Pak scribes condemn Govt8217;s hand in attacks on media

ISLAMABAD, MAY 6: The Pakistan press was up in arms again today to protest what senior journalists call Government-inspired terrorism a...

ISLAMABAD, MAY 6: The Pakistan press was up in arms again today to protest what senior journalists call 8220;Government-inspired terrorism against the media.8221; The uproar started after unidentified men entered the house of Imtiaz Alam, a senior editor with The News, a leading English language national daily, yesterday morning and set fire to his car, in Lahore, the hometown of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Alam, who was instrumental in organising the Parliamentarians Conference between Indian and Pakistani MPs earlier this year, said that he was receiving threatening calls for the past few months. Police officials, however, say that the attack on Alam8217;s car may have come from right wing parties who were unhappy with his efforts at bringing together Indian and Pakistani Parliamentarians.

Another journalist under attack was MAK Lodhi, who also writes for The News, in Lahore. Lodhi and other journalists are being harassed for participating in a BBC documentary that explores the vast businessinterests of the Prime Minister and irregularities involving Sharif and his family.

Chanel Khan, a foreign correspondent based in Islamabad said today that she received a call from Saif-ur Rehman, the chief of Sharif8217;s Accountability Bureau, who told her not to help in the BBC documentary8217;s production and threatened her with dire consequences if she did.

But the strongest verbal attack from the Government was reserved for Najam Sethi, the editor of the widely-read weekly, The Friday Times. Sethi was strongly criticised by the official media, primarily the state-owned news agency, the Associated Press of Pakistan APP, for his remarks at the Kewal Singh Memorial Lecture series in New Delhi.

APP said in a story that Sethi used 8220;irrelevant, disgraceful and disgusting diatribe against his own country, Pakistan, in India, which not only shocked Pakistanis working at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi but also his hosts, the India International Centre.8221;

APP contended that 8220;even IK Gujral,who was present at the seminar, was embarrassed by the provocative remarks of Sethi.8221; Another news report, which was released by APP a few days back, attacked Sethi for spreading lies and co-operating with the BBC in a documentary that would belittle the achievements of the Sharif Government.