News
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Media accountability commissionSC issues notices to 58 TV channel owners
* Seeks reply on September 6 in Quetta
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Hearing a senior journalists’ petition seeking formation of an accountability commission for the media, which will also form a code of conduct, the Supreme Court has issued notices to 58 TV channel owners to submit their response on September 6 in Quetta.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Arif Hussain heard the petitions filed by journalists Hamid Mir, Absar Alam and others with a request to form a commission to probe the alleged distribution of money by business tycoon Malik Riaz to senior media persons.
During the hearing, counsel for Bahria Town, Zahid Bokhari, rejecting the petitioner’s claim, told the bench that Malik Riaz had never given any plot or money to any journalist and such insinuations were “a pack of lies”.
Upon this, Hamid Mir argued that if this was untrue the court should seek PTA record and see who released the list of journalists on the Internet. Justice Khawaja remarked that several important questions had been raised in the petitions and it is imperative that they be argued in the court. Bokhari further told the court that Mir filed the petition due to his opposition of a private TV channel. This is a fight of an individual that is being fought through channels.
Mir said he is a professional journalist and bears no animosity towards anyone. If he had filed the petition due to any differences with the private TV channel then its anchor Arshad Sharif would not have been party to the petitions. He said besides him, Asma Sherazi and Mazhar Abbas were also correspondents and they were all professional journalists and had no links with any media house owner. He said they were under constant pressure form TV channel owners as well as other elements.
Mir further said no TV channel had its office in Quetta. “They don’t know what is happening there. It would be better if they are summoned to Quetta and hearing is conducted there so they would see what is happening in the city,” Mir added.
Upon this, the court ordered the government to take measures for security and adjourned hearing until September 6 and asked for detailed replies from the 58 TV channel owners.
It is to be noted that two senior anchors, Hamid Mir and Absar Alam, had requested the SC to form a commission to probe the alleged distribution of money by Malik Riaz to senior media persons. The petitioners requested the court to direct FBR to produce the assets and income statements of all media persons.
They further pleaded the SC to order Riaz to appear along with proof of all the persons: journalists, military officials, bureaucrats and any other individuals whom they had tried, directly or indirectly, to buy favours from. Media persons prayed that the FIA should be directed to inquire as to who spread the list of media persons on social media.
“There should be an impartial investigation into why the huge scam of Rs 640 million has been hushed up by the Anti-Corruption Department in Punjab,” they added.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk