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Media trial against army should end: Nisar
Minister asks ‘victim media group’ to retract in national interest
ISLAMABAD – Interior Affairs Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali on Friday said that no doubt government is responsible to give protection to lives and property of every citizen but one-sided media trial against the armed forces and defence establishments should end.
Talking to journalists outside the Parliament House, Nisar said it was the government’s constitutional and legal responsibility to protect the dignity of the army and other intelligence agencies, adding there should be no ambiguity or fallacy in that respect.
He said victim media group would have to retract its steps in the greater national interests, adding that the media trial over attack on senior journalist would have to end otherwise anti-state elements would take advantage of the situation. He said that media trial would create further confusion.
He said that he was personally trying to ensure that the situation would not be aggravated from any side. Nisar said the ISPR had strongly condemned the attack on senior anchor person and also demanded for an independent commission to probe into the incident.
The minister said all forces and segments of society were on the same page over conducting a transparent investigation into the attack on the journalist and to bring his perpetrators to justice. Nisar said an independent media as well as honourable and dignified armed forces were the needs of Pakistan.
He advised both sides to remain patient and to avoid troublemakers. The minister said that Hamid Mir’s family should come forward in case of any doubts over the Sindh police’s investigation and the commission set up to probe the attack and that alternate options could be considered.
He said the victim TV anchor had mentioned the capital police in his statement which said that even they had not launched any investigation of the previous attack on him. He expressed sympathy with Hamid Mir and his family members. To a question, he said Hamid Mir neither lodged any complain nor provided any numbers which might have been used for threatening him.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk