Wednesday, September 16, 2020
Imran Khan govt seen getting intolerant of criticism as journalists face treason cases
ISMAIL DILAWAR and FASEEH MANGI
Bilal Farooqi of Express Tribune, Asad Ali Toor of Samaa TV and former AAJ news anchor Absar Alam are facing sedition charges for allegedly defaming Pakistan Army and govt.
At least three journalists in Pakistan have been charged for alleged sedition in the past week, raising concerns that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government is increasingly intolerant of media criticism.
Bilal Farooqi, the news editor at the Express Tribune, said he was arrested by the Karachi police last week on charges of sedition for defaming the country’s army and criticizing the government but later he was released on bail. Absar Alam, a former anchor at AAJ news channel, said he also faced similar accusations in charges made available to him by police. Asad Ali Toor, a journalist at Samaa television, is facing a sedition case, the local media reported.
Many prominent journalists in Pakistan have taken to social media to describe their battles with government censorship. Reporters Without Borders has lowered Pakistan’s ranking by three points to 145 out of about 180 in its 2020 World Press Index. The ranking has dropped six notches since Khan, once a vocal advocate of the free media, came to power in 2018. The prime minister has claimed the press enjoys unprecedented freedom in the South Asian nation.
“The arrest of Bilal was a part of the nefarious and concerted plan to gag the free media and independent voices,” the Karachi Union of Journalists, said in a statement. The government has no tolerance for dissenting views and criticism of any kind, Farooqi said on phone from Karachi on Tuesday. Such cases are an “honor in a fascist regime,” Alam said on phone.
Zafar Abbas, a spokesman for Pakistan’s interior ministry, was not immediately available for comments on journalists being booked for treason.
In July, a senior journalist, Matiullah Jan, claimed he was kidnapped from Islamabad by the security forces and later released after pressure from the media groups. Jan is known for being a strong critic of Khan and the army’s alleged involvement in politics. The country’s powerful military has ruled Pakistan for about half of its seven-decade history. – Bloomberg
https://theprint.in/world/imran-khan-govt-seen-getting-intolerant-of-criticism-as-journalists-face-treason-cases/503667/
اپوزیشن لیڈر شہباز شریف اور پیپلز پارٹی کے چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہا ہے کہ آج پارلیمان کی کارروائی کو پاؤں تلے روندا گیا۔
حزب اختلاف کی دو بڑی جماعتوں کی قیادت نے مشترکہ نیوز کانفرنس کی، شہباز شریف نے کہا کہ اسپیکر اسد قیصر نے آج ریڈ لائن عبور کرلی ہے، ان کے رویے کی مذمت کرتے ہیں۔
انہوں نےمزید کہا کہ اسپیکر قومی اسمبلی کے حوالے سے باہمی مشاورت کے بعد جلد فیصلہ کریں گے۔
شہباز شریف نے یہ بھی کہا کہ اسپیکر اسد قیصر نے ہماری ترامیم پر بحث ہی نہیں ہونے دی، اسپیکر کی ڈائس تک گیا مگر انہوں نےمجھے سے بات نہیں کی۔
ان کا کہنا تھا کہ اپوزیشن فنانشل ایکشن ٹاسک فورس (ایف اے ٹی ایف) سے متعلق 12بلوں کی حمایت کرچکی ہے، اس کے باوجود ہماری حق بجانب ترامیم کو مسترد کیا گیا۔
شہباز شریف نے مزید کہا کہ این آر او نہیں مانگ رہے، نیب کا سامنا کر رہے ہیں، ملک میں چینی 100روپے کلو تک پہنچ گئی ہے جبکہ قوم بدترین حالات کا سامنا کر رہی ہے۔
https://jang.com.pk/news/821090
#Pakistan #PPP - Legislations passed in the joint session of the Parliament in unconstitutional manner, Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that the government has unconstitutionally carried out legislations today.Addressing a press conference in opposition leader’s chamber in the National Assembly with the Opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif and other Parliamentary leaders of opposition parties in the National Assembly and Senate of Pakistan, Chairman Bilawal said that all the representatives of the people came today to the joint session of the Parliament to express their views on important matter which concern Pakistan. It was unfortunate that the government adopted an unconstitutional way to pass their bills.
Chairman PPP said that after court’s decision, an advisor cannot present bills in the Parliament. This was illegal and unconstitutional. He said that according to rules the Opposition leader can address the Parliament at any time like the leader of the House.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that earlier we had objected the legislation on FATF just to help the government. Now the bill the government has bulldozed today will facilitate arrest of any person without an arrest warrant. If this happens in Pakistan then there will be negative effect on the economy of the country. He said that the anti-democratic manner with which this government has bulldozed legislations today in the parliament was not seen even in the assemblies under dictators like General Zia ul Haq and General Musharraf.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/23757/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)