Recently the Pakistani government has cracked down on the print media. The leading english daily, Dawn, of Pakistan has recently requested the international community to send a message to the Mushraf government in support of the press. I am copying a brief list of opprssive acts of the government and some fax numbers--as porvided by the editors of Dawn--for you to send a message to the government of Pakistan.
It has always been difficult for governments to coexist with a free and independent press in Pakistan. Of late, however, the government headed by President Musharraf has become increasingly intolerant towards criticism in the press and towards the publishing of news that reflects poorly on the performance of his government on security matters.
One of the intended casualties of this swelling hostility between government and press in Pakistan is the DAWN Group of Newspapers, the country’s largest independent English language newspaper and magazines publishing house.
Since December 2006, the DAWN Group is facing massive advertising cuts equivalent to two thirds of total government advertising. This has occurred primarily as a consequence of a decision ostensibly taken by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz’s government, but in reality ordered by General Musharraf and engineered by several of his advisors that constitute the government’s inner cabinet.
In the first phase, approximating with the years 2004 to 2005, the Government of Pakistan essentially worked by attempting to exert pressure on the Dawn Group by proxy - the proxy in this case being the Provincial Government of Sindh. It is in Sindh’southern metropolis of Karachi, that the headquarters of the DAWN Group of Newspapers are located.
The second stage involved the direct exerting of pressure by the Federal Government itself. After a series of fumbling measures and half-hearted advertisement bans by the Federal Government with respect to DAWN in 2005, a turning point was reached when one of our influential current affairs magazines, the HERALD, published a series of controversial stories and articles from June 2005 onwards on topics such as the Pakistan Government’s war against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in North and South Wazirstan; a possible resurgence of covert government support to Kashmiri militants; and also on the mushrooming policy debacle for government with respect to the Bugti insurgency in Baluchistan.
In September 2006 when the government approached DAWN in its attempt to seek a news blackout regarding Baluchistan and the troubled FATA agencies of North and South Wazirstan, the editor of DAWN, Mr. Abbas Nasir, and the Directors of the Board of the DAWN Group, concluded that the government’s ‘request’ was unreasonable and needed to be firmly turned down.
As a consequence, the government imposed an almost comprehensive ban on Federal Government advertising with an intent to provoke the financial collapse of the DAWN Group.
Our colleagues in organisations devoted to protecting the freedom of the press throughout the world have always been a source of moral inspiration and help to us in our struggle for press freedoms in Pakistan.
We therefore urge you to extend your help in this matter and would appreciate if you address your concerns to the authorities in Pakistan regarding the following areas:
- That the advertising ban by the Federal Government on the DAWN Group’s advertising is both unwarranted and unethical and a transparent mechanism to exert pressure on the newspaper group’s policies in contravention of the internationally accepted norms of objective news reporting.
- That the decision to withhold a television broadcast license to the DAWN Group by the government is in violation of the judgments of the High Court of Sindh and the consent declarations made by PEMRA and the Federal Minister of Information in the Sindh High Court. Such right should be granted to other applying media groups as well on the same terms .
- That the Government of Pakistan continue to submit its policies in Baluchistan and its agreements with the pro Taliban tribesmen of North & South Waziristan to the rigorous assessment of public and media scrutiny.
- That the Government of Pakistan desist from abducting and arresting journalists in the judicious performance of their duties, and desist from physically attacking newspaper offices as has occurred last week in Islamabad.
Your concerns in this respect may be addressed to:
The President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf,
The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr Shaukat Aziz,
The Acting Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Justice Rana Bhagwandas,
The Federal Minister for Information Development, Government of Pakistan, Mr Mohammed Ali Durrani.
In addition your concerns should also be expressed to other key decision makers in the Government of Pakistan, urging all of them to desist from repressive, illegal and unethical practices deployed in their effort to subvert press freedoms.
For your ease of communication, I am including relevant fax contact details:
General Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan ++9251-9221388
Mr Shaukat Aziz, Prime Minister of Pakistan ++9251-9212866
Justice Rana Bhagwandas, Acting Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan++9251-9213452
Mr Mohammed Ali Durrani, Federal Minister for Information Development, Government of Pakistan ++9251- 9203740
Thank you in anticipation for your much needed support in this matter.
Yours sincerely,
Hameed Haroon.
CEO & Publisher,
DAWN Group of Newspapers