PRESS FREEDOM IN PERIL IN PAKISTAN

PRESS FREEDOM IN PERIL IN PAKISTAN

By Mohammad Shehzad

On July 5, 1977, the notorious military dictator General Zia dismissed the government of Z. A. Bhutto sending him to the gallows with the judiciary¿s help; suspended the Constitution abolishing the fundamental rights; closed down the publications that did not toe his line imposing the scourge of pre-censorship on the press freedom.

On April 30, 1978 the Pakistan Federation Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and the All Pakistan Newspaper Employees Confederation (APNEC) launched a countrywide campaign from Lahore to condemn the censorship. As a protest, four journalists used to offer voluntary court arrest everyday. The campaign mobilised other segments of the civil society - trade and labor unions, lawyers¿ associations, and human rights organizations also joined it. They also gave voluntary arrests.

This unexpected triumph unnerved Zia and to foil it and teach the journalists an unforgettable lesson, he established the military tribunals which tried them and passed judgments on the same day without giving defendants an opportunity to defend. Celebrated journalists, Aziz Siddiqi, Saleem Asmi, Ghazi Salahuddin, Farhad Zaidi, I. A. Rahman, Nisar Osmani and Minhaj Burna became the first victim of this `dark justice¿. But the punishments could not dent the journalists¿ enthusiasm. The journalists and the civil society members kept on courting arrests.

This provoked Zia and he reacted with more arbitrary methods. Disregarding all norms of humanity, he added the punishment of lashes in the Martial Law Regulation and to begin with, chose four feeble journalists to enforce this inhuman law.

On May 13, 1978 Massodullah Khan, senior sub-editor, The Pakistan Times (he was physically disabled); Iqbal Jafri (a press worker); and Khawar Naeem Hashmi and Nasir Zaidi of Associated Press of Pakistan were tried under this atrocious order. After a brief hearing of 45 minutes, they were awarded a sentence of one-year imprisonment, five lashes and a fine of 5,000 rupees. They were not given the right to appeal and immediately removed to the Camp Jail, Lahore. After exactly 30 minutes of the dictatorial judgement, the sentence of lashes was executed. The four journalists were whipped in front of the Camp Jail¿s prisoners!

It was 1990. Benazir¿s first government had just been dissolved. Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi was the caretaker prime minister. Shaheen Sehbai and Ahmed Hassan Alvi of Dawn met the Indian political counsellor at his residence in an official connection. On return they were picked up by the agencies and booked under a fake charge of drinking.

In 1997, Humayun Fur (late), the bureau chief of Mashriq was picked up by the agencies. He was accused of espionage. He was tried under the Army Act and sentenced to five-year imprisonment. Mr Far was a civilian. He was arrested during the democratic administration of Nawaz Sharif but was tried in a military court. His only fault was, he had refused to be used by the intelligence agencies.

It was April 1999. The elected prime minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif was ruling the country. Najam Sethi, editor, The Friday Times was critical of his policies. Sethi was picked up by the agencies, beaten up and humiliated in a manner that was not consistent with the norms and niceties of democracy. He was illegally detained for a few weeks until the court ordered his release.