GEO TALK SHOW ON FOOTPATH
Audience say no to elections under emergency Journalists protest against curbs on media
ISLAMABAD: Political parties have still not taken a decision on boycotting the forthcoming general elections in the country under emergency. However students, lawyers and civil society representatives were unanimous in saying ‘no’ to polls under emergency at Geo Television’s popular talk show ‘Capital Talk’ hosted on the footpath here on Monday.
Programme host Hamid Mir asked a simple question: Should political parties participate in forthcoming general elections under emergency rule? But neither Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal Senator Professor Ibrahim nor Pakistan People’s Party leader Dr. Babar Awan could say a firm ‘no’ or ‘yes’ to the question and gave answers in ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’.
“We are ready to boycott elections if all political parties are united on this one-point agenda,” said Dr. Babar Awan. The PPP leader was not ready to give a firm answer and was more diplomatic in choosing his words.
‘The News’ Editor Salim Bokhari pointed out that Dr. Babar Awan was representing a party that claims to be the largest political party of Pakistan and he should be brave enough in at least giving a clear perspective of his party on the issue.
“Filing of nomination papers doesn’t mean that we are ready to contest elections,” Babar said. “On behalf of our leader Benazir Bhutto, I invite all political parties to sit together and chalk out a plan,” he said.
“All political parties have different histories and different manifestos, but if we have to boycott elections we should sit together and form a joint strategy,” he added. Professor Ibrahim, who belongs to Jamaat-i-Islami, was more interested in narrating the history of military rule in the country. However, he said: “If all parties get united, only then elections could be boycotted.”
When both political leaders failed to convince the host of ‘Capital Talk’ and hundreds of people standing in front of Rawalpindi-Islamabad Press Club camp office, Hamid Mir had no option but to ask the same question from the audience.
Hundreds of hands were raised and all said “No to elections in emergency” as a meaningful smile came on the faces of both politicians sitting on the stage. The banned popular talk shows on private television channels are nowadays being organised from the platform of Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists. Journalists have vowed that these shows would continue on the footpaths of Islamabad until the government withdraws its controversial Pakistan Electronic Media and Regulatory (Pemra) Ordinances.
Mazhar Abbas, secretary general of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), questioned the government’s decision of banning all popular talk shows on private television channels.
The government had banned TV channels because according to it they were showing dead bodies after bomb explosions then why did it put ban on talk shows?” Mazhar questioned. He said that the fight for freedom of press should not die unless the government withdraws the two ordinances.
“The talk shows were getting popular among people because they were showing the true picture,” Mazhar said. Veteran journalist Nasir Zaidi, Rauf Klasra (The News) and a representative from civil society Asim Sajjad Akhtar criticised the government for putting curbs on the media.
Julius Salik, who is a regular visitor since the protest camp started on November 9 in Islamabad, said that Pakistan was not made for a few bureaucrats and army generals. “Journalists and lawyers are on roads, but I am sorry to say that political parties are not doing what people were expecting from them,” Julius Salik said in his brief emotional speech.
KUJ sets up protest camp at KPC
KARACHI: The Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) under schedule announced by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) set-up a protest camp at the Karachi Press Club (KPC) on its second phase of media movement that formally started on Monday.
Different political party leaders, NGOs, trade unionists, lawyers and other groups of civil society visited the camp at the KPC which included Nafees Siddiqui of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Habibuddn Junedi trade unionist, Naeem Qureshi KBA General Secretary, Iqbal Haider of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and others expressed solidarity with the protesting journalists.
The protest camp was staged at 1pm and continued for four hours till 5pm. During the protests, journalists chanted slogans against the curbs on the media and demanded its immediate lifting and opening of TV channels.
With the media movement gaining momentum day by day the foreign delegates also arrived in the city to visualise the overall situation in the country after emergency proclaimed in the country. A two-member delegation of Code Pink Women for Peace also arrived in the city.
Medea Benjamin and Tighe Barry of Code Pink Women for Peace from California also visited the protest camp at the KPC and expressed their solidarity with the journalists. They were on a visit to Pakistan to get details about the situation arising out of the emergency in the country and would proceed to Lahore and Islamabad on Friday. The protest camp would continue till November 29. |
