Senior journalist Mati Ullah Jan’s lunch to foreign journalists FJs at the said place has become a controversy in media circles of Islamabad and definitely the security officials and secret agencies may also be in touch on the topic.
I was not there but after collecting information from different sources and media persons , I can conclude ;
1- Security officials , Police, Secret Agencies, Military , District Admin , Ministry of Interior are responsible for their part of security lapses as well as for the controversy generated after the lapse.
When Islamabad and especially Red Zone was cordoned off in the name of security, how come, the foreign journalists can be invited and received at the above mentioned venue without the consent of the above mentioned security and admin officials?
2- The objections on the flag of India on the shields presented by MJ to FJs are irrelevant and carry no weight. The world flags were shown and India is also in the world, it has not been eliminated from the face of the earth so far by the way.
3- Lunch and Shields need funds. Where the budget came from and if MJ has arranged it from his own pocket, it should be made clear.
4- Main controversy, in my opinion, is on what MJ discussed with foreign journalists about the safety of journalists with special reference to Fakhar ur Rehman arrested for being admin of Anti Pakistan Media ” Islamabad Post ” and Eman Mazari advocate and spouse.
Both are the hot topics for the security establishment of Pakistan.
صحافی کے ہاتھوں میں ہتھکڑی : صحافی کیا کہتے ہیں؟صحافی، جاسوس یا ایجنٹ میں فرق؟
Here there are two opinions ;
A – He should not have discussed it with FJs, the FJs were here to cover Islamabad Talks and Pakistan was earning good repute in the world while MJs talk can damage this repute
B- The timing and the audience may be wrong but whatever he said is reality. The safety of independent journalists and human rights activists is at stake in Pakistan.
My Take on Islamabad Talk and NPC Talk
The security establishment, Police and others have their own mindsets when they deal with the public and journalists. They are trained for fixing others only and they are not capable of watching their limits as servants of the public. They call them Law Enforcers but in dealing with the public , mostly, they themselves are the violators of the Law.
MJ actually gave margin to security officials. They not only opened pandora boxes during a highly sensitive phase of Islamabad Talks but risked the security at the Red Zone and around with their cruel and unbridled measures taken against the citizens. Examples ;
1- Unlimited restrictions on movements and turning the cities and expressways into No Go Areas. It made the scene more painful as a lockdown on the markets was going parallel to blockades at the roads. It severly damaged the daily wagers and traders, no one bothers to see how much loss they have been subjected to.
2- A very big operation against a whole town adjacent to the Red Zone in the meanwhile when Islamabad Talks were going on. Dozens of houses of the poor residents of Noorpur Shahan behind the PM, President houses were bulldozed while tear gas and rubber bullets firing opened at the residents.
3- Arrest a journalist and handcuff him for nothing more than sharing a post from ” Islamabad Post ” that he deleted later. Total uncalled for action that aggravated the situation of journalists’ safety further at a time when the government was busy in hosting the foreigners and military leadership was trying its best to make Islamabad Talks a success.
Prime Minister and COAS Field Marshal Asim Munir are supposed to see these issues deeply and do the needful to remain safe from some inside polluters , if any.
