09/20/lhc-assassination-conspiracy-theory-threatens-jang-groups-believability/

Ahmad Noorani Mischaracterizes Zardari Statements, Contradicts Own Newspaper

Ahmad Noorani, journalist or political operative?

Ahmad Noorani writes a ‘top story’ inThe News today that is an example of yellow journalism at its worst. The article, “President confuses PPP Jialas and the nation“, is a political ‘hit job’ and not a serious piece of journalism. Moreover, the author’s argument contradicts recent reports found in his own newspaper.

Ahmed claims that the president does not want to locate and try the killers of Benazir Bhutto. This is a blatant mischaracterization of the president’s remarks in an effort to score political points.

Despite making this claim about the president’s statements, Noorani does not actually provide quotes that back up his claims. Perhaps that is because the actual statements of the president are not as Ahmad Noorani tries to twist them.

Actually, the president has repeatedly said the same thing – that his government will not practise revenge, but will respect the due process of proper law and order. This is even reported in The Newson 22 April 2010:

“We do not believe in the politics of revenge. The law will take its own course and the people who are responsible for the martyrdom of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto will be brought to justice, not to revenge,” the president said while addressing PPP workers, members of the bar and the People’s Lawyer Forum from Bahawalpur, Multan and DG Khan divisions here at the Ashraf Sugar Mills.

This is clearly a call for a proper investigation and trial of the killers of Benazir Bhutto, not, as Ahmad Noorani falsely characterizes it, a call to abandon the investigation. Or does Ahmad Noorani believe that there should be simply a revenge killing of some scapegoat with no due process?

Because President Zardari’s statements about the ongoing investigation and forthcoming trials for Benazir Bhutto’s murderers have been quite clear, it is hard not to come to the conclusion that Ahmad Noorani is not engaging in journalism, but is using his position at The News to engage in a political ‘character assassination’ of the president.

It turns out, Mr Noorani, a protege of long-time Zardari critic Mr Ansar Abbasi, is no stranger to political hit jobs. According to research conducted by blogger Mohtasib, in April 2000,

In April 2000, Bahawalpur’s Civil Lines Police registered a case against AhmedNoorani for violating section 144 CrPC, which was imposed to refrain miscreants from provoking sectarian sentiments in the area known as a hotbed of sectarian militancy.Noorani had plastered the walls of Islamia University of Bahawalpur with posters carrying objectionable slogans against some sects (see the police report).

Nor is this the first time that Ahmad Noorani has used his position at The News to write some political propaganda under the cover of journalism. Mr Yousuf Nazar wrote about Ahmad Noorani’s misleading reporting about the 18th Amendment in April of this year.

This raises the question of whether or not Ahmad Noorani is a reporter or a political operative. Judging by this article, the answer does not look good. REFERENCE: http://pakistanmediawatch.com/2010/06/22/ahmad-noorani-mischaracterizes-zardari-statements-contradicts-own-newspaper/

The Jang Group has become so obsessed with quickly seeing the back of the government and is probably salivating so much over the prospects of threatened long marches that sometimes it gets muddled up in its excitement... This is the heading from yesterday's daily Jang about Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani trying to reassure people - dreading a government-Supreme Court showdown in court today (October 13) - that nothing bad would happen. The headline reads: "13 March Ko Kuchh Nahin Hoga..." [Nothing will happen on March 13...]. REFERENCE: Crap All Round WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2010 http://cafepyala.blogspot.com/2010/10/crap-all-round.html

(Courtesy: Mr. Maaz Abdullah)

One question that should be asked and is being ignored “who aired the news” and CJ “orders” government to find out about the news According to a notification released by the SC, directors of three local TV channels and Chairman Pemra, Mushtaq Ahmed, were informed by a notice to be present at the hearing. The full court will only do the hearings of judges’ restoration notification on 18th October. While other benches will proceed with their normal hearings. -DawnNews SC hearing for restoration notification on 18 Oct Saturday, 16 Oct, 2010 http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/06-sc-hearing-for-restoration-notification-on-18-oct-rs-01

میڈیا اور ججز:’رد عمل ذرا زیادہ تھا‘
آخری وقت اشاعت: جمعـء 15 اکتوبر 2010 , 15:46 GMT 20:46 PST
http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/multimedia/2010/10/101015_judges_asma.shtml

“Burden of Proof”

“The burden of proof is upon the plaintiff and the taking of oath is upon the defendant.” (Al-Bayhaqi)”

Guilty by Suspicion is against the Spirit of Islamic Law because when you raise finger then it’s the responsibility of those who allege to produce witness. Benefit of doubt is always given to those who is under trial.

الْبَيِّنَةُ عَلَى الْمُدَّعِى وَالْيَمِينُ عَلَى الْمُدَّعَى عَلَيْهِ

The burden of proof is upon the plaintiff, and the oath is upon the one who is accused (Tirmidhi)

Therefore the ruler is forbidden from imposing a penalty on anyone, unless they perpetrate a crime which Shari’ah considers to be a crime, and the perpetration of the crime has been proven before a competent judge in a judiciary court, because the evidence could not be admissible unless it is established before a competent judge and in a judiciary court.

Jang Group is master of Spreading Rumors.

ISLAMABAD: Terming the headline —’CJs express concern over judges security; threats from admin’ — of a news report, regarding the security related meeting, that appeared in The News on Sunday as misleading, the Supreme Court office, in its press release issued here, has clarified the same as under: “It is clarified that the above-mentioned caption is misleading in so far as it gives the impression that the judges of the Superior Courts have direct clear threats from administrative officials, which is not the true reflection of the issue discussed in the above mentioned meeting nor the press release issued in this regard refers to any such threats. In fact, the meeting discussed the security related situation in view of the purported information ‘emanating from administrative authorities’ in relation to the alleged plot to target the Hon’ble Chief Justice of Lahore High Court as mentioned in the report of the Special Branch of the Government of Punjab. “Unfortunately, your above-mentioned captions portray the totally different message as if the Hon’ble judges of Superior Courts are being threatened by the administrative officials, which is not the case. It is expected that an appropriate clarification may please be published prominently, preferably at the same spot on the front pages of the two newspapers in order to set the record straight.” REFERENCE: SC clarification Monday, September 20, 2010 Shawwal 10, 1431 A.H. http://www.thenews.com.pk/20-09-2010/Top-Story/712.htm

Watch in the video below, Abbas Ather reveals without naming that it was a newspaper (Jang Group’s (Geo TV’s) newspaper The News) which had first spread a false rumour about the denotification of the Supreme Court judges on 19 January 2010. Try to search that news item via Google. And lo and behold. There is actually a news story in The News on that date. But there is a small problem here. The story has been removed from The News website; most probably very recently. No plan to withdraw judges' restoration notification - 19 Jan 2010 ... ISLAMABAD: There is no plan to withdraw the notification issued on March 17, 2009 for the restoration of deposed judges, including Chief ... www.thenews.com.pk/print3.asp?id=26750 [even the cache which is usually available is not available]

Abbas Ather’s conversation with Asma Jahangir in today’s Column Kaar (16 October 2010)- Part 1


URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNmgi5dL7EY

Why? The reason is simple. The Supreme Court has ordered an inquiry to investigate those who created and disseminated the rumour; the court has asked Geo TV / Jang Group to produce their record as a part of that inquiry. By removing a culpable piece of evidence, Geo TV / Jang Group are trying to play smart. Ain’t they? However, we have been able to retrieve the removed story (which was reported by none other than the Ansar Abbasi / Muhammad Saleh Zaafir duo) from another website [Pakistan Tribune] http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?223604 (which thankfully copy-pasted this report from The News):

"QUOTE"

No plan to withdraw judges’ restoration notification The News Tuesday January 19, 2010 (1035 PST)

ISLAMABAD: There is no plan to withdraw the notification issued on March 17, 2009 for the restoration of deposed judges, including Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, said an important minister. He was responding to a question of this correspondent about reports that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)-led coalition government was planning to technically knock out the judiciary in a ‘democratic way’.

But according to sources, the tug of war between the Pakistan People’s Party and the judicial echelon is not yet over. The PPP-led coalition government is planning to deal with the judiciary in a ‘democratic way’. The defiance strategy focuses on the use of constitutional means to make the judiciary toothless and powerless, said a highly reliable source.

However, the important minister who was initially reluctant to respond saying he was not the relevant person to talk on this issue, agreed to express his opinion after told that no other official was available. He said such reports were totally false and whatever steps the government would take would be in accordance with the law and Constitution. He said a propaganda campaign was being launched against the government to mislead the people. He said there may be such a proposal from any quarters, but the government had never committed violation of the Constitution. The government has not done anything which may offend the judiciary, he said, adding every proposal is thoroughly examined by the Presidency and the Prime Minister House and there is no chance that such a proposal can find any favourable response there.

But according to sources, President Asif Ali Zardari has made the PPP to use democracy and constitutionalism as its weapons to fight back. Initially, resilient Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani was also given a go-ahead signal on December 19, 2009 to make his allegiance to the president public after his meeting with Zardari. On the same day, the meeting of the PPP Central Executive Committee ended with a defiant mood. Heated speeches in the meeting considered SC decision “as part of a conspiracy”, informed sources said. The source also revealed that the appointment of Dr Babar Awan as law minister is part of the strategy to fight back judiciary with an executive push. Rescinding government notification and introducing a new ordinance protecting NAB beneficiaries are the options to be used by in coming days to put pressure on the Supreme Court.

Under the same procedural defiance strategy, another highly-placed source said the government intends to withdraw the notification of March 17, 2009 through which the deposed judges of the superior judiciary were restored to the November 2, 2007 position.

The source disclosed that by withdrawing the notification of March 17, 2009, the Presidency believes that the office of the chief justice will fall vacant, so neither any bench could be constituted nor could be any stay order issued until the appointment of a new chief justice.

On March 17, 2009, the Law Ministry had issued two separate notifications and Law Secretary Justice Agha Rafiq had read out the notifications in a press conference.

The first notification stated:

“Whereas the prime minister of Pakistan was pleased to announce on 16th day of March, 2009 that the deposed judges of the Supreme Court and high courts, including Mr Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the deposed chief justice of Pakistan, shall be restored to the position they were holding immediately before 3rd day of November, 2007.

“Now therefore, the president of Pakistan is pleased to restore Mr Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the deposed chief justice of Pakistan to the position he was holding immediately before 3rd day of November, 2007. Mr Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will assume office of chief justice of Pakistan on 22nd March, 2009, after retirement of Mr Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Chief Justice of Pakistan on 21st March, 2009.”

The second notification announced on same day stated:-

“The prime minister of Pakistan was pleased to announce on 16th day of March, 2009 that the deposed judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, including Mr Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the deposed Chief Justice of Pakistan, shall be restored to the position they were holding immediately before 3rd day of November, 2007:

“Supreme Court of Pakistan: 1. Mr Justice Javed Iqbal; 2. Mr Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday; 3. Mr Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed; 4. Mr Justice Ch Ijaz Ahmad.

“Lahore High Court: 1. Mr Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif; 2. Mr Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry; 3. Mr Justice Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rehman.

“High Court of Sindh: 1. Mr Justice Mushir Alam; 2. Mr Justice Maqbool Baqar. “Peshawar High Court: 1. Mr Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan.

“Now, therefore, the President of Pakistan is pleased to restore the above mentioned deposed judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts to the position they were holding immediately before 3rd day of November, 2007. These judges will assume their office with immediate effect.”

The source has confided that Law Ministry will be playing a pivotal role in the new strategy. Hence, it was important to replace Afzal Sindhu with Dr Babar Awan as law minister. The NAB beneficiaries in the government ganged together in ousting veteran PPP leader Afzal Sindhu. “Muhammad Afzal Sindhu, a veteran PPP leader having the distinction of being a member of the party’s Central Executive Committee during the days of late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, is a respected lawyer and constitutional philosopher and was unlikely to agree to being part of this dirty game plan, hence he was sent to the Ministry of Railways last month,” the sources pointed out.

Secondly, under the same strategy the government will not take any step for reopening of cases in the Swiss court as was directed by the Supreme Court in its short order declared the infamous National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) void ab initio,” pointed out the source.

According to the source, had the government been serious in implementation of the Supreme Court, there was no need to wait for the detail judgment.

Thirdly, he said, the government has not appointed Justice (Retd) Khalilur Rehman Ramday as ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court as recommended by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Advice of the chief justice was shelved by Law Ministry.

The recent spree of aggressive statements by Mr Zardari and PPP leadership is in a wake of being not sure about how army may react if SC throws ‘NAB beneficiaries’ out in a bid to make Pakistan corruption free and ensure that corruption is rooted out of society.

They are confident that their aggressive posture will make the military to refuse abiding by the Supreme Court order in case Article 190 of the Constitution is invoked by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the source elaborated.

It may be recalled that Article 190 has so far been invoked only twice and on both the occasions, the military sided with the executive instead of abiding by the orders of the chief justice. He recalled that when Justice Sajjad Ali Shah had invoked Article 190 as chief judge, the-then chief of army staff Gen Jehangir Karamat had forwarded the court order to the Ministry of Defence for further process and hence the military defied the court order because Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif held the portfolio of the minister for defence at that time.

On the second occasion, a seven-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had ordered the state machinery including the corps and formation commanders of the Army on November 3, 2007 not to abide by any unconstitutional order of Gen Pervez Musharraf. But the Army defied the court order and a new Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) was issued by Musharraf, imposing martial law on the pretext of emergency, which was also described as emergency plus.

The source said that top advisers of the rulers are currently weighing all the available options but majority of them believes that there is no provision in the constitution for the restoration of a chief justice and the executive order through which the judges were restored could be withdrawn anytime.

It is, however, pertinent to recall here that the federal law secretary, while reading out the two notifications of March 17, 2009, had said as all the deposed judges were reinstated to the position of November 2, 2007, they were not required to take fresh oath. REFERENCE: No plan to withdraw judges' restoration notification 19 Jan 2010 ... ISLAMABAD: There is no plan to withdraw the notification issued on March 17, 2009 for the restoration of deposed judges, including Chief ... www.thenews.com.pk/print3.asp?id=26750 No plan to withdraw judges’ restoration notification Tuesday January 19, 2010 (1035 PST) http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?223604 Breaking News: The News (Jang Group) removes its 19 January 2010 false story to escape legal action 16 October 2010 http://criticalppp.com/archives/26153

End.

"UNQUOTE"

OLD HABITS DIE HARD

MUHAMMAD SALEH ZAAFIR, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT OF JANG GROUP OF NEWSPAPERS/GEO TV & CONTEMPT OF COURT - ISLAMABAD: The 13-member full court of the Supreme Court on Tuesday accepted the unconditional apology of a newsman for filing a report pertaining to the alleged preparation of references against four senior judges of the said bench. Following is the text of the order issued by the 13-member full court of the Supreme Court after unconditional apology by journalist Muhammad Saleh Zaafir:

“Muhammad Saleh Zaafir, editor special reporting of daily Jang and The News, has entered appearance on our call in connection with the news items appearing in the Rawalpindi edition of the daily ‘Jang’ and daily ‘The News’ on 11th June, 2007, regarding some references being made against four senior hon’ble judges of this Court who, presumably also happen to be the members of this bench. The said news item appeared to be open to further serious exception because such a news item had been published, more than boldly, on the front pages of the said two newspapers on the day when the bench was expected to announce its decision on the maintainability of the petition filed in this court questioning the presidential reference against the chief justice of Pakistan. It may be added that certain insinuation have been made in the said news items pointing towards some alleged misconduct committed by the four un-named senior judges of this Court.

2. Muhammad Saleh Zaafir, who is the reporter of the said news items, when confronted with the same, frankly and honestly conceded that he had made no effort to verify the veracity of the allegations levelled in the said news items before publishing the same nor did he have any proof in support of the contents thereof. He, however, added at the very outset that he had utmost regards and respect for not only the said hon’ble judges of this Court but for the entire judiciary; that he did not have even an iota of doubt about their integrity and character and that reporting the said news items was a grave mistake on his part.

3. He tendered verbal unconditional apologies in open Court and also placed on record his statement to the above noted effect, in writing.

4. The regrets offered by Muhammad Saleh Zaafir, reporter/editor, appear to be sincere and the remorse expressed by him appears to be genuine. In this view of the matter, we do not consider it necessary to proceed with the matter any further except warning him to be careful in future.

5. On our call, Muhammad Afzal Butt, president of the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists, also entered appearance for assistance.

6. The reporting of the proceedings which have taken place in Court in connection with the matter in question shall be made only to the extent that the apology tendered by the said Muhammad Saleh Zaafir shall be published in full and so would be published this order passed thereon. The daily ‘Jang’ and daily ‘The News’, which have published the news items in question, shall publish the apology and this order, prominently, on their front pages. Muhammad Saleh Zaafir undertakes to do the same and has been ordered accordingly.”

Meanwhile, the following is the text of unconditional apology tendered by Muhammad Saleh Zaafir before the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

“I, Muhammad Saleh Zaafir, do hereby tender an unconditional apology to the hon’ble court in relation to the contents of the story that appeared in daily The News/daily Jang on June 11, 2007.

“I have been directed by the hon’ble court to submit any proof in relations to the contents of the said items. I would humbly submit that I have no proof whatsoever in relation to the matter discussed in the said story.

“I keep this hon’ble court in the highest esteem and respect. I can never ever think of bringing about a bad name to the hon’ble court or to any learned judge of the hon’able court. I would submit that I can never think of committing contempt of this hon’ble court.

“I undertake to be careful in future and am ashamed for the publication of the story. I would humbly seek pardon in relation to the grievous lapse. “I pray to the hon’ble court that no further action may kindly be proceeded in relation to the matter. I would entreat that my unconditional apology may graciously be accepted.” REFERENCES: SC warns newsman, accepts apology Wednesday, June 13, 2007 http://thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=8458 Reporter apologises to SC for ‘baseless report’ Wednesday, June 13, 2007 http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=20076\13\story_13-6-2007_pg7_3

REAL FACE OF GEO TV/Jang Group of Newspapers & The News International

LAHORE: Iftikhar Ahmed, the host of Geo TV show ‘Jawabdeh’, resigned on Sunday after the channel administration refused to air an interview with former Pakistan Television managing director Shahid Masood. The interview was recorded last week and was being advertised in the group’s The News and Jang newspapers. On Sunday, the Geo TV administration seized the original recording and declined to run it. Iftikhar Ahmed told Aaj Kal he was being pressured to censor parts of the interview but he did not compromise on principles and resigned. aaj kal report REFERENCE: Geo ‘Jawabdeh’ host Iftikhar Ahmed resigns in protest Monday, November 17, 2008 http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\11\17\story_17-11-2008_pg7_34

Real Face of Dr Shahid Masood Part 1



Real Face of Dr Shahid Masood Part 2



Real Face of Dr Shahid Masood Part 3



Real Face of Dr Shahid Masood Part 4



Real Face of Dr Shahid Masood Part 5



Real Face of Dr Shahid Masood Part 6

During the infamous "Sindhi Cap Fiasco of GEO TV" Kamran Khan lied through his teeth by saying that Dr. Shahid Masood’s words against Sindhi Culture were Unintentional. When something goes ON AIR you [GEO TV] better own it that these were the Real Intentions of GEO TV. REFERENCE: GEO TV/JANG GROUP: Lies of Kamran Khan. http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2009/12/geo-tvjang-group-lies-of-kamran-khan.html GEO TV/JANG GROUP: Sindhi Cap, National Dress & General Musharraf. http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2009/12/geo-tvjang-group-sindhi-cap-national.html JANG GROUP/GEO TV: Contempt of Court, Media Trial & EX. Senator Saifur Rehman. http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2009/12/jang-groupgeo-tv-contempt-of-court.html Former President Rafiq Tarar Sabotaged & Subverted the Judiciary. http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2010/09/former-president-rafiq-tarar-sabotaged.html

The tailpiece

Correspondents of The News International/Jang Group/GEO TV often fight with each other

ISLAMABAD: Top constitutional expert and former chief justice of the Sindh High Court (SHC) Fakhruddin G Ibrahim has said that he met President Asif Ali Zardari before the hearing of the NRO case on the request of Chairman Senate Farooq H Naek who wanted to seek legal guidance on NRO and his meeting was never secret, known to everyone and he never gave any assurance to President Zardari on any possible court verdict. Justice Fakhruddin, generally known as Fakhro Bhai, has written a letter to the president and the prime minister to set the record straight after reports that President Zardari had told his PPP parliamentarians that a former judge had trapped him not to defend the NRO in the Supreme Court. Zardari did not name the judge but it was widely speculated that it was Justice Fakhruddin G Ibrahim. In his letter he said senior journalist Hamid Mir was also witness to the whole developments in this regard. Hamid Mir while talking to The News also confirmed that no secret meeting ever took place between President Zardari and Fakhro Bhai and when the latter met the former it was an open secret and was even discussed in Hamid Mir’s Geo News programme Capital Talk. Hamid Mir also verified whatever was stated in the letter of Fakhro Bhai was absolutely correct. The letter makes it repeatedly clear that he never desired to meet President Zardari and only went to the Presidency on the request of his old colleague Farooq H Naek and during the said meeting the prime minister had also arrived. The issue of Swiss cases never came under discussion. He termed the allegation leveled against him defamatory and an attempt to malign him.

Mr Ibrahim sent the following details of the letter to The News:

“I write to you with reference to two columns dated 28.9.10 and 30.9.10 in The News titled “Backdoor channels played key role” and “Zardari admits he was trapped, vows to fight on” authored by Rauf Klasra. In the said articles, Mr. Klasra cites an “inside source” and levels the following defamatory allegations against me”:

1. “At the time of hearing of the NRO case in the SC, a Karachi based former judge who enjoyed good reputation and was considered to be a credible person had visited the Presidency and secretly met Asif Ali Zardari. In this meeting, the former judge had told Mr Zardari that he should not worry about the Swiss cases, as they were closed transaction.”

2. “The former judge advised Mr Zardari to believe in him and should not defend the NRO in the court and he assured him that the judges would not open the cases against him.”

3. “Mr Zardari later discussed this judge’s advice with his top legal aides and Babar Awan was the only minister who had strongly opposed the idea. But Awan’s advice was ignored as Zardari tended to believe in the so-called assurance given by the former judge, who had also taken some drafts with him to convince Zardari how it was in his own benefit not to defend the controversial law promulgated by a military dictator.”

4. “Zardari was said to have commented after reading the explosive contents of the NRO judgment that a former judge had clearly used his credibility to trap him.”

5. “According to this former judge, the Swiss cases were already a “closed transaction” and the court would not touch it at all. Based on this broad understanding given by the former judge in the presence of the legal team of the top constitutional personality, it was decided not to contest the NRO in the court.”

6. “The PPP government was feeling betrayed at the hand of a Karachi based retired judge who had met one of the top constitutional personalities of the government in Islamabad.”

“It is obvious to all that the “Karachi based former judge” repeatedly cited in the above articles is a reference to me, as my meeting with President Zardari and also my candid advice in this matter is a matter of public record and the same was even acknowledged in Hamid Mir’s Capital Talk as far back as 2009. Therefore, there was never any secrecy with regard to my meeting with President Zardari on this issue.”

“For the sake of good record, please note that I met President Zardari prior to the hearing of the NRO case at the request of an old friend and former colleague, Farooq Naek, the Chairman Senate. My advice to Farooq Naek and also to the president on the NRO was clear: The NRO was indefensible and the federation should not defend an immoral law made by a former dictator. The suggestion that I appear in the NRO case on behalf of the federation was politely declined.”

Importantly, at no time have I offered any advice in relation to the Swiss cases nor has the same ever been sought. The Swiss cases did not even come up for discussion in my meeting at the Presidency. Therefore, the despicable allegation, “I assured the president that the judges would not open the cases against him” and other equally defamatory assertions that my opinion was meant as a “trap” callously made in the aforesaid articles are highly deplorable. Kindly, note that it is not in my character to proffer any assurance as to the outcome of a court proceeding. I have not done this in my near 60-year law career, and I have no reason to start now.”

“Contrary to the defamatory allegations published in the above articles, I did not meet the president “secretly” or to “convince” him. I met the president, because I was requested to do so. I never sought any meeting on my own accord. When asked, I stated my honest legal opinion on the NRO. Even otherwise, I have never made any secret of my views on the vires of the NRO or my meeting with President Zardari. At the meeting in the presidency, where many others including the prime minister and the law minister also joined in, it was the Advocate General Sindh who openly stated that the NRO should be defended. At such stage, I left the meeting at the presidency and was not contacted by any person thereafter.” “In conclusion, I regret that a newspaper of your standing and record sought fit to make the aforesaid scandalous allegations without even the courtesy of a phone call to consider the version of the person Mr Klasra so callously sought to defame.” Yours sincerely Fakhruddin G Ebrahim. REFERENCE: Karachi judge denies president’s defamatory allegations By Ahmad Noorani Saturday, October 02, 2010 Shawwal 22, 1431 A.H. http://www.thenews.com.pk/02-10-2010/Top-Story/1030.htm http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=1030&Cat=13

ISLAMABAD: With reference to the report, “Karachi judge denies President’s defamatory allegations”, published in ‘The News’ on October 2, I may be allowed to ask the honourable retired judge Fakhruddin G Ibrahim that why does he consider himself the only respected former judge of Karachi who could be invited to meet the president and advise on NRO or even offer a deal. Has Karachi no other distinguished person who could have been my ‘unnamed judge’? This correspondent had only reported that President Asif Zardari had told his partymen at the Presidency in the PPP parliamentary party meeting that a former judge from Karachi had met him and advised him not to contest NRO case in SC and that the SC would not touch his Swiss cases, as it was a “closed transaction”. Mr Zardari had further claimed that he had believed the words of this former judge but he was shocked to know the court had ordered reopening of all cases against him. Mr Zardari had commented before his party men that now he was feeling betrayed because this judge had trapped him by advising him not to contest the NRO. He confessed that he had made a mistake to believe in the words of this judge.

I have a right to ask Mr Ibrahim as to where have I misquoted President Zardari and when and where did I name him in the entire story. I could not have misquoted Mr Zardari in the presence of his big media team comprising top professionals like Farhatullah Babar, Faouzia Wahab, Farrah Ishphani, Jamil Soomro, Qamar Zaman Kaira and others. I could not have misquoted the president while dozens of PPP ministers and more than 100 PPP MNAs were present in the same meeting. After the story appeared in the press Senator Dr Safdar Abbasi who had actually triggered this debate on NRO in the Presidency was the first one in the morning to call me. Dr Abbasi said, “Mr Klasra, your story is 99.9 percent correct. This is what I had said in the meeting and this was the response of the president.” After Raja Pervez Ashraf, this is second case in which a person has volunteered to confirm something without being named or asked to. I simply followed the ethics of journalism by not quoting any judge’s name in my story as I will repeat not because I was afraid of someone. I did so simply because Mr Zardari did not name the unknown judge, who according to him had trapped and deceived him. Had he quoted anyone name, I might have used his name even in the start of my story and also took his version. REFERENCE: Neither Zardari misquoted nor ‘retired judge’ named By Rauf Klasra Sunday, October 03, 2010 Shawwal 23, 1431 A.H. http://www.thenews.com.pk/03-10-2010/Top-Story/1057.htm http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=1057&Cat=13