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.