No doubt Pakistanis are one of the most strange and confused nation in the world and emotional too but even more tragic is our Media particularly The Jang Group of Newspapers/GEO TV who shamelessly lie, distort, and further confuse the nation even at the cost of distorting Islam whenever they like. Recently during Blasphemy Law Fiasco and subsequent "Cold Blooded Murder of Salman Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti", Jang Group/GEO TV and its Owner, Publisher, Editor, Correspondents and above all Anchorpersons and their choice of guests with their loose tongue and pens as well played the dirtiest role ever to pave and justify the Murder of Salman Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti by publishing the "Un-checked and Unverified Fatwas of Murder issued by nondescript Mullahs and that too without taking any clarification from Late. Mr. Salman Taseer rather Jang Group's Ansar Abbasi, Hamid Mir, Haroon ur Rasheed, Kamran Khan and Irfan Siddiqui exploited the issue to the extent that their "Point of View" could only be called "Issuing Death Warrant" for the murder of Salman Taseer. This Jang Group/GEO TV "practice" strange kind of Islam wherein they quote like minded Islamic Scholar when GEO has to justify Music, Modeling,Veil for women and Arts and painting whereas whenever GEO TV feels like to hound somebody to settle the political score they bring in Traditionalists. Same is happening again after the "Raymond David Fiasco" and since 16 March 2011, the Jang Group and GEO TV is jumping from one position to another position like a Jumping Jack. I would just quote their very own Reporters (Correspondents of The News International and Jang Group of Newspapers) and would also quote the clips from GEO TV on Raymond Davis, do watch and note the contradiction after contradiction within the same Organization, they are trying to keep everyone happy but people of Pakistan are dazed and confused and lurking here and there for the truth.Jang Group/GEO TV is playing Double Agent on Raymond Davis.
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEyfC4s9N1Y
Thursday, March 17, 2011, Rabi-us-Sani 11, 1432 A.H
http://jang.com.pk/jang/mar2011-daily/17-03-2011/main3.htm
ISLAMABAD: The Chief of the Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, through the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and some influential families of Lahore, played a key role in ‘convincing’ the families of Faizan and Faheem that Raymond Davis would be released in any case and they would get nothing, so the best course was to accept money and forgive the American killer. The ISPR director general, who is also the spokesman of the ISI and Pakistan Army, Major General Athar Abbas, on being asked told The News: “I am completely unaware whether General Kayani or ISI played any role in convincing the families in Raymond Davis case.” General Athar, however, did not deny the role of General Kayani and the ISI in remaining continuously in touch with the families of Faizan and Faheem for the last two months. On the other hand, Shahbaz Sharif categorically denied that his departure for London on the D-day was part of the deal. He said that he never contacted the families of Faizan and Faheem to convince them to accept the money. Shahbaz also said that his government had arrested and detained Raymond. He tried to give the impression that his visit to London was in connection with the heart attack suffered by Mian Nawaz Sharf. The Punjab government sources, however, confirmed that Shahbaz’s tour to London was planned in indecent haste. REFERENCE: Army, ISI, Punjab CM played the main role Ahmad Noorani Thursday, March 17, 2011 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=4667&Cat=13&dt=3/17/2011GEO TV vs GEO TV on Raymond Davis - Part - 1 (Dated 16 Mar 2011)
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgfHp1AB1t0
Thursday, March 17, 2011, Rabi-us-Sani 11, 1432 A.H
http://jang.com.pk/jang/mar2011-daily/17-03-2011/main2.htm
GEO TV vs GEO TV on Raymond Davis - Part - 2 (Dated 16 Mar 2011)
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ydqn9-xM1dM
LAHORE: In a day full of fast paced developments and a dramatic climax, an additional district and sessions judge (ASJ) acquitted CIA contractor Raymond Davis in a double murder case and ordered his immediate release after the legal heirs of the two victims accepted blood money of Rs200 million under the Qisas and Diyat law and pardoned the killer. The court also showed exceptional haste in giving a soft verdict on the illegal weapons case and paving the way for Davis’ immediate release and handover to the US authorities. According to reports, the freed CIA contractor was whisked away to Kabul within hours in a special US government aircraft, which had been parked at the Lahore Airport since Tuesday evening. In another mystifying twist, a report in the US media has claimed within hours that the blood money of about US$2.3m was actually paid out by the Pakistan government on the understanding that the US would ‘reimburse the amount later at an opportune moment’. The report gained credence from the statements made by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the State Department spokesperson with both emphasizing that “The US had not paid any Diyat”. The questions remains, if the US didn’t pay up the Diyat as proven before the court, then who did? REFERENCE: CIA killer walks free Numan WahabThursday, March 17, 2011 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=4665&Cat=13&dt=3/17/2011
GEO TV vs GEO TV on Raymond Davis - Part - 3 (Dated 16 Mar 2011)
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbyMZ9STMWw
ISLAMABAD: Over a decade back an American official had stated: “Pakis can sell their mother for ten dollars.” Our past rulers have been proving it time and again and Musharraf broke all past records of his loyalty to Washington throughout his nine-year dictatorship and today we have demonstrated it yet again under the so-called democratic rulers. We have sold ourselves once again. Our real masters — the Americans — must be very pleased with the work of their puppets in Islamabad and Lahore. However, there are serious apprehensions that this latest shame earned for Pakistan would unleash a new wave of terrorism and fuel extremism in the country. Only time will tell as to who in the establishment and amongst the civilian rulers of Lahore and Islamabad sold their souls, dignity and honour of the nation to facilitate the smooth release and return of the American double murderer Raymond Davis. However, in view of an earlier court judgment Islamic law of Diyat is not applicable in the offences that fall under the expression of “Fasad-fil-Arz”. Additionally, Davis involvement in spying business was a crime against state, this point was altogether ignored by the federal and provincial governments. REFERENCE: ‘We have sold ourselves, once again’ Ansar Abbasi Thursday, March 17, 2011 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=4669&Cat=13&dt=3/17/2011GEO TV vs GEO TV on Raymond Davis - Part - 4 (Dated 16 Mar 2011)
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUKlh_6mWlA
Although, it is for the religious scholars and jurists to ponder if Raymond’s case falls in the category of “Fasad-fil-Arz” or it was a routine “murder” invoking the provision of Diyat, this very aspect was not discussed by the Lahore sessions court. The Punjab prosecution also did not raise this aspect of this strange outcome of the Raymond case. Raymond was on ECL but he was allowed to fly abroad without any problem. The news was broken to the media only after Raymond had left the soil of Pakistan. We never thought that we would be sold in this manner and so cheaply. We knew well that Nawaz Sharif had once sold Aimal Kansi to the Americans, Benazir Bhutto handed over Yousaf Ramzi to US and the ISI and Pakistan Army under Musharraf presented hundreds of Pakistanis and other nationals including the daughter of Pakistan Dr Aafia Siddiqui to US but we mistakenly thought that it might not be possible for all of them now because of the independent media and the judiciary. But they did it again to Pakistan and did it so shamelessly. REFERENCE: ‘We have sold ourselves, once again’ Ansar Abbasi Thursday, March 17, 2011 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=4669&Cat=13&dt=3/17/2011
GEO TV vs GEO TV on Raymond Davis - Part - 5 (Dated 16 Mar 2011)
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvs8cujsONs
The case of Raymond Davis has outraged most Pakistanis and raised nagging questions about the nature of the US role in Pakistan, about the integrity of powerful sections of the media and intelligentsia, and about the political opportunism of the ruling PPP and PMLN governments in Islamabad and Lahore respectively. Ominously, the strategic US-Pak relationship is fraying with unforeseen consequences for both. The US has stationed dozens of armed intelligence agents in Pakistan. These belong to the CIA – which is a part of the US state – or Blackwater-type private security or intelligence companies specifically contracted to the State Department or to the Pentagon. These men and women have been granted visas by the Government of Pakistan (GoP) on the basis of a protocol signed during General Pervez Musharraf’s time after 9/11. Many, though not all, carry diplomatic passports with “official” or “official business” visas granted by the GoP following formal requests by one or the another US agency or department. Some are attached to the US Embassy in Islamabad, others to the Consulates. Some have formal diplomatic (status) cards issued by the Foreign Office, others don’t, which makes their diplomatic status vague despite their possession of diplomatic passports. Some carry firearms and fake IDs – which is known to the relevant GoP ministries and military intelligence agencies, firearm licenses or not – and others don’t. In other words, ambiguity about their status, work, and facilities afforded are duly maintained jointly by the US and Pakistani governments and intelligence agencies like the CIA and ISI.Capital Talk 16th March 2011-1
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s_mhaBMIfo&feature=player_embedded
Capital Talk 16th March 2011-2
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHL7qMYPsgY&feature=related
That, at least, is the theory. In practice, however, the GoP retains a conscious element of “plausible deniability” about the status and work of such Americans. This is akin to the theory and practice of publicly protesting and privately condoning drone attacks, as one recent incriminating Wikileak revealed. We may also recall how provincial police, including military police, have often, in the past, stopped vehicles with tinted windows or windscreens and false number plates, but have been helpless against armed Americans inside these vehicles on account of interventionist phone calls from powerful officials in Islamabad. The rules of such discourse have not been made public. That is why there is so much anguish and outrage in the media and public against the Americans “who are so brazenly breaking the law of the land” when, in fact, they are doing so with the knowledge, connivance and even approval of the civilian government and military authorities.Capital Talk 16th March 2011-3
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1Yh-ebiPM8&feature=player_embedded
Capital Talk 16th March 2011-4
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGo16jqoo6Q&feature=player_embedded
Therefore the chronicle of Raymond Davis was foretold. It was only a matter of time before an Iraq-type Blackwater incident of “shooting first and asking questions later” would happen somewhere in Pakistan. I warned against it in October 2009. Neither the Americans, nor the Pakistanis, it seems, have learnt any lessons. No Standard Operating Procedures for such operatives and operations (spies tasked to uncover terrorists) were laid down or made public, nor was their status exactly defined, let alone implemented. For example, the tinted windows and windscreens, false number plates, and weapons in the vehicles are meant purely for security purposes (to deny recognition to any would-be terrorist and afford defense) and not for evasion of the law (the correct registration documents are always inside the car and can be produced at will). But this SOP hasn’t been properly conveyed to provincial policemen. Nor was the diplomatic status for immunity purposes of such agents clarified and coded by Pakistani and American authorities, just as in Iraq where such agents had to be secretly sent to the US by local authorities after every violent transgression of the laws of the land. Out of over 200 such incidents in Iraq during 2005-2007, over 160 incidents were characterised by US “private agents shooting first”, ostensibly for purposes of “self-defense” or “security”.
Capital Talk 16th March 2011-5
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSklsY3MLac&feature=player_embedded
This explains the confusion in the statements issued by the American Embassy in Islamabad which first said that Davis was on “official business” contracted to the Consulate, and then changed it to the Embassy when a reading of the Vienna Conventions of 1961 and 1963 suggested that the question of diplomatic immunity might be affected by the consular or embassy status of the person involved, regardless of the diplomatic passport held. It also explains why a State Department official in Washington was wary of confirming whether the agent at the centre of the storm in Pakistan was in fact Raymond Davis or someone else under the guise of Raymond Davis. It also explains the reluctance of the Pakistani Foreign Office to make a clear statement about the diplomatic status of Davis regarding immunity from criminal prosecution.
Aapas Ki Baat 16th March 2011 (Part - 1)
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB1is4TTTwM&feature=player_embedded
To make matters worse, the issue quickly became a vicious ping-pong game between the PPP government in Islamabad and the PMLN government in Punjab. Each side has been trying to get brownie nationalist points from the people regardless of the consequences for the strategic US-Pak relationship and national security. If the Punjab government had consulted the federal government before formally arresting Davis and acceded to an informal request to hand him over to the Americans, there would have been no storm and the “Protocols of the Elders” would have remained hidden. Instead, the Punjab government immediately gave a statement that Davis would be tried for murder in a court of law unless the federal government took responsibility for him and confirmed his diplomatic immunity. When the FO dithered, the Punjab government appointed a public prosecutor who immediately went public with his “strong case” against Davis by consciously distorting the facts of the shootout. Unfortunately, the more the Punjab government delighted in the discomfort of the federal government and exploited the media and public outrage, the more the federal government in general, and the FO in particular, retreated behind a smokescreen of feigned ignorance and wounded pride. Privately, the Punjab government has told the US embassy that it is ready to facilitate Davis’s release if the FO makes a statement in court that Davis enjoys diplomatic immunity!
Aapas Ki Baat 16th March 2011 (Part - 2)
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=K8F352KsOyE
The role of the media and intelligentsia, in general, is a case of deliberate distortion and outright lies. The fiction persists that Davis “murdered” two Pakistanis by shooting them in the back, despite an autopsy report that says four out of seven bullets hit the armed motorcyclists in the front. The fiction persists that they were “innocent citizens” despite the fact that they had robbed two passersby earlier in the day, whose cash and cell-phones were found on their persons. The fiction persists that he was in no imminent danger of grievous injury, let alone kidnapping or death, despite the fact that foreigners, especially Americans, have been routinely targeted and killed or kidnapped by terrorists in Pakistan in the last decade. No one, of course, has bothered to offer a motive for Davis to “murder” the two young men, and even talk of “proportionate” defense is misplaced. So where do we go from here?
Aapas Ki Baat 16th March 2011 (Part - 3)
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dSuNA59NOM&feature=player_embedded
The US has signaled distinct annoyance with the GoP. A cool reception was accorded by US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, to Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani in this weekend’s trilateral meeting in Munich. Ambassador Hussain Haqqani has been summoned to the White House and lectured on the virtues of state maturity and reciprocity. The Af-Pak border in Waziristan has heated up, with one Pakistani soldier having been killed in clashes with US-Afghan troops on the border. The IMF has hardened its stance. President Asif Zardari’s proposed trip to Washington and one-0n-one with President Obama in March stands threatened. A go-slow could also impact Coalition Support Funds and US$2 billion worth of weapons in the pipeline for the Pakistan military and $1.5 billion from the Kerry-Lugar Bill for the civilian government of Pakistan.
The sooner this matter is sorted out, the better it is for both countries. Additionally, the rules of US-Pak engagement involving state and non-state actors must be made explicit for the media and public, without hypocrisy and doublespeak. No state’s national interest can be served by passion or prejudice, regardless of the affront or hurt. It is in the national interest of Pakistan to retain a strategic relationship with the United States. However, the US must stop pressuring Pakistan to accept armed, trigger-happy cowboys on intelligence operations as unaccountable diplomats. If this practice continues, there will be more outrage and anguish on the street, and both Pakistan and the US will be the net losers. REFERENCE: US-Pak relations: terms of estrangement Najam Sethi Sunday, February 06, 2011 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=29725&Cat=9&dt=2/6/2011
Tailpiece for Jang Group of Newspapers/GEO TV and "Ghairat Brigade (Honourable Mob)" in the Jang Group.
As per a note blogger "Cafe Pyala"
"QUOTE"
Guess who was spotted on November 9 in Washington D.C. at a reception for American and Pakistani media personnel thrown by US AfPak ambassador Richard Holbrooke's media assistant Ashley Bommer? Mir Ibrahim Rehman, scion of the house of Jang and CEO of the Geo TV Network. He walked in with The Friday Times editor and Dunya TV's Najam Sethi but stayed long after Sethi left the party.
Mir Ibrahim Rehman (c) at his master's convocation earlier this year
Mir Ibrahim (MIR) apparently jetted in for a mysterious three-day visit to the US, during which, our sources say, the main objective was to convince the US administration that Geo was neither anti-US nor anti-democracy, the line being peddled by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government. MIR also wished to gather official American support for the Jang Groupagainst the PPP boycott of the group as an instance of an assault on freedom of the media.
Our sources claim that MIR did not find too much traction among US officials against the idea of a media boycott, perhaps because the Obama administration itself has a similar boycott against Fox News (albeit without the shoe-throwing rent-a-demos and vile grafitti scrawlsagainst Fox News owners). However, what is particularly interesting about the Jang Group's attempts to woo the American establishment is the fact that there has been apparently a lot of discussion within the US government about whether it should support and even subsidize a media group that has no qualms about running shrill propaganda against the US, and sometimes even promoting a pro-Taliban line. In particular, Hamid Mir's contribution to whipping up Blackwater hysteria in Pakistan, Ansar Abbasi's rants about Western puppets, and the space given to nutjobs such as Zaid Hamid (Aag TV) and Ahmad Quraishi (Aag TV and The News) have apparently raised quite a few eyebrows in the US administration.
The Americans have reason to be upset with the Jang Group, and MIR has reasons to find their upset unsettling. The running of the banal American propaganda Voice of America (VoA) programme Khabron Se Aagay[Beyond the Headlines] as an 'advertorial' on Geo since 2005 has netted the Jang Group and its owners, by some accounts, millions of US taxpayer dollars. Although the exact 'compensation package' doled out to Geo by the US government is still secret, it should be noted that the deal between Geo and VoA was mediated during the Bush-Musharraf era by the then Information Secretary Anwar Mahmood and advertising whiz-kid Asif Salahuddin, the latter of whom is reputed not to touch 'small' deals. Apparently, part of MIR's discussions with the US administration included those on the future of the Geo-VoA deal.
Incidentally, while Najam Sethi was ostensibly in the US for medical check-ups and may have been present at the Bommer reception only coincidentally, as we have reported in the past, he too has been trying to persuade American-backed NGOs to fund a new 'liberal' channel to be headed by him.
Coming back to MIR, it seems that more than American upset, a potential threat of withdrawal of lucrative financial support may be the trigger for a panic at the Jang Group. As they say, bullshit may walk but it's money that talks. I have a strong feeling that you may well see the (media) house line shifting very soon. If you suddenly begin to miss the casual anti-US vitriol in the group's publications and on Geo, you'll know why. REFERENCE: Money Talks TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2010 http://cafepyala.blogspot.com/2010/11/money-talks.html
"UNQUOTE"
"QUOTE"The Program will also draw on the intellectual resources present at the Kennedy School, Harvard University, and other academic and policy institutions in the Boston area and beyond. http://www.hks.harvard.edu/cchrp/sbhrap/aboutus/affiliates.php
R. Nicholas Burns Burns was previously the highest-ranking career diplomat at the U.S. Department of State, appointed Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Richard Clarke Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard, Clark served the last three presidents as a senior White House Advisor. He has held the titles of Special Assistant to the President for Global Affairs, National Coordinator for Security and Counter-terrorism, and Special Advisor to the President for Cyber Security.
Mir Ibrahim Rahman Mir Ibrahim Rahman is founder and CEO of GEO TV Network, one of Pakistan’s fastest growing and most popular media brands. According to Raham, GEO’s mission is “to create an enabling platform for thinking and questioning in Pakistan.” The New York Times has noted that “GEO has changed the media landscape” of Pakistan. Mir graduated Suma Cum Laude from Babson College in Economics, Finance and Entrepreneurship. He currently taking a leave from his CEO duties, to pursue a Masters in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School.
"UNQUOTE"
Note: Richard A. Clarke - Partner
Richard A. Clarke is an internationally-recognized expert on security, including homeland security, national security, cyber security, and counterterrorism. He is currently an on-air consultant for ABC News and teaches at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Mr. Clarke served the last three Presidents as a senior White House Advisor. Over the course of an unprecedented 11 consecutive years of White House service, he held the titles of:- Special Assistant to the President for Global Affairs
- National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism
- Special Advisor to the President for Cyber Security
Prior to his White House years, Mr. Clarke served for 19 years in the Pentagon, the Intelligence Community, and State Department. During the Reagan Administration, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence. During the Bush (41) Administration, he was Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs and coordinated diplomatic efforts to support the 1990-1991 Gulf War and the subsequent security arrangements.
As a Partner in Good Harbor, Mr. Clarke advises clients on a range of issues including:
- Corporate security risk management
- Information security technology
- Dealing with the Federal Government on security and IT issues
- Counterterrorism http://www.goodharbor.net/team/clarke.php
LAHORE: The US government is considering a ban on issuance of visa to those people who supported the assassination of former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer earlier this month. Sources in Washington told Daily Times that the Congress took serious view of cheering, supporting and condoning Taseer’s assassination by one of his bodyguards in Islamabad on January 4, or for publicly encouraging, directly or indirectly, the killing of “blasphemers.” They said the US government was preparing a list of Pakistani journalists, parliamentarians, lawyers and religious leaders who would not be issued visas or allowed to travel to the US for supporting the assassination of Taseer and lionising his assassin. They said journalists Meher Bokhari, Ansar Abbasi, Majeed Nizami, Irfan Siddiqui and Mir Shakilur Rehman, MNAs Shaikh Waqas Akram and Maulana Fazlur Rehman, lawyer Ashraf Gujjar, and religious leaders Sahibzada Fazal Kareem, Syed Munnawar Hassan, Asadullah Bhutto, Maulana Shah Turabul Haq Qadri, Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi, Syed Mazhar Saeed Kazmi, Allama Syed Riaz Hussain Shah, Allama Zamir Sajid, Haneef Tayyab, Shahid Ghauri, Farid Paracha, Mufti Naeem of Jamia Binoria, Maulana Asad Thanvi, Maulana Shabbir, Pir Khalid Sultan, Pir Ghulam Siddiq Naqshbandi, Allama Syed Khizr Hussain Shah, Alhaj Amjad Chishti, Allama Ghulam Sarwar Hazarvi, Allama Syed Shamsuddin Bokhari, Pir Syed Ashiq Ali Shah Jilani, Mufti Muhammad Iqbal Chishti, Allama Fazal Jamil Rizvi, Agha Muhammad Ibrahim Naqshbandi Mujaddidi, Maulana Muhammad Riaz Qadri, Maulana Gulzar Naeemi, Allama Syed Ghulam Yaseen Shah, Abul Khair Muhammad Zubair, and all leaders of the Tahaffuz-e-Namoos-e-Risalat Mahaz might face the proposed ban. REFERENCE: US mulls visa ban on several Pakistanis Staff Report Thursday, January 20, 2011 http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\01\20\story_20-1-2011_pg1_6
NEW YORK: Gilani-Zardari government aides have got perturbed because of objective criticism, disclosures of corruption scandals, economic set backs, incompetence and government’s ignorance of public issues raised by the media, and have expanded their conspiracies against outstanding and bold journalists from Islamabad to Washington. Its obvious proof is a recent letter addressed after the assassination of Governor Salman Taseer to the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by the leading members of the anti-Pakistan lobby Congressmen Garry Ackerman, Peter King and their two colleagues support this impression. The signatories of the letter had asked for not granting American visa to media men not condemning the killing of Salman Taseer and political and religious leaders supporting the act of the assassin. No name of any Pakistani journalist, political and religious personality was mentioned in the letter. The letter was written by only four Congressmen out of 435 who are familiar with their anti-Pakistan stance. Secretary Clinton has so far not responded to the contents of the letter but indications are there that the US State Department had prepared a list of journalists and others on whom entry in the US may be denied by cancelling or denying visas. News published in this regard had also named persons who may face the curbs. When approached, an official of the US State Department told this correspondent that he was aware about the news, adding, the designated spokesperson was only competent to comment over the subject.
When insisted, the official sought anonymity and confirmed as backgrounder the communication by the four Congressmen. However, Secretary Clinton had so far not responded to the letter, he said. He set aside the news as baseless about curbs on Pakistani journalists, saying that freedom of press and expression was the cornerstone of the US democratic system and principles of democracy. He said that neither any list of Pakistani journalists had been prepared nor it was being contemplated. The congressmen had also not mentioned names of any Pakistani newsmen in their letter. Some elements cropped up when an effort was made to dig out facts with regard to the news. They are:
1. The letter of four congressmen came into limelight during the recent brief visit of President Asif Ali Zardari to Washington when the series of statements, editorials and condemnation of the killing of Salman Taseer was still on.
2. It is fact that Zardari during his stay in Washington and interactions with Americans and Pakistani diplomats had referred negatively about Pakistani media especially the Jang/Geo Group. He had tried to convince certain US officials that reports in the Pakistani media about his government were at the core of de-stabilisation of his government. In spite of will and commitments Pakistani media is the main hurdle in fulfilling the obligations of safeguarding American interests in Pakistan, he said.
3. It was in this scenario that the aides of the Zardari-Gilani government taking notice of the sentiments, perceptions and also complaints of their boss lobbied with the anti-Pakistan congressmen and made them to write a letter to Secretary Clinton. Without waiting a response or reaction from her, they also managed to get the news published about a long list of Pakistani newsmen and other leaders whose entry to the US was about to be restricted. It is interesting that the dateline of the news about the list being considered in Washington was Lahore. On the contrary the American Embassy in the country was also ignorant about any such under consideration list.
4. Informed circles are of the opinion that government aides frustrated with criticism had dispatched this story from Washington to build pressure on the media and appease President Zardari. It predominantly contained names of newsmen from the Jang Group.
No doubt the killing of Salman Taseer was a great tragedy but government aides are exploiting it for their interest and hatching conspiracies against the free media of the country and its chain has been extended up to Washington. It would have been better for them before going to such an extend that they had studied the US political system, democratic norms and informed sources of the US government. REFERENCE: Conspiracies against Pak media By Azim M Mian Sunday, January 23, 2011 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=3505&Cat=13&dt=1/23/2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011, Safar 18, 1432 A.H
http://jang.com.pk/jang/jan2011-daily/23-01-2011/main4.htm
How do we know these meetings didn’t include discussions of Jang Group followed by lobbying US Congressmen for a letter to be sent to Hillary Clinton? The letter to Hillary Clinton was written on 13 January 2011 – the day BEFORE the meetings. REFERENCE: First US Controls the Weather, Now Time Travel Also http://pakistanmediawatch.com/2011/01/24/first-us-controls-the-weather-now-time-travel-also/
Jang Group says anti-Pakistan lobby Congressmen Garry Ackerman but what's this?
"QUOTE"
Washington, D.C. - The Voice of America (VOA) will launch Beyond the Headlines-its new television program in Urdu-on Monday, Nov. 14. The half-hour program will air on GEO TV in Pakistan at 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on selected international satellites, including AsiaSat (Virtual Channel 409) and IOR (Virtual Channel 420). Beyond the Headlines (Khabron se Aage), a fast-paced, contemporary production designed with young and urban Pakistanis in mind, will continue VOA's 63-year tradition of broadcasting accurate and balanced information. Programs will examine international developments, technology, politics, social issues, education, religion, sports, and entertainment. "We look forward to opening this important new channel of communication between the American people and Pakistan," said Steven J. Simmons, a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), which oversees all United States international radio and television services. Simmons is chairman of the BBG's Voice of America Committee, and has played a key role in increasing radio and TV service to Pakistan, including Beyond the Headlines. "We're particularly delighted with our partnership with GEO TV, the leading cable/satellite broadcaster in the Urdu language," Simmons added. "This new program, together with our expanded radio service, demonstrates our growing commitment to reach the people of Pakistan with new, engaging programs on both radio and TV." "The links between Pakistan and the United States are strong and growing, and our new show is a reflection of that," said VOA Director David S. Jackson. "Beyond the Headlines will focus not only on the big issues of the day, but also on features, business, and culture stories that illuminate the world we live in. For example, we'll show how Pakistanis live and work and go to school in the U.S. We want to provide a unique mix of stories that viewers can't find anywhere else."
Farah Ispahani is the managing editor and executive producer for Beyond the Headlines. She joined VOA earlier this year, bringing more than 20 years of experience in print and television media at such news organizations as CNN, ABC, and NBC. Before she joined VOA, Ispahani, who is a fluent Urdu speaker, was instrumental in the launch of CNN's Paula Zahn Now and Anderson Cooper 360. Anchoring Beyond the Headlines will be Aneka Osman. A familiar face to Pakistanis, Osman worked as an English language news anchor on Pakistan Television. She has covered regional and national security issues, Pakistan-India relations, the conflict in the Middle East, and Pakistan's general elections. She has also worked on Prime Television, the UK-based Pakistani channel, and on the Business Plus Channel.
Ayaz Gul is VOA Urdu's Chief Reporter and Pakistan Coverage Coordinator for Radio Aap ki Dunyaa (Your World Radio), VOA's Urdu radio service, and Beyond the Headlines. Gul, who is based in Pakistan, has been filing on-the-scene reports in Urdu and English for VOA since 1996, and his reports are translated into numerous languages throughout VOA. Prior to joining VOA, he worked for the Japanese network NHK and for the German news agency DPA as a reporter specializing in Pakistan's foreign and domestic news. VOA's Urdu Service broadcasts 12 hours a day of news and information to millions of Pakistanis and other Urdu speakers on Radio Aap ki Dunyaa. The program is distributed by medium wave at 972 kHz, digital audio satellite, the Internet and a three-hour shortwave broadcast. The launch of Beyond the Headlines adds two-and-half hours of television to the Urdu Service's weekly broadcast schedule. The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts more than 1,000 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 100 million people. Programs are produced in 44 languages. REFERENCE: PRESS RELEASES VOA Launches Urdu TV For Pakistan 11/13/2005 For more information, call VOA’s Office of Public Affairs at (202) 203-4959 or E-Mail publicaffairs@voa.gov http://islamabad.usembassy.gov/pakistan/h05111301.html
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