Taliban target Peshawar Press Club. Time to do some investigative journalism, Ansar Abbasi.
Pakistani security personnel collect evidence from the scene of a suicide bomb blast in Peshawar. – AFP
While Friends of Taliban, such as Ansar Abbasi, Shaheen Sehbai, Dr Shahid Masood, are busy in derailing the democratic government in Pakistan, while members of the Pakistani Taliban Union of Journalists (PTUJ) are busy in exaggerating charges of threats to their life by school going children, their friends Taliban are busy killing ordinary citizens, politicians, police, army and now journalists.
In the words of a fellow blogger at pkpolitics, will Ansar Abbasi now get out from under his bed, take 10 ml Pepto Bismol and do some of his ‘investigative journalisms’ on the Press Club bombing.
They killed his colleagues.
Suicide bomber targets Peshawar Press Club
Tuesday, 22 Dec, 2009
PESHAWAR: A suicide bomber on Tuesday attacked a Pakistan journalists’ club, killing three people in the first assault on media offices.
Strapped with explosives, the man walked up to the gate of the press club in the northwestern city of Peshawar, where he blew himself up as police stopped him from entering the building, officials said.
‘I was coming out of the canteen when I suddenly heard a huge blast. Smoke engulfed the building immediately and when I reached the spot, I saw human organs littered on the ground,’ said television journalist Nisar Mohammad Khan.
The force of the explosion blew out the windows at the press club, damaged the guard hut and ripped through nearby vehicles, said witnesses.
‘He was stopped by police deployed outside. When the police official started searching him, the attacker blew himself up,’ Peshawar police chief Liaquat Ali told reporters at the scene.
Taliban militants, who are powerful in northwest Pakistan, threatened media in Peshawar, said the president of the press club, Shamim Shahid.
‘We beefed up security after the threats and people coming to the club were properly checked,’ he said.
Doctors at Peshawar’s main Lady Reading Hospital said three people were killed – a policeman, a press club employee and a woman.
Doctor Zafar Iqbal said 17 people were wounded and later clarified that an original death toll of four included the bomber.
Police said four journalists were among the wounded.
Bomb disposal squad chief Tanveer Ahmed said most of the casualties were caused by steel pellets and nails stuffed in the suicide bomber’s explosives vest.
North West Frontier Province information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain, who visited the wreckage, acknowledged that extra security measures in place for the holy Muslim month of Muharram could not totally eliminate attacks.
‘We have already taken special measures in view of Muharram but suicide attacks cannot be totally eliminated such incidents cannot be ruled out in future. But we will continue our struggle against terrorists,’ he said.
Source
Peshawar has been hit by at least seven attacks in the past two months in retaliation for a military offensive launched in mid-October against the militant stronghold of South Waziristan in Pakistan’s lawless tribal area near the Afghan border. A single attack in late October in a market popular with women and children in Peshawar killed 112 people.
The Peshawar Press Club targeted in Tuesday’s attack is a well known landmark in the city, and many journalists congregate there.
“Journalists have played a vital role in our war by exposing the terrorists, so they are on the target list too like mosques, bazaars and security institutions,” said Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the information minister for Northwest Frontier Province, of which Peshawar is the capital.
A provincial labor minister had been scheduled to hold a news conference at the club later Tuesday, said the organization’s president, Shamim Shahid.
The chief minister of the province, Amir Haider Khan Hoti, described the bombing as an attack on press freedom.
“We salute the media for … exposing militants and their acts against innocent people,” he said, adding that “terrorists are becoming desperate as they know they are losing this war, so they are attacking the media directly.”
Source
Compare the actual murder of media workers by Ansar Abbasi’s friends with this:
A school going child expressed his displeasure over Ansar Abbasi’s anti-democracy and pro-Taliban rants, which was exaggerated by Ansar Abbasi as a threat to his life:
“Dear, Mr Ansar Abbasi, I can’t believe my utterances have made you investigate who I was. Just like yourself I am also a patriotic Pakistani; however, having different views to yours. From the outset, I offer my sincere apologies if you have felt harassed. Had my person been a harasser, my personal phone would never have been used. I have at least on three occasions told you my name. Do note that your pen has power which shouldn’t portray bias and create ill-will against the leadership of our great nation. My world is Pakistan and I will always give my utmost to safeguard this world. Life is short and we have to have a meaningful vision in life. If not then we stand to be part of a vision of unwanted elements. My best wishes for a fruitful and healthy life for you. Ali Wahab”.
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=26225
Now compare the above with the naked threats to the President of Pakistan by Dr Shahid Masood, Shaheen Sehbai, and Ansar Abbasi of Geo TV. For example:
Read what Shahid Masood is planning and he already wrote an article on “Assassination Plan”:
“quote”
They are: one, impeachment; two, voluntary resignation in the wake loss of credibility; three, ‘natural’ or man-made elimination of the president, and, four, an Army coup. The impeachment and coup scenarios are considered non-starter and impossibility. Americans see a change in the air in Pakistan Thursday, September 24, 2009 By Dr Shahid Masood
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=199813
“unquote”
Meray Mutabiq Dr. Shahid Masood Hints at Zardari’s Assassination
http://www.thecurrentaffairs.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/meray-mutabiq-dr-shahid-masood-hints-at-zardari-assassination/
Meray Mutabiq Dr. Shahid Masood Hints at Zardari Assassination
BY GUESTWRITER AT 24 SEPTEMBER, 2009, 4:57 PM
Don’t be fool. Ansar Abbasi will find one flimsy evidence to prove Taliban’s innocence refuting 1000 evidences against them.
Abbasi is a Hizbut-Tahrir guy which can help understand his mindset.
“QUOTE”
Usman said December 14, 2009 @ 3:21 pm
http://alaiwah.wordpress.com/2009/12/10/zardari-makes-fun-of-shaheen-sehbai-holding-a-us-passport/
The people like Shaheen Sehbai are infidels; they just swing for the lust of wealth. They lack the thing known as conscience. The Chief of the Anti-Zardari campaign in the Jang Group (Jang, The News, Geo), Mr Shaheen Sehbai at one time ran a similar campaign against the
Pakistan army and General Musharraf and now he is working along with establishment to create a perception that public want to knock out Mr. Zardari, which is contrary to the facts and realities.
He is trying hard to create rift between military and civilian Govt. One of his article” how to clean the mess” is clear evidence of this thing. Similarly the pure This pure disinformation about the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Bill was Sehbai’s latest attempt at fomenting civil-military disagreement. In between he has written several times about the “ military establishment” getting ready to oust Zardari with the help of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. However Zardari wisely diffused the controversy surrounding Kerry- Lugar bill.
We should really felicitate Shaheen Sehbai that despite several failed attempts, he is consistently running ant-Zardari campaign. He and his associates are still trying to light the fire of their anti-Zardari campaign by continuing to claim that the army wants Zardari out. Sehbai not only wants to harm Zardari but also the army and the establishment.
During the period between 2002 and 2005 Sehbai ran a website called ‘South Asia Tribune’ which had anti-Pakistan army headlines like:
“The Charge-sheet Against the Army”
“Army pushing a CIA road map in Baluchistan”
“The Pitiless Plight of a General and His Clueless Army”
“Army Snubbed as Zardari is Acquitted by LHC”
“Data on Army’s Golf courses, Released in Senate”
“ISI was involved in Sadiq Ganji’s death”
“Pakistan army pays Al Qaeda Half Million Dollars”
“Rogue Army General Bloodies the Law”
“The PAF Kickbacks Scandal, confirmed”
“Musharraf Has Signed the ‘Dismiss and Dismantle’ Order for the Army.”
Sehbai closed his website and took down all the material when he shut it down to go back to Pakistan (he was then living in the US under asylum) and join the Jang Group.
The venom he displays today for Zardari, he once reserved for the army. People like Shaheen Sehbai want to pit the elected government and the army against each other once again. That is the only explanation for the hate-filled articles against Zardari.
“UNQUOTE”
it’s really amazing that on a day when 5 people are slaughtered outside peshawar press club the major news story regarding journalistic freedom is some text messages sent to ansar abbasi by ali wahab! really shows the a) narcissism of these “journalists” and b) the complete denial about extremism of the whole country
Editorial: Press in the crosshairs
The suicide attack on the Peshawar Press Club killed four people and injured several. This was the first direct attack against an institution that represents the press, thereby upping the ante for the journalist community. Journalists in NWFP and the tribal belt have been receiving threats from the terrorists for quite some time now because of their anti-Taliban and anti-terrorist reportage. Over the years, many journalists in FATA and the NWFP have been killed, others have been silenced, and many have fled the area. The Peshawar Press Club was also under threat and with this suicide bombing the threats were finally translated into action.
The timing of the terrorist attack is of significance. It seems that the terrorists now believe that they have lost the battle in the media. When the war on terror began, large parts of the media were sympathetic towards the Taliban, dubbing the war as the US’s and not our own. A lot of space in the media was given to the terrorists in those days. All that changed with the video of a girl being flogged by the Taliban. Sufi Muhammad’s anti-democracy and anti-freedom speech further aggravated the situation. Once the military launched an offensive against the terrorists, the media completely changed its tune, though there are still some Taliban apologists sitting in our midst. When the terrorists carried out suicide attacks against civilians, the whole nation came out and showed its anger towards rising militancy. This put the Taliban sympathisers on the back foot while others in the media loudly condemned the terrorists. When the bullying tactics of the terrorists did not work in intimidating the media, they have taken the gloves off and attacked a press club. One wonders if it is a one-off incident or the beginning of a campaign of terrorism against the media.
No one should take this threat lightly. Potentially all media houses are now in the firing line. The announcement by the interior minister to provide VVIP security to all press clubs is commendable. The government says it will also take special steps to provide security to the journalists in war zone areas. The media owners should now follow suit. The lives of media persons working in sensitive areas should be insured by media owners so that their families do not suffer in case of any mishap. Press bodies should also caution their members about the possibility of more attacks. We salute the journalists in NWFP and the tribal belt for their courage and resolve to continue their work under such extreme conditions. It is time we recognise that the media, education and democracy are the prime targets of the terrorists’ ideology. We must fight them collectively in a united manner and not let ourselves be fooled by the ‘good Taliban, bad Taliban’ refrain any longer.
http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\12\24\story_24-12-2009_pg3_1
Many senior journalists are shrewd and know how to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds. Their close rapport with official power centres has so far kept them safe, but at the cost of their integrity in the journalist community. Meanwhile, younger journalists in the NWFP are increasingly finding balanced reporting a precarious job as they want to excel in selling top terror stories but are disinclined to compromise their objectivity in the process.
One cub reporter was grilled for a couple of days by officials for reporting a story about the military operation. The terrified youngster sent an email to his university professor asking him not to teach the values of fairness and objectivity, the cornerstone of true journalism, because such values, he felt, had become old-fashioned in the post 9/11 world.
Many conflict reporters say that writing up investigative pieces brings them fear and tension. “General Sahab is angry,” and “we will hang you upside down” are two pet sentences they hear the day after their piece is published. Threatening letters and phone calls are in addition — the Peshawar Press Club had been receiving both since long. This culture of intimidation has strengthened the built-in mechanism of self-censorship. A reporter thinks many times before writing about the conflicting parties. It is understandable then why one can detect a partisan tone in reports, many of which have a clear bent towards one or the other ‘power’ centre.
In July 2009, when Swat returnees were on their way home, incidents of custodial killing of alleged militants started in the valley and mass graves were also identified. Instead of making use of primary sources and reporting these incidents, some journalists preferred to inform human rights organisations about the violations, and later, a press release was published in different newspapers as a secondary source. The journalists believe that this is how they escaped danger.
Generally, in a war-like situation, lack of accessibility to primary sources or the scene of action has always blurred the lines — ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘why’ are not always satisfactorily answered. It is easy to secure and use information released by conflicting parties — this qualifies as propaganda.
In the NWFP this approach has added to the negative image of journalists. An angry militant flung the front page of a local Urdu daily at this scribe at a police picket at Shangla Top. How, he asked, could it be reported that shelling from a helicopter gunship had left 36 militants dead when not one militant was on the ground. It was hard to convince the militant commander that newspapers are bound to carry ISPR claims. “You are all friends of the infidels,” he replied angrily.
To avoid controversy, journalists show a flexible attitude in not reacting as an institution to those forces which are putting pressure on them, and their ethics as well. This approach needs a rethink. Press clubs and representative media bodies must be able to provide the leadership needed to rescue the journalists from troubled waters. Terror has taken hold of their minds and is on its way to strike their institutions. A joint platform must be activated to address these issues which are giving a bad name to the journalist community in the NWFP.
Syed Irfan Ashraf
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/19-medias-partisan-image-hh-04