PBA, APNS, CPNE, journalists welcome Pemra ban on anchor

LAHORE: The representative bodies of media industry as well as journalists and columnists on Thursday praised the decision taken by the Pemra to ban Amir Liaquat Hussain, the host of a daily show on a private TV channel.

They expressed serious concerns over launching a hate campaign and inciting violence against renowned media personalities and writers. The All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), in a statement, expressed its profound concern over the incessant trend of unscrupulous outbursts of baseless allegations and hate-mongering against journalists, publishers and editors of newspapers.

“The abusive language and hate speech has now surpassed all moral norms and values and can in fact incite violence by labelling media persons as anti-Islam and anti Pakistan, consequently putting their lives in danger,” the statement read.

“The APNS is of the considered opinion that the abuse of freedom of expression for personal ulterior motives may be counterproductive and would harm the freedoms earned by the media industry after protracted struggle,” it added.

The APNS said, “It is in the interest of all stakeholders and the media industry to watch the content being relayed on their channels and newspapers and carefully guard that their screens and pages are not exploited by persons with their personal agenda to defame the renowned personalities of media.”

While welcoming the decision of Pemra to bar the airing of certain programmes, the APNS urged the federal government and the Pemra to take immediate measures to check this trend on a section of electronic media.

Similarly, the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) said the anchor had faced the charges of hate speech in the past as well and was banned by the British government from entering the country.

In a statement, the PBA condemned all forms of hate speech and expressed  unflinching support to the government, Pemra, law enforcement authorities and judiciary in action to protect the victims and against those using media as a weapon.

According to statement, the channel is facing the fake degree case – the issue first highlighted by The New York Times in May 2015 and which has been confirmed by the FBI. The bank accounts of the channel sponsors have been frozen in the US, while one of its officials was also arrested there in December last year. He is also facing a case by the US Justice Department involving over Rs 150 billion.

The statement also mentioned the fact that although the FIA was investigating the episode in Pakistan, all the four prosecutors resigned due to pressure but replacement had been made so far. Similar views were expressed by CPNE (Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors) in a separate statement issued on Thursday.

In another statement, over 100 editors and columnists welcomed the Pemra move and condemned the hate speech and incitement to violence by the anchor against leading journalist Imtiaz Alam and dozens of other journalists on extremely flimsy and misleading charges.

In his programme January 23, Amir levelled extremely slanderous, immoral, defamatory, provocative and unfounded allegations against Imtiaz in an extremely unethical and irresponsible manner. 

The statement said: "In our collectively considered view, all the allegations and accusations levelled by the anchor against Mr Imtiaz Alam are baseless and are meant to incite violence. He is running this campaign against so many other respected journalists out of enmity and a well thought out plan to vilify most credible voices in our country.”

“He has pushed the lives of some very respectable and credible people in the profession into jeopardy. We vehemently condemn his smear campaign and endorse the much-needed action against the anchor by Pemra. Other media outlets should also avoid this hate-monger. We demand closure of the anchor show on permanent basis and a strict action against the channel for violation of code of conduct.”

Prominent among the signatories are: Muno Bhai (senior columnist), Arif Nizami (Editor Pakistan Today), M Ziauddin (former editor of Express Tribune), Ayaz Khan (Editor Express), Talat Aslam (Senior Editor The News), Salim Bukhari (Editor The Nation), Syed Mumtaz Shah (Editor Mashriq), Khalid Farouqui (Editor Awaz), Jabbar Khattak (Editor Awami Awaz), Nusrat Javeed (columnist Nawa-i-Waqt and president of SAFMA), Sirmed Manzoor (General Secretary SAFMA), Attaul-Haq-Qasmi (senior columnist), Asma Shirazi (anchorperson), Basit Sheikh (Capital TV), Murtaza Solangi (anchorperson), Zain-ul-Abidin (Editor Op-ed The News), Zaibunnisa Burki (Deputy Editor), Saleem Shahid (Bureau Chief Dawn), Saeeda (Editor Business Recorder), Shahzada Zulfikar (senior journalist), Farzana Ali (Bureau Chief Aaj News), Samim Khan (senior journalist), Dr Karim Rajpar (CEO Sindh TV), Ahmad Baloch (CEO Vsh News), Ali Ahmad Dhillon (Editor), Muqtada Ali (senior columnist), Amir (Editor Digest) and various office bearers of press clubs from across the country.