Thursday, August 30, 2012
The News International ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira said on Wednesday that an allegation levelled by Opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan of bribing some media persons was a conspiracy to defame the entire journalistic community.
Talking to APP here, the minister said that by levelling such baseless allegations, Chaudhry Nisar has also tried to malign the President of Pakistan which was deplorable.
The minister said that if the opposition leader had any proof, he should make it public and disclose the names of those who distributed the money and those who received it.Kaira said that Chaudhry Nisar is a senior politician and currently the Opposition leader in National Assembly and such an attitude does not suit his stature.
Kaira said that journalism is a noble profession and the media community has always raised voice against tyranny, injustice and dictatorship and remained in the forefront of movements launched for this purpose. He said that levelling corruption allegation amounting to billions of rupees against the people of such a noble profession was a conspiracy.
Kaira said the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has always respected the judiciary and implemented its verdicts. During the past few months, two of the PPP prime ministers personally appeared before the Supreme Court, he added.
Former President of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) Arif Nizami Wednesday said that leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan should apologise for levelling baseless allegation against the government for bribing some media persons or clarify his statement.
If the Opposition leader had any proof, he should make it public and disclose the names of those, who had distributed the money and the receivers, said Arif Nizami, while talking to APP.He said that it seemed to be a result of the tussle among various media groups. He asked the government to refute the allegation.
The media owners should also clarify their position as otherwise the allegation will be considered to be true, he added. The former CPNE president viewed that one should not defame the whole media on the basis of public perception about a media group for being pro-PPP and others as pro-PML-N because any journalist may also oppose anyone while being impartial.
The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) also strongly reacted to the accusations leveled by Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan against President Asif Ali Zardari for bribing the journalists to launch a defaming campaign against judiciary. In a joint statement, PFUJ President
Parvez Shaukat and General Secretary Amin Yousaf said that Chaudhry Nisar should not have accused the entire journalist community rather he should have exposed the names of those journalists who according to him had been allegedly bribed.
The PFUJ leaders urged Nisar to share evidence with the PFUJ against any journalist for accepting bribes for a nefarious campaign against the judiciary. “If we found any evidence against any journalist we will take action according to law. Moreover, Chaudhry Nisar also should share the names of those journalists who have been receiving money from the PML-N and other political parties. The PFUJ will take action against such black sheep who have been bringing a bad name to the sacred profession of journalism,” the PFUJ leaders added.
The PFUJ advised politicians not to drag the journalists for political motives and added that if evidence is shared, the PFUJ would take action against such elements in the media.Meanwhile President National Press Club Islamabad Farooq Faisal Wednesday demanded of Chaudhry Nisar to disclose names of individuals and organizations involved in such practice and should not malign the journalist community on the whole.
While talking to APP he said the Opposition leader should not level allegations against the media without any proof rather he should disclose the identity of those indulged in this unethical practice.
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