Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The former Senator Farhatullah Babar on Tuesday potentially devastating consequences to Freedom of Expression during a seminar on ‘Elections 2018- threats to Freedom of Expression’ held at the National Press Club in Islamabad.

“A creeping coup has been conducted- far softer and subtler than previous coups- seizing the authority of the civilian government and media without freedom and access to information,” he asserted.

Besides, Moulana Fazalur Rehman, Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Senator Shibli Faraz, anchorperson Hamid Mir, Journalist Afzal Butt and others also addressed the seminar.

“Without putting a ban or seizing any TV channel, the entire media has been brought to heel,” Babar said adding that a vast damage is clearly visible as media houses and publications in Pakistan are increasingly exercising self-censorship, and the journalists being threatened and abducted.

While seeking to promote freedom of expression rights he revealed that recently, a private TV channel went off air in most parts of the country under ‘mysterious’ circumstances while newspapers owned by that media group were disappeared from newsstands.

A few columnists resorted to ‘twitter publishing’ as other media groups expressed inability to publish their writings.

Regarding Dawn leaks, the speakers claimed that it expressed diversity in views during a meeting, but the newspaper vanished from sights in cantonments of major cities in Pakistan. Dawn Media Group was under immense pressure.

“However, if Dawn report had breached national security, under what category, the contents of Times report fall that revealed an inside story of a military ‘darbar’,” he stressed while adding that social media has been under attack as online activists have been kidnapped, tortured and the websites blocked.

“Moreover, a recently launched Safe Newsrooms that publicises media repression has been seized,” Baber said.

He denounced the excuse of social media being monitored for ‘anti-state, anti-Pakistan and anti-army’ data.

“Journalist and activist Gul Bukhari was ‘abducted’,” he remarked while adding that Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) has been demanding nothing but an end to disappearances, extra-judicial killings and recovery of extra-judicial killings.

He claimed that PTM’s activists were harassed and accused of being manipulated while media could not effectively provide coverage to the party.

Baber further added that Cyber Crimes Act and the laws relevant to contempt of court need to be revised, and particularly a national debate to address the Suo Moto ‘power’ that falls under the jurisdiction of Supreme Court of Pakistan under Article 184(3).

Baber also proposed certain measures for media professionals and parliamentary committees that include regional and international conferences to be organised on ‘Dissent- Imperatives of Freedom of Expression’ and public hearings, respectively.

“The growing distortion within civil and military relationship needs to be addressed effectively through a bipartisan parliamentary committee. Every political party should establish human rights cells to secure and safeguard the general public’s fundamental right of freedom of expression and access to information,” he maintained.

Published in Daily Times, June 13^th 2018.