Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman’s weakness: Why is Jang Group so hysterical about President Zardari?
Every journalist knows Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman’s weakness, but none wants to talk about it.
By Omar Khattab in Islamabad
June is almost there. In 33 days July will come and the Jang Group will become even more desperate against its campaign to get President Zardari out of presidency through whatever means. Why has the Jang Group been campaigning against Zardari and has used all the journalists in its arsenal to defame him? One must remember that the Jang Group has not been able to come up with a shred of evidence which can incriminate Zardari.
Jang has done everything unfair and foul. It has urged the Army to interfere and have Zardari dismissed. It has also cheered an extremely biased cabal of Punjabi judges in Lahore and Islamabad to have Zardari dismissed. What is the reason behind the Jang Group’s madness? Here is the answer:
Mir Shakil, the owner of the Jang Group, is notorious for his addiction to gambling, a fact known in the entire journalist community in Pakistan. You go to any press club and you will find journalists speaking off the record about how Mir Shakil puts his money on betting. He used to gamble at cards and other traditional forms, but a few years ago he turned his attention to other things. Because the Jang Group is very powerful thanks to its blackmailing though its newspapers and TV channels, he has developed the God Syndrome in which the sufferer thinks he can do anything. It is widely known that Mir Shakeel won a lot of money when he betted with fellow gamblers that Chief Justice Iftikhar would be restored. Again he won money when he betted that General Musharraf would be kicked out of office by the People’s Party. Mir Shakeel’s victory whetted his lust for money and his mad passion for gambling. Thus he betted that before June 2010, President Zardari would be out of office.
To win his bet and a lot of money, Mir Shakeel has been using his journalists like Ansar Abbasi, Hamid Mir, Shaheen Sehbai, Shahid Mosood, and Kamran Khan. It appeared that he was going to win when dates were given in the media about Zardari’s dismissal. But it appears now that Mir Shakeel is going to lose his bet and good money. His loss, I would like to predict, will enrage him and he will use more and more unfair means against Zardari. Whether he succeeds or not is a different matter. But for now we can enjoy the loss Mir Shakeel the self-styled God of journalism is going to bear.
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Video: Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman criticized byDr. Zulfiqar Mirza and Agha Siraj Durrani in Sindh Assembly
[youtube id=”JbYO02JiyPI” width=”600″ height=”340″ position=”left”]
[youtube id=”6ct8LlKghRU” width=”600″ height=”340″ position=”left”]
Gambling and Cheating Habits of Mir Shakil ur Rehman:
Observing this lowly and sleazy standard of journalism, I have been reflecting on an evening in the distant past. I was preparing for my final exams for the B.Com in 1976 in Karachi. One evening, when I was studying, my door bell rang. When I went out, it was my friend Zain Ghazali, son of Commander Ghazali, a former manager of Pakistan’s cricket team. He asked me to come and sit in the car parked outside my house. As I got into the volkswagen, I saw a nice looking boy on the wheels. It was Mir Shakil ur Rehman. He was very excited as he had managed to get the Accounting paper “OUT”. So I asked what then was the problem? “I don’t know how to solve it”, was the answer. I hope the readers get a picture. I believe Shakil has now moved to Dubai with his family and does not live in Pakistan. I wonder if such people who did not have the ability to even cheat in an exam and do not live in Pakistan despite making so much money here, would have bothered to provide some elementary training in journalism and its basic standards to the members of their staff. It seem not. The Jang Group – how low the standards would fall? By Yousuf Nazar Saturday, April 10th, 2010 at 9:56 pm http://www.yousufnazar.com/?p=939
Why there are always Cassettes/Wiretaps/Bugging and Jang Group active whenever a Democratic Setup is in the Country [Mir Shakil Tolerated Musharraf from 1999 to March 2006] Saif-ur-Rehman versus Jang Group – Guest post by Aamir Mughal December 15th, 2009 Abdul Nishapuri http://criticalppp.com/archives/2583
[By the way Mir Shakil and his The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse [Shaheen Sehbai, Kamran Khan, Mehmood Sham and Rauf Klasra] and newly introduced Agents of Military Establishment i.e. Ansar Abbasi, and Muhammad Ahmed Noorani were rampantly using the same Saif ur Rehman in their propaganda against the PPP.
Cassette exposes govt’s assault on press – Mir Shakil says govt preparing anti-state cases against him; fears for his life; ‘our organisation is being destroyed’; audio cassette of talks with Saif, Mushahid played during crowded press conference; journalists flabbergasted – By our correspondent
KARACHI: Editor-in-Chief of Jang Group of Newspapers Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman on Thursday said that after victimising his group by freezing its accounts, seizing newsprint and serving income tax notices, the government was now preparing anti-state cases against him. Addressing a crowded press conference at the Karachi Press Club, Mir Shakil said that there would not be any problem for the Jang Group if he bowed before the PML government, instead of publishing the truth.
The editor-in-chief said that the PML government had attempted to create an impression that the action against the Jang Group of Newspapers was an administrative affair because of income tax issues and misuse of newsprint quota. But every government action taken against his group was to stop printing of those news items, which would go against the interest of the prime minister, his business concerns and his family, he added. Flanked by senior journalists Z A Sulehri, Irshad Ahmad Haqqani, Maleeha Lodhi and Kamila Hayat, Mir Shakil said that he was under tremendous pressure from Ehtesab Bureau chief Saifur Rahman, who was out to victimise the Jang Group of Newspapers for not bowing before his whims.During the press conference, Mir Shakil also played an audio cassette on which some of his talks with Senator Saifur Rahman, Information Minister Mushahid Hussain and senior journalist Mujeeb-ur-Rahman Shami, who played the mediator’s role, were recorded.
The cassette also included the following dialogue between Mir Shakil and Senator Saifur Rahman: “Mir Shakil: The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal has given verdict in our favour. “Saif: This was because of our leniency. We did not give him (chairman of the tribunal) the instructions. If we had given him the instructions, even his father could not have given that decision.”
Regarding the character of IT Tribunal Chairman Mujibullah Siddiqui, Mir Shakil said that he was an honest officer and had enjoyed enviable reputation for his integrity. This was a fact endorsed by senior lawyers, who had come to hear Mir Shakil’s press conference. During the recorded meetings, Senator Saif and Information Minister Mushahid Hussain were heard demanding favours from the Jang Group on policies regarding the governor’s rule in Sindh, the Shariah Bill and the economic policies. The government functionaries were heard as saying that 14 people on senior positions both in the Jang and The News should be removed. The journalists included Maleeha Lodhi, Kamila Hayat, Irshad Ahmad Haqqani, Mahmood Sham, Kamran Khan, Abid Tahami, Marghoob, Khawar, Aftab Iqbal and others.
The government also demanded that such journalists should be replaced by people who could favour the government’s policies. The government had divided the unfavourable journalists into ‘A’ and ‘B’ categories. Raising objections on the reports of investigative reporter Kamran Khan, Saif said during the meetings the government had secured assurances from the ISI about him and he should be controlled by Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman. The government team also accused the Jang Group of spreading hatred among the masses against the ruling party. They demanded that telephonic surveys on national issues should not be conducted by newspapers. Mir Shakil said that because of restrictions on newsprint supply, the Jang Group was facing hardships in bringing out its daily newspapers. “Despite clearance from the Customs authorities, 2,000 reels of paper have not been released todate. Because of this problem, from Saturday, daily Jang will print only six pages and The News will bring out 10 pages,” he added. Mir Shakil said: “All our bank accounts have been seized. The personal accounts of mine and my mother have also been seized. Yesterday (Wednesday) when my brother gave statement in our favour, his account in the United Bank Ltd, Al-Rahman Branch, was also seized.”
The editor-in-chief said that the Supreme Court was moved against the injustices meted out by the PML government. “It was a remarkable thing that this step was taken by us in the country,” he added. Mir Shakil said reports were received that anti-state cases were being prepared against him. He said: “The government is making all out attempts that the issue should not be construed as one of ‘press freedom’ and ‘freedom of expression’. I am afraid that something terrible is in the making. I also fear for my life.” He said he would prove whatever published in the Jang Group of Publications was the truth. “Whatever we published was also covered by other newspapers, but only our group was being targeted. I don’t care whatever they will do with me. I will prove each and everything on the basis of logic and facts. Whatever we published, it is our job to prove it. And what the government said, it is their responsibility to prove it,” Mir Shakil remarked. The editor-in-chief said that the government’s actions were based on malicious intentions and were taken with ‘unfair mind’. According to the tape-recorded message, Senator Saifur Rahman said that the income tax and other legal notices would be withdrawn and government advertisements would be released, if the Jang Group supported the government’s policies.
Mir Shakil said: “There was a time when I got confused. I thought about my life, my family, my organisation and about my 4,000 workers and their families. It is very difficult to stand before the state power. Some people advised me to bow down and accept the government’s conditions to save the institutions. But there were also people who advised me to stand for the truth.” Regarding a story which was published in daily Observer of London and reproduced in Pakistan by a number of newspapers but could not be covered by the Jang because of pressure from the government, the editor-in-chief said: “I felt sorry for it. In the market economy, it is very difficult to survive, if one is not in the competition.” Mir Shakil said: “The government did too much against us and is still doing a lot. The organisation of newspaper owners — the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) — and the association of editors — the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) — also intervened into the matter. But under the given circumstances, the Jang Group had to take decisions which were not recommended by the APNS and the CPNE. But they are with us. There is also a resolution from them in our favour.”
The editor-in-chief said that the situation was in the Jang Group’s favour. “We were not involved in selling imported newsprint quota in the market. We did not avoid payment of income tax. We did not publish stories which were incorrect,” he added. Without giving names of other newspaper organisations involved in selling newsprint quota, Mir Shakil said the government was not taking any action against them. The editor-in-chief said that when he addressed a press conference in August 1998, some newspapers played a nasty role. “They propagated that there was a deal between the government and the Jang Group. But that was not true. If there was any deal and if that was any administrative matter, then why the ban was imposed on releasing public sector advertisements to us,” he added. Mir Shakil said: “I did not leave any stone unturned to resolve the issue. I went from pillar to post. I wrote a letter to Abbaji, the father of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, but to no avail. The government’s action against the Jang Group began in August 1998, when income and wealth tax cases of the group’s various companies and directors, previously being dealt by different Income Tax (IT) circles, were pooled in one circle. This circle is renowned as a branch of the Ehtesab Bureau in the IT Department where cases of those politicians are dealt, against whom the government has decided to take any action.”
Referring to a television programme telecast the previous night on the PTV, Mir Shakil said that it was a one-sided propaganda. “If there is democracy, then versions of both the sides should be presented and then experts will decide what is right and what is wrong. This is the policy of the Jang Group to give views of all concerned parties. We have printed complete view of the government’s side also in our newspapers,” he remarked.
REFERENCE: Cassette exposes govt’s assault on press – Mir Shakil says govt preparing anti-state cases against him; fears for his life; ‘our organisation is being destroyed’; audio cassette of talks with Saif, Mushahid played during crowded press conference; journalists flabbergasted – By our correspondent February 07, 1999 The News International Pakistan
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/spedition/waronjang/news/jan99/jan99-29-1.htm
Relevant articles on Mir Shakil ur Rehman published on this blog:
http://criticalppp.com/archives/tag/mir-shakil-ur-rahman
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse http://georgeamarcelo.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/the-four-horsemen-of-the-apocalypse.jpg [ which summons forth the four beasts that ride on white, red, black, and pale-green horses symbolizing pestilence, war, famine, and death, respectively. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Horsemen_of_the_Apocalypse
Shahid Masood, Shaheen Sehbani, Mehmood Sham and Ansar Abbasi [replace the heads of the beasts with the heads of Correspondents]
MSR has very quietly taken the elder brother, Javed, out of the equation. His problem is that he feels he is the king slayer if not a king maker.
It was Mr Javed ur Rehman whose petition/complain in Press Information Dept, Sindh [with his own signature against his brother Mir Shaki ur Rehman] had encouraged Senator Saifur Rehman to finger MSR. The compliant was regrading assets and advertisement. It could be still lying in Sindh Information deptt. The Tax Case against MSR was genuinely registered by Senator Saif ur Rehman [Kamran Khan had recently opined that Senator Saif ur Rehman used to work hard and honestly on every case]: Conspiracy: Kamran Khan, Farooq Laghari, Sajjad Mir, Saifur Rehman & Media Trial of PPP. http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2009/11/conspiracy-kamran-khan-farooq-laghari.html
The Unreported Terrorism Case against Pakistan’s Media King
Special SAT Report
LAHORE: A former Chief of ISI has demanded death penalty under anti-terrorism laws for Pakistan’s virtual media “Ted Turner”, and three other senior journalists, in an Anti-Terrorism Court in Lahore, and the charge against them is carrying out “terrorist acts with their pen”, according to court documents.
In this historic but bizarre case of its kind, the ex-ISI Chief, a Lieutenant General of the Pakistan Army, has submitted a signed petition which in itself is a document revealing some of the most well guarded national secrets, which should never have been revealed, and could get the General hanged for committing sedition if taken up by a fair and judicious court. See other Story.
The most intriguing part of this story is that this Anti Terrorism Court of General Pervez Musharraf not only started hearing the case, it even completed testimony of five prosecution witnesses without even sending a notice to the defendants. Later when the Judge decided that he had jurisdiction to hear the case, he summoned the defendants, who raised immediate objections. He then started hearing their arguments. The latest hearing of the case was held on December 19, with earlier hearings held on Dec 3 and 14, 2002.
The complainant in this case is Lt. General (Retired) Javed Nasir, who headed the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) from March 1992 until May 1993 and the case has been filed against owner of the Jang/News Group of Newspapers and GEO TV, Mir Shakil ur Rehman, Mr. Salim Bokhari Editor of ‘The News’ Lahore, Mr. Usman Yousaf Chairman Editorial Committee ‘Jang’ Lahore and Mr. M.A.K. Lodhi Editor Investigations of ‘The News’ Lahore, who is also a senior employee of the official news agency Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).
The case has been filed under Section 6 (a)(b)(c), 8 & 11 of the Anti Terrorist Act, 1997. Maximum punishment for most of the crimes under this Act is death and Gen. Javed Nasir has demanded in his written petition that the “severest possible punishment” be given to “these terrorists (who) in the garb of journalists have delivered the most lethal blow to the unity and survival of the country.”
“By attacking his reputation the Army and the ISI have been jointly targeted. Left as the last stable institution, if destabilized can lead to an extreme chaos and confusion and eventually to a civil war,” he notes in his petition. Click here to View Petition Page1 | Page2 | Page3 | Page4 | Page5 |Page6 | Page7 | Page8 | Page9 | Page10
The basis for General Nasir’s complaint is a report published by ‘The News’ on August 24, 2002 which alleged that the General, as Chairman of the Evacuee Trust Property Board, embezzled Rs. 3 billion and had fled the country. The report filed by Editor Investigations, M.A.K. Lodhi, claimed the writer had documents to prove its contents. Click to see Original Story (Warning: Large file)
“The complainant learnt about it (the report) through a telephone call which was followed by thousands of telephone calls from all over Pakistan and the world including England and USA,” General Nasir said in his petition.
The General, who is an active member of the Tableeghi Jamaat, an organization of Islamic preachers, said the news item had “terrorized the entire Jamaat, the membership of which runs into millions, and the masses would have led to sectarian strife had it not been for the complainant’s interview on the TV the same night.”
“The entire report manifests a highly arrogant attitude of a few terrorists garbed as journalists indulging in yellow journalism…they are an incurable cancer of the society which must be removed to save the rest of the nation through major surgical operation in the form of the severest possible punishment,” he demanded.
Mir Shakil ur Rehman appeared before the Anti-Terrorism Court-III Judge Manzoor Hussain in Lahore on Dec 19. Editor Salim Bokhari appeared before him in an earlier hearing.
“The entire journalistic community in Pakistan is terrorized, so much so that the newspapers of Mir Shakil ur Rehman himself, the largest circulated Urdu and English language newspapers and GEO TV, a recently launched satellite channel, have not reported anything about this huge case as yet,” journalists in Lahore told the South Asia Tribune.
The original report against the General, carried by ‘The News’ was denied the same day but the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of General Musharraf confirmed in a letter to the Editor of ‘The News’ on Nov 15, 2002 that “various complaints against Lt. Gen ® Javed Nasir, Ex-Chairman ETPB, are under consideration in NAB.” Click Here for NAB Letter
This confirmed that not everything reported by the newspaper was wrong but what has shocked the journalists is the manner in which the complaint of the ex-ISI chief was filed and accepted by an Anti-Terrorism Court which started one-sided hearings. Journalists argued that it could at best be a case of defamation and be tried under ordinary law in a civil court.
The ATC, instead of throwing out the case, started hearing arguments and decided that it was within its jurisdiction to hear a libel case, thus setting a new legal precedent and turning the so-called Press freedom pronounced so often by General Musharraf, on its head.
In a short judgment given on Dec 3, 2002, the ATC Judge announced that it was within his jurisdiction to hear such a case. “After considering the material placed on record as aforementioned and reading the above provisions of law, I summon all the four persons arrayed as respondents in the complaint for 14.12.2002. A copy of the complaint, as also that of the evidence referred to above, shall be sent to all of them,” Judge Manzoor Hussain said. Click to View Judgment
The anti-terrorism law was passed in August 1997 by the Nawaz Sharif Government. It gave police wide-ranging powers to arrest suspects and established special anti-terrorism courts. Amnesty International at the time pointed out the manifold ways in which the law violated human rights particularly the right to a fair trial. In … the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared that the Anti-terrorism law as a whole was not unconstitutional but that 12 key sections of the law were unconstitutional and needed to be amended. Several months later this was done by an Amendment Act.
This is Google’s cache of http://www.satribune.com/archives/dec23_29_02/P1_terrorismcase.htm. It is a snapshot of the page as it appeared on 11 May 2010 00:52:07 GMT.
Dear Akhtar Sahab,
Here is the complete text: Shaheen Sehabi, Jang Group & Definition of National Interest. http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2009/10/shaheen-sehabi-jang-group-definition-of.html
Credibility of Mir Shakil ur Rehman: http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2010/05/hamid-mirjang-groups-mess-credibility.html
Should we believe Mr Shaheen Sehbai or his Editor in Chief Mir Shakil ur Rahman’s Letter Addressed to Mr Shaheen Sehbai asking for his resign on filing Concocted Stories in The News International
“QUOTE”
SHAHEEN SEHBAI RESIGNS AS EDITOR OF `THE NEWS`
Date: Fri, 01 Mar 2002 07:42:48 -0500
Dear Colleagues and Friends:
It is with great sorrow that I have to convey this bad news to you all today. I have resigned today as the Editor.
I am enclosing enclosing the correspondence with MSR which is self explanatory. I wish to thank you all for all the cooperation and respect that you extended to me during these 14 months as Editor. I will be available to each one of you as a friend at all times. Wishing you the best of luck and a great future. Shaheen Sehbai
Pl read on:
Memorandum
To: Mir Shakil ur Rehman, Editor-in-Chief, The News
From: Shaheen Sehbai, Editor, The News
Date: March 1, 2002
Subject: Reply to Memo dated Feb 28, 2002
With reference to your Memo dated Feb 28, I have been accused of policy violations starting from March 2001 until the publication on Feb 17 this year of the Kamran Khan story on Daniel Pearl case. I can obviously understand that these so-called �policy violations?are nothing but an excuse to comply with the Government demand to sack me, and three other senior journalists, as you told me in our meeting in your office on Feb 22. I feel sorry that you have to make such excuses. You could have given one hint that you wanted me to go and I would have quit immediately.
I understand that you, as owner of the Jang Group of Newspapers have been so intensely pressurized in the last about two weeks that you are no longer ready, or able, to withstand it. All government advertising of the Group has been unjustifiably suspended by the Government starting Monday, February 18, 2002, following the investigative story done in The News by our reporter, Kamran Khan. This story, as it appears now, was just an excuse to twist the neck of the Group because the same story appeared simultaneously in the Washington Post and the International Herald Tribune and not one point contained in it was denied or clarified by the Government. Instead they tightened the screw on the Jang Group, as it appeared to be the most vulnerable and within their reach. This has a very obvious, and sinister message, for the free Press in Pakistan: Get in line, or be ready for the stick.?I feel sorry that you have decided to get in line, but I cannot be a party to this decision.
You had informed me officially at a meeting in your office on Feb 22, 2002, at 10.15 p.m. that you have been given names of four journalists of The News? myself, Kamran Khan, Amir Mateen and a staffer in our Islamabad Bureau (probably Rauf Klasra as you did not name the 4th person), to be immediately sacked before the government advertisements could be restored. You also informed me that officials of the Information Ministry wanted me to improve my PR with them as they had been complaining that I was not available to them, which is basically not true. You told me to directly contact these officials and talk to them about restoring the advertisements of the Group. Mr Mahmud Sham, who later joined our meeting, had informed us that the Secretary Information had clearly stated that matters were beyond his capacity to resolve and that we have now to meet the ISI high ups.
As a matter of principle I refused to call, or meet, any of these government officials in a situation when the entire Group was being held hostage with a gun pointed at its head. I, however, conveyed to the Government, through Mr Sham, all the evidence that the policy of The News?was very balanced, in fact tilted, in favour of General Pervez Musharraf’s government, not under any government pressure, but because some of the things he was doing were right and The News never hesitated to support any right step taken by the Government. At least 50 editorials and over 100 Op-Ed articles published in about 6 weeks were cited to show that The News had no bias against the government. Proof was also provided of how �The News? at times, went out of its way to accommodate government requests.
Apparently these argument have not satisfied the government and the pressure is continuing on you, as your Memo indicates. Whatever other issues you have raised are childish and frivolous and I would not waste my time discussing them. But one message that emerges is very clear — I ran the newspaper as a very independent Editor, according to whatever I thought was objective, true and professionally sound journalism. I made the best use of the latest available computer technology to create a working environment in which the entire editorial staff was integrated in such a network that almost everyone was available to each other at all times. I interacted with all my staff on a personal, round the clock basis, no matter where I was located or traveling, even outside Pakistan. So the charge that I was not available to my staff is laughable as it shows how far removed you are from the ground situation.
Your complaint of lack of general improvement in The News?is also obviously an excuse to build some case against me under Government pressure. You never once complained of that before. In fact the ground reality is just the opposite. I successfully built a great team of reporters, editors and writers during the 14 months I have been the Editor. We achieved a lot in breaking major stories, including assumption of the office of the President by General Musharraf and corruption in various government departments including Social Action Programme (SAP) and Employees Old-age Benefit Institution (EOBI). The overwhelming impression that any newspaper of the Jang Group could not publish anything against its advertisers and commercial sponsors was removed by the investigative stories we did on PIA and other corporate organizations. The News became the most quoted newspaper abroad, not only for its stories but its editorial comments and opinions. The latest such quote was in the prestigious New York Times just three days ago. The Washington Post interviewed me last week as Editor of The News.
The real reasons for failure to bring about a real visible change in Karachi are known to you. For over a year now you have been sitting on all the plans, proposals and schemes, including a Vision Document prepared after months of hard work. The scheme to revamp all the magazines has been lying on your table for months. The designs and site plans to renovate the entire newspaper office on 4th and 5th floors has been gaining dust for months and the staff is forced to work with hundreds of cockroaches creeping on papers, computers, inside telephone sets and faxmachines. In fact I have been bogged down in these totally useless exercises for most of my time, hoping that you would find time and money to start implementing any of these detailed proposals for change and improvement. You have always been promising to launch these scheme within weeks, but that time never came. I am appalled at your audacity to accuse me of being responsible for not bringing any change while the fact is that you have always been complaining of the financial crunch?in the newspaper. You have stopped increments of all the staff and played legal jugglery with all the contract employees by refusing to renew their contracts or giving them salary increases.
Even despite that I continued to work 20 hours a day to improve the editorial content of the newspaper which has been appreciated and recognized by every one, including your senior Directors and Editors of sister publications in letters written to me. The readers, however, are the best judge.
Why you never raised any objection before, and why you are doing it now, is obvious — the Government pressure is unbearable. This is not a happy omen.
Therefore, I have to convey this sad message to you, though I feel very content and satisfied that I have taken the right decision on the basis of principles. I have decided to resign from the Editorship of The News with immediate effect, rather than to submit to Government pressure and change the policy of the newspaper. Under my editorship, I will not allow the newspaper to become the voice of any government for monetary considerations. I had given my name, credibility and reputation to The News?and I prefer to protect these precious assets, rather than my job. But I will earnestly request you not to take any action against the other colleagues you have been asked to sack, as the ultimate responsibility of whatever appeared in the newspaper was mine, as Editor, and not theirs. They should be allowed to continue with their jobs. I wish, you, the newspaper and all of my colleagues a great future.
I hereby, resign from the editorship. Please accept my resignation today and remove my name from the print line of the newspaper as of tomorrow, Saturday, March 2, 2002. I would not be responsible for the contents of the newspaper as of tomorrow.
Best Regards
Shaheen Sehbai
Memorandum
To: Shaheen Sehbai, Editor, The News
From: MSR, Editor-in-Chief
Date: 2/28/02
Re: Violation of policy
I am constrained to bring to your notice several, and repeated, violation of editorial policies clearly understood between us. Infact, these policies have also been agreed in writing. On 26th March, 2001, you had published a one sided, incorrect and libelous article against Mr. Aittiazaz Bob Din, a well known businessman residing in the United States. Although Mr. Bob Din had cited person differences between the two of you, dating back to your stay in the United States, as the motive behind the unfounded allegations against him, I had disregarded this suggestion at that time and had judged the matter purely on merit. As you will recall, you were unable to substantiate the serious charges you had leveled against him. It was only through my personal apologies and the intervention of mutual acquaintances that we were able to dissuade Mr. Din from suing the News for defamation and libel.
On two different occasions, you published unfavourable articles about PIA, which were of uncertain veracity and did not contain their point of view, as a result of which they denounced these articles in a press conference, threatened to take legal action, suspended our advertisements and also stopped putting our papers on PIA flights. Needless to say, these measures hurt us financially, damaged our reputation and took a great deal of pacification to undo.
I would also refer to the written terms of our agreement at the time of your appointment under which you are required to discuss the top stories of the day and other important editorial matters with me and seek the Editor-in-chiefs point of view and verdict on contentious issues? To my recollection, you have never deemed it fit to consult me on any matter. In this connection, I would further like to refer to our meeting on the eve of Eid in which group Editor Daily Jang was also present and we discussed the fallout of the story printed a few days earlier in the News ( again without consulting me, I might add ) which was perceived to be damaging to our national interest and elicited severe reaction by the Government. It had been agreed that we would contact relevant Government functionaries and arrange to meet with them to discuss the issue and also convey our point of view. Regrettably, you chose not to go to Islamabad and attend the meeting even though this had been clearly agreed. You even rebuffed senior Government officials who contacted you on the phone by hanging up on them. Sham Sahib and I left several messages with your assistant but again, you chose not to take or return our calls.
I would also like to take this opportunity to point out again, that it is a frequent complaint that you do not interact with people. Not only have senior Government officials protested that you are inaccessible to them, but even your own staff complains that you are hardly available for meetings, guidance and discussions.
I must convey my disappointment to you at all these issues, as I must convey my disappointment with the lack of general progress in the improvement of the News. The number of mistakes and blunders being committed, failure to follow agreed journalistic ethics – as pointed out to you from time to time by EMD have all resulted in financial set backs as well as loss of credibility for the News. I have only recounted some of the problems besetting the Jang group. It is quite evident that matters are not proceeding as we had agreed. However, before I make up my mind, I would like to hear your point of view.
I look forward to hearing from you about the serious issues that I have raised above and any solutions that you may propose.
Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman
“UNQUOTE”
Nayyar Zaidi (Jang Group) VS Shaheen Sehbai (Jang Group) http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2009/11/nayyar-zaidi-jang-group-vs-shaheen.html
Mr Shaheen Sehbai, the Group Editor, The News International (Jang Group of Newspapers) had written in the year 2000 that, “Every one in the present morally, intellectually and financially depleted Pakistan –the print media and its well-entrenched “gurus” among the foremost — is shouting from the roof top for accountability of every one else.Yet no one has seriously demanded, nor does any one appear to be contemplating, any accountability of the media itself. The peers, naturally those who come out unscathed and “clean”, should sit down to formulate lists of those who have been publicly demonstrating a lack of intellectual, moral and professional integrity. Big names like Minhaj Barna, Mushahid Hussain, Maleeha Lodhi, Wajid Shamsul Hassan, Nazir Naji, Ataul Haq Qasmi, Ayaz Amir, Hussain Haqqani, Irshad Ahmed Haqqani, Najam Sethi, Nasim Zehra, Jamiluddin Aali and many others who sought or accepted political, diplomatic or government jobs, or joined political parties as activists, should be asked to explain why they did not quit journalism to do so and why they continued to use the profession to get, keep or regain lucrative jobs or positions of power. How do they retain, or claim to retain, their objectivity and credibility, once they have demonstrated their political ambitions. In the least they should have apologised to the profession”. REFERENCE: Who will Bell the Bad, Fat Cats? by Shaheen Sehbai January 5, 2000 Shaheen Sehabi on the Accountability of Media/Press. This article is in response to Mr Shaheen Sehbai’s Who will bell the bad, fat cats?. [Shaheen Sehbai January 5, 2000 The author would like to clarify that it is not a personal attack, but an attempt to question the ideas and personal allegations expressed in the above article. In the words of the author, What proof did Mr Sehbai offer that the 12 people mentioned in the article had become millionaire(s) overnight and that the wealth they allegedly earned was unlawful? “Who will bell the bad, fat cats?”
This is a model piece of journalism i.e. it “reflects superficial thought and research, a popular slant and hurried composition…as distinguished from scholarly writing.”(Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language).
We all live in the proverbial glass house. Of course, anyone may decide if and when to cast the first stone. You have recklessly exercised that option.
It is one thing to “measure” someone by a “yardstick”. However, it is downright cruel to flog people publicly with what you may misguidedly characterize as a “yardstick”.
You refer to Minhaj Barna as “the once-revered…who led the trade union movement of journalists… (but) accepted so petty, temporary and at times demeaning jobs that the entire profession could only hang its head in shame….”
Barna Saheb is still revered!
What is a “petty” and “demeaning” job? Did he put an honest day’s work in whatever job he held? Was he qualified for the job, no matter how petty and demeaning?
It is better to do a demeaning job than to demean the job one does.
The “entire profession” of journalism ought to have hung its head in shame not because Barna Saheb allegedly sought and accepted “demeaning jobs” but because he had to do so. He did so much for this “entire profession” and yet none of its self- proclaimed vigilantes came to his rescue in his old age and in his time of need.
What do you want? Journalists of “integrity” should murder their families and then commitsuicide in their twilight years simply to please hypocrites among their ranks?
Without responsibilities, we are all capable of being very bold. It is the welfare of those whom welove that makes us stoop–sometime to our own disliking.
There is no such thing as objective and/or independent journalism.
Let me give you an insight into the proper use of analogies because an analogy contains the genetic map, so to speak, showing you exactly the nature of the beast.
Media is called a watchdog, correct?
The analogy of a watchdog tells us that it is definitely “owned” to protect certain specific interests. A watchdog is always on a leash. The owners must ensure that the dog doesn’t relieve itself on the property of others just because it perceives itself as an “independent dog”!
The watchdog is supposed to bark only at strangers and outsiders. If it barks at the owners or at fellow dogs, it becomes an irritation–not to be tolerated indefinitely. The day it bites or attempts to bite, it is put to sleep. For the time being, I am leaving your subtleties alone. But tell me, since when has someone trying “to please a lady…in Washington” has required observers to send a reference to the Journalistic Accountability Bureau (JAB)?
You are from Peshawar. Be understanding of the fundamental human right that “Har Bandey Nu’n Dil Peshauri Karan Da Hukk Hai” (Sorry folks, this cannot be translated).
As for taking photographs at a farewell dinner or at the airport, let me say that “parting is such sweet sorrow” that I don’t blame anyone for preserving it on the film for pure academic pleasure later on. You accuse “stalwarts of the profession” of “waiting outside the offices of petty bureaucrats” to “get an extension of their foreign assignment”.
Every journalist is not fortunate enough to have an unabashed practitioner of nepotism as an uncle at a major newspaper. Please understand that God Almighty did not allow us to choose our parents. The same goes about uncles! So, don’t rub it in! The Pakistani “journalists” living or stationed here (in the West)have no right to judge their distant peers who live and practice journalism in a totally different environment. The only exception would be those who come out in public moaning and groaning about being victimized.
We do not need an Altaf Hussain of journalism in United States!
If you wish to hold peers accountable, a proper way is to evaluate their work and products. This can be done by taking specific stories and columns and measuring them with the “yardstick”of journalistic and linguistic principles. This may be done in a “media watch” type of column.
Using your own approach, of suspecting the motives (the hidden agendas), please consider this (and correct me, if I am wrong): The DAWN-USA.com is a business for profit web-site owned by you and/or your immediate family. You have advertisers who sponsor on the basis of “traffic” to the web-site. Your advertising rate also depends on the number of people who visit. Please answer these questions, if you have any respect whatsoever for your own “credibility”, if any, and “integrity”, if any:
1) Are you losing your main source of income (DAWN Correspondent) in near future and, therefore, need to boost your income from other sources (like your web-site business)?
2) Have your web-site revenues fallen to a point where advertisers may withdraw unless you boost the traffic?
3) Or, you already have or plan to ask the advertisers to increase their rates because of the purported or anticipated increased traffic to your web site (as a result of this reckless attack on the professional integrity of your peers and others)?
It is this last possibility that disturbed me enough to oppose your approach. You may continue this disconcerting approach simply to maintain traffic to your web-site. By wilfully using a “popular slant” (see para three) you may be trying to increase your income at the expense of other peoples’ reputations. This sort of attack is not protected by First Amendment, to the best of my belief.
Please consult your lawyers (if it is Maggio & Kattar, please show it to them for your own sake, please). I give unsolicited advice only when I believe that irreparable harm could be caused to someone, if I (temporarily or forever) held both my peace and piece! The added controversy that may follow my response, may help you in the short-run, increasing “traffic” to your web-site. Perhaps, you used the term yardstick only as a figure of speech. It is one nasty instrument in real life. It is 36 inches long, it is very stiff and, if applied ruthlessly, it causes unbearable pain. This is why the prudent amongst us do not ask for it!
Nayyar Zaidi is a Washington-based writer and commentator on South Asian and Islamic affairs. He has been a subject matter expert for CNN since 1986 and has also appeared on major networks like CBS, ABC, PBS. REFERENCES: Only A Rat Asks Who Will Bell The Cat! Nayyar Zaidi January 27, 2000
Taliban Usman Punjabi and Hamid Mir must be called by Chief Justice for interrogation. Hamid Mir had invoked Terrorists against Ahmadis in his recent leaked audio.
Lahore: 10 killed as Qadiani’s worship places assailed
At least ten people were killed while several others, including a DSP and three cops, injured as terrorists assailed two Ahmadi’s worship places with hand grenades and gunfire simultaneously at Garhi Shahu and Model Town in Lahore on Friday.
Sporadic gunfire is underway at Garhi Shahu, as an armed terrorist is seen atop a minaret form where he is still firing. Heavy contingents of police have taken positions to control the situation, while Rangers are called in to take control of the situation. Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan Punjab Wing claimed responsibility of the incident.
http://www.dunyanews.tv/main_category_eng.php?nid=13351&catid=2&flag=d
Hamid Mir says that Tapes are Forged and lets assume that Tapes were Froged but Aamir Liaquat Hussain had openly “Instigated” and “Incited” Murder and Slaughter of “Pakistani Ahmedi/Quadiyani Minority Community” from the “ROSTRUM/PULPIT” OF GEO TV I.E. JANG GROUP OF NEWSPAPERS [Authority to punish anybody for a Crime is the Responsibility of the State not GEO TV/JANG GROUP OR MIR SHAKIL UR REHMAN]
Dr. Aamir Liaquat Hussain of Aalim Online [a TV Program of Geo TV] has repeatedly incited several times, urging Lunatic Muslims [even in the Mullah State the authority to punish anybody rests with the State not with the individuals] to kill without fear. While on air the anchor person also pressured the other two Islamic scholars (from two different sects) on the program to support the statement. This resulted in a unanimous decision among the scholars, on air during a popular television show, to urge lynching with the intent to kill.
Now read
PAKISTAN: Two persons murdered after an anchor person proposed the widespread lynching of Ahmadi sect followers – ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME – Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-203-2008 10 September 2008 -http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2008/2999/
PAKISTAN: Two persons murdered after an anchor person proposed the widespread lynching of Ahmadi sect followers – ISSUES: Murder; religious discrimination; freedom of religion; media
Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that an anchor person working for a prominent television channel has incited Muslims in Pakistan to kill – to devastating effect. The targets are followers of the Muslim Ahmadi sect, a group which has been declared non-Islamic under the constitution of Pakistan. The first killing happened within 24 hours of the broadcast, and just under two days later a district chief of the Ahmadi was murdered. Followers of the religion are understandably frightened, and many have left their homes and are taking shelter at their central mosque, the Rabwa.
CASE DETAILS:
In a program aired on 7 September 2008 the anchor of the religious program ‘Alam Online’, Dr. Amir Liaquat Hussain–also former federal minister for religious affairs–declared the murder of Ahmadi sect members to be necessary (Wajib ul Qatal) according to Islamic teachings, because its followers don’t believe in the last prophet, Mohammad, peace be upon him. Dr. Amir repeated his instruction several times, urging fundamentalists Muslims to kill without fear. While on air the anchor person also pressured the other two Islamic scholars (from two different sects) on the program to support the statement. This resulted in a unanimous decision among the scholars, on air during a popular television show, to urge lynching with the intent to kill. This was not a one-off. On September 9, Mr. Hussain answered a query with the comment that blasphemers are liable to be put to death.
According to the information received, at 1:15pm on September 8, 18 hours after the broadcast, six persons entered the Fazle Umer Clinic, a two-story hospital at Mirpur Khas city and two of them went to the second floor and started pressuring 45 year-old Dr. Abdul Manan Siddiqui to come downstairs to attend to a patient in crisis. Dr. Manan left his office and descended into an ambush. He was shot 11 times and died on the spot. His private guard was also shot and is in a serious condition. A woman was also injured by firing. The killers remained at the hospital until the doctor was declared dead, then they walked out of the building’s front entrance. Police registered the killers as unknown. On September 9, 48 hours after the broadcast, Mr. Yousaf, a 75 year-old rice trader and district chief of the Ahmadi sect was killed on his way to prayer in Nawab Shah, Sindh province. Yousaf was fired on from people on motor bikes, and sustained three bullet wounds. He died on the way to the hospital. The assailants had taken a route past a police station. No one was arrested.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The Ahmadi sect was declared non-Islamic sect on September 7, 1974, through a constitutional amendment, and was labeled a minority sect. Since then, there has been open hatred of the sect by certain Islamic circles and fundamentalists across the Muslim world, and sect members suffer widespread discrimination. Ahmadi followers are not allowed to bury their dead in the ordinary grave yards of Muslims, and many of those buried before 1974 were shifted by fundamentalists. Since 1984 (when statistics have been compiled) around 93 Ahmadis have been killed for their allegiance to their sect, with four killed so far this year, including Dr. Ghulam Sarwar on March 19 in Faisalabad, Punjab province and Mr. Basharat Mughal on February 24 in Karachi. The Dr. Siddiqui is the 15th medical doctor killed since 1984.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to following authorities and urge them to appropriate actions in order to stop the killings of Ahmadi followers and recognized religious freedom. Please also demand them to prevent any religious hatred or discrimination from broadcasting through the media. Please be informed that the AHRC has also written separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief.
Aamir Liaquat Hussain often try his level best to Promote Sectarian Hatred and Clash by USING GEO TV ROSTRUM/PULPIT: GEO TV, Beard & Aamir Liaquat Hussain’s Tabbarrah. http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2010/04/geo-tv-beard-aamir-liaquat-hussains.html
MSR is a businessman from head to tail.He has no morals, no respect for any law, a cheap blackmailer and an unpatriotic person. He is doing all this drama to get dollars from his master for promoting hatred among different groups on the basis of religion, language and provincialism.
Jang Group first attribute wrong wordings and then also publish the regrets. Why they even wrong news in the first place. Wrong Statement of CJ: http://www.jang.com.pk/jang/may2010-daily/29-05-2010/main4.htm
u guys giving foolish comments about jang group hahahah gambling huhhhhh edited zardari kutaaays ur
Aricles should be supported with evidences rather it seems a simple blame game from jiallas party.it is a widespread belief that a person without logic and rationality is called a JIALLA.Dont ratify this concept by further mistakes.
I will really appriciate the proofs of these blabbers as the international media is showim=ng and waving the proofs of Zardari’s curruption in the faces of us Pakistanis.Has person the least reasoning to think that who KILLED the MURTAZA BHUTTO? Who to avenge his insult at the hands of MURTZA at airport by shaving the moustaches of Zardari?
What the hell, i mean u are comparing Zardari with MSR, I mean the amount of damage this ugly looking, idiotic face zardari has done, I think no one could do that in that much time, he is symbol of dsgrace for the Nation, lets join hands to kick him out,
I donot know how much zardari has invested in Mr Omar Khattab to write this….
why is it that people demand evidence against journalist and other people……. but they dont demand any evidences against zardari ….they just beleive whatever the anchorperson says….. dont be blind in hate…..think wisely
MSR is a businessman from head to tail.He has no morals, no respect for any law, a cheap blackmailer and an unpatriotic person. He is doing all this drama to get dollars from his master for promoting hatred among different groups on the basis of religion, language and provincialism.
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on the floor of the Sindh Assembly by moving a ‘privilege motion’ calling for the publisher and editor of The News to be summoned to the provincial parliament to answer his charges of concocting stories. But of course Mirza could not leave it just at that. He then went on to personally target the CEO of the Jang Group, Mir Shakilur Rehman (MSR),
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QscmAhleDrI
In case you cannot follow the Urdu, basically, the gist of his defamatory diatribe against MSR was this: MSR as a schoolboy was picked up by a local thug, sexually abused and photographed in compromising positions and then blackmailed with those photographs for about a year. In an act of apparent charity, Mirza and his friends, Agha Siraj Durrani (also a provincial minister) and President Asif Zardari – who were all schoolmates of MSR – managed to get the photographs back from the thug (how, it’s not quite made clear) so that the blackmailing could be put an end to. And this is why MSR continues to harbour a grudge against them and is running negative stories about them. And if he doesn’t stop, Mirza promised to bring the photographs to show in the Sindh Assembly to humiliate MSR.
let’s not forget that the only major channel to carry this speech verbatim was Express News and its sister English language channel Express 24/7, whose owner Sultan Lakhani has been in a long-standing, bitter rivalry with MSR.
I salute to Mir Shakeel for his sacred efforts to dislodge the most corrupt pakistan Mr. Zardari. He is a plunderer and an ultimate opportunist who married to BB as his long term income plan.
MSR should STOP playing GOD,