A new poll shows that most Americans still believe that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction

According to a recent poll, most US citizens still believe that Saddam Hussain possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction. How do we interpret the results. Isn't it the power of Psychological operations including false flag attacks perpetrated against the US public with the help of media organizations, that are responsible for such beliefs  which cost American public six trillion dollars. The price Iraqi's pay is rarely discussed and even if somebody mentions it he is silenced saying teh word collateral damage. Colateral damage for what? Read an excellent article below at Washington's blog.

Majority Are Still Falling for Fake News
A new poll from YouGov shows that most Americans still believe that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction at the start of the Iraq war:

That’s stunning, given that President Bush, Prime Minister Blair, the CIA, SecDef Rumsfeld, SecState Powell, National Security Advisor Rice, Bush’s chief strategist Rove, “Curveball” (the alias of the name of the unreliable WMD information) and other top officials have all publicly admitted that Iraq had no WMDs.



Corporate Media Pushed Fake News
The mainstream media has confessed that they pushed the fake WMD claims.
For example, the New York Times pushed fabricated evidence in the run up to the Iraq war.   A year later, the newspaper apologized for its inaccurate, one-sided coverage.
The Washington Post also apologized for hyping the non-existent WMD threat.
CNN’s Howard Kurtz wrote:

Major news organizations aided and abetted the Bush administration’s march to war on what turned out to be faulty premises. All too often, skepticism was checked at the door, and the shaky claims of top officials and unnamed sources were trumpeted as fact.
***
The low level of public confidence in the media has many causes, but one of them stems from what happened back in 2003.

Government Officials Pushed Fake News
We in the alternative media have reported over and over and over and over and over and over that all of the insiders knew that Iraq didn’t have weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). And see this.
Catastrophic Consequences of Fake News
We were told that the Iraq war would make us safer.  We were told that it would be quick, and would virtually pay for itself. (We were also told that it would be a “cakewalk”, and that American soldiers would be greeted with flowers.)
In reality, the Iraq war was a total disaster.
The war cost up to $6 trillion dollars, which – even in a country as big as the U.S. – is a lot of money.
The war made us less secure than before.  Remember, Al Qaeda wasn’t even in Iraq until the U.S. invaded that country. And the Iraq war directly led to the creation of ISIS.
Indeed, the leaders of America and the UK were warned that the Iraq war would increase terrorism … before they pulled the trigger.
That’s “fake news” …

The original source of this article is Washington's Blog

Copyright © Washington's Blog, Washington's Blog, 2016

Alarming rise in journalists' killing across the world

GENEVA: Fifty-nine journalists have been killed around the world so far this year, in an alarming rise from 2008 that has become a “bloodbath” of the media, a watchdog said on Thursday.

The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) said 53 journalists were killed in the first six months, up from 45 in the first half of last year, but highlighted another six killings in July, including Russian journalist and rights activist Natalya Estemirova who was murdered on July 15.

Mexico leads the media blackspots with seven journalists being killed this year, according to the PEC.

It said there were six journalists killed in Pakistan, five each in Iraq, the Philippines, Russia and Somalia, four in Gaza and Honduras, three in Colombia, two each in Afghanistan, Guatemala, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Venezuela and one in India, Indonesia, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, and Madagascar.

The PEC called upon all UN states, international organisations and NGOs to take action “to stop this bloodbath against journalists”.

Click here to view source

Another Pakistani journalist's house attacked

New York, July 13, 2009--The house of a second Pakistani journalist working in the border area with Afghanistan was looted and burned on Saturday, according to the Khyber Union of Journalists (KhUJ). The attack was similar to one carried out by Taliban militants on Thursday in the same district, which has been an area of conflict since the government launched an offensive in April.

According to the KhUJ and the English-language daily The News, the home of Behroz Khan, in Balo Khan village in Buner in the North West Frontier Province, had been looted and ransacked a few times in recent months before it was burned over the weekend. Khan is a senior journalist who works for Geo TV and has assisted CPJ investigations in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in the past.

"The targeting of homes and families of journalists who dare to report professionally is a frightening trend that must be stopped," said Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program coordinator. "All sides in the conflict in Pakistan must respect the role of journalists in covering the news."
The News reported that Khan had left the area before the most recent attack and CPJ has not been able to contact him. The paper said Buner's district coordination officer and district police officer were not available to comment.

A bomb destroyed the home of Voice of America correspondent Rahman Bunairee in Buner district on Thursday in what was believed to be a retaliatory attack by the Taliban.
The government said on Wednesday that it was winding down its military operations against Taliban militants in Buner and the adjoining Swat Valley. The offensive, launched in April, has killed about 1,600 combatants, according to the government.

Click here to view source

Pakistani reporter's home destroyed

New York, July 10, 2009--The home of Voice of America (VOA) correspondent Rahman Bunairee in Buner district was leveled by a bomb on Thursday in what was believed to be a retaliatory attack by the Taliban, news reports said.

Citing Bunairee's account, the U.S. government-funded broadcaster reported that "a few dozen militants came to his home in Buner district Wednesday night and told his father that because his son was speaking against militants, they had been ordered to blow up his home." The English-language Daily Times reported that Bunairee's family--including two young children--then vacated the house.

"Despite the government's claims of having secured the area, Pakistani journalists remain prime targets," said Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program coordinator. "The attack on the home of Rahman Bunairee is one more indicator of the dangers these journalists--and their families--face as they continue to report from this high-conflict area."

CPJ could not reach Bunairee by telephone or e-mail today, but news reports and accounts from VOA colleagues have filled in many details. Bunairee told colleagues that he and his family have relocated to a safe place. He said the attack may have come in retaliation for a recent report that said militants were still patrolling the streets in several villages in Buner--a district in the volatile North West Frontier Province--despite government claims that the Taliban have been largely eliminated in the area, the VOA said.

At a press conference on Wednesday, the government said that its military operations against Taliban militants were drawing to a close in Buner and the adjoining Swat Valley. It said Pakistani forces had killed about 1,600 combatants since it launched its offensive in April. A few days earlier, the government had encouraged civilians who had fled the fighting to begin returning to the area.

Click here to view source

Pakistani journalists in frontier region

Following the wounding of a journalist and a driver by Pakistan security forces on Tuesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists called on Pakistan's military today to institute training to prevent such incidents and to discipline troops who fire unwarrantedly.

According to an e-mail message from the Khyber Union of Journalists (KhUJ), troops manning a checkpoint in the Malakand Agency, within the frontier region, fired on AVT Khyber cameraman Malik Imran and the crew's driver, Mushtaq. The area is the scene of ongoing battles between various Pakistani units--some regular army, others from the Frontier Guards--and Taliban fighters.

The KhUJ reported that both men are in stable condition. Two other journalists traveling in the car, AVT Khyber reporter Lihaz Ali and photographer Abdul Majeed Gorayawere (whose affiliation was not given), were not injured. The journalists told KhUJ that their car was fired on after it had cleared the checkpoint.

The Pakistani military did not respond immediately to CPJ's request for comment.
It is imperative that the Pakistani military review its checkpoint procedures and ensure that its soldiers allow journalists to work in safety in conflict areas," Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program coordinator.

KhUJ's parent organization, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), noted that "such incidents have become the order of the day in conflict areas." PFUJ Secretary General Shamsul Islam Naz said in a statement from Islamabad that the extraordinary security measures adopted by the armed forces in these areas are keeping journalists from highlighting the impact of the fighting on the local populace.

CPJ supported calls from the PFUJ and its subsidiary groups for Pakistani media companies to offer safety training and protective gear for their reporters and other personnel working in combat situations. "Many Pakistani journalists are being thrown into war reporting without proper training or equipment--a problem their employers must address immediately," said Dietz.

On the same day of the incident in Malakand, police in Rawalpindi baton-charged a group of journalists demonstrating to draw attention to the security crisis for journalists reporting in Pakistan's war-torn regions, according to local news reports. In a statement released Wednesday, the PFUJ expressed concern that the heavy-handed police response reflected a growing attitude of indifference by government and law enforcement agencies regarding freedom of expression and the need for journalists to be able to do their work safely.

In a briefing paper in May, CPJ reported that journalists in Pakistan have come under rapidly escalating pressure as the military confronts Taliban militants in the northwest region of the country. Threats and attacks from both sides have made reporting from Taliban-controlled areas more dangerous.

In a separate incident on Monday in Islamabad, the media support group Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) reported that three journalists were injured when they were assaulted by workers of the Islami Jamiat Talaba, the student wing of Jamat-e-Islami, a religious political party, during a protest. The demonstrators told three journalists--Syed Mehdi, photojournalist for the daily The Nation, Muhammad Asim, photojournalist for the Daily Jinnah, and Aqeel Qasim Shah, cameraman for Metro One TV station--to stop taking photographs and attacked them when they did not. PPF said Mehdi was beaten with batons and received first aid treatment at a local hospital. Asim suffered minor injuries. Shah's camera was broken and his shoulder was injured.

Click here to view the source

Pakistan’s Journalists Demand a Fair Deal

Journalists from Pakistan’s print and electronic media rallied nation-wide on Monday under the banner of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), an affiliate of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), to call attention to the continuing crises of livelihoods, job security and physical safety in their profession.

Protests were held in all the major cities of Pakistan, including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Bahawalpur.

The PFUJ condemned the continuing failure of media owners to implement the Seventh Wage Award, despite the lapse of seven years since it was notified. With the tenure of the wage award having expired, the PFUJ is also demanding constitution of the overdue Eighth Wage Board.

Other demands include abolishing the contract system of employment in journalism, the enforcement of labour laws, and amendments to the applicable law to bring it in line with international labour conventions

The PFUJ also demands a high-level inquiry into recent activities of a senior official of the Pakistan Federal Government’s Information Department, for alleged abuse of power.

“The IFJ fully endorses the PFUJ’s demands,” IFJ General Secretary Aidan White said. “These are challenging times for journalism in Pakistan, with job losses mounting and professional morale taking a severe hit.

“Media organisations need to invest more rather than less in quality journalism, since the public demand for information is mounting in a context of growing internal conflict and economic crisis.”

According to the PFUJ, the protests were joined in virtually all cities by the local press clubs.

The demonstrators were unanimous in demanding that media organisations should retract their arbitrary recent actions and reinstate all journalists who had been unfairly dismissed from employment.

“The IFJ calls upon media organisations to meet their obligations toward the professional community of journalists since, as the PFUJ says, the last few years have been a period of unprecedented profitability for the industry,” White said.

“If a fair deal for journalists remained an unrealised hope through the years of the boom, the current economic downturn makes it an absolute imperative.”

Click here to view source

IFJ Demands Protection of Journalists in Pakistan’s North-West

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), in expressing alarm at the rapid deterioration in conditions for journalists and media workers in Pakistan’s war-torn North-West Frontier Province (NWFP).

According to the PFUJ, most journalists and media workers in the Malakand division of NWFP have abandoned their professional work. Five daily newspapers have ceased publishing. Very many print and electronic media personnel have had to leave their offices and homes due to the escalation in fighting between Pakistan’s armed forces and insurgents grouped under the banner of the Taliban.

The five newspapers that have closed - Azadi, Khabarkar, Chand, Salam and Shumal - were all published from Mingora, the headquarters of Swat.

Journalists in Swat have had to contend with indiscriminate firing from unidentified assailants, and damage to their vehicles and property.

Several journalists came under intensive rocket attack in Swat’s Continental Hotel last week. They did not suffer physical harm, but the vehicle of one journalist, Fayaz Zafar, was gutted when it was hit by a rocket.

In Buner in late April, a team of journalists covering the military engagement came under hostile fire, in which a correspondent of a private television channel suffered serious injuries.

“The IFJ calls on all sides to the conflict to recognise the non-combatant status of journalists and appeals to media managers to ensure that personnel assigned to the war-affected area are provided with training in safety procedures and all necessary equipment to protect themselves,” IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said.

“The IFJ also calls on Pakistan’s Government to recognize its obligations under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1738 (2006), which stresses that national governments must actively protect journalists and media workers reporting in war zones, in accordance with their status as civilians under international law.”

The IFJ joins the PFUJ in expressing great concern at the news blackout from the war zones. The exodus of media personnel is depriving people of Pakistan of fair and unbiased reporting from the region, both on the military operation and the humanitarian situation. The only agency now disseminating information from the area is the Directorate of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), which is tasked with presenting only the army’s version of events.

Click here to view source

Journalists Flee Swat Valley

Only a few journalists are left in Pakistan's restive Swat Valley to cover the government's military offensive against the Taliban, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), as well as news reports on the website of the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF).

RSF reports that national newspapers are no longer being distributed for safety reasons. Swat residents no longer have access to satellite television since the Taliban damaged the district's only cable distribution network, and journalists are fleeing the area out of fear for their safety.

The authorities have introduced a curfew in Swat and neighbouring districts in a bid to stop the Taliban from reinforcing their positions in the region.
"It is now impossible to get independently-sourced information about what is happening in Swat Valley," RSF said.

Ghulam Farooq, the editor of the local daily "Shamal", told RSF, "All the newspapers based in Swat have stopped publishing for security reasons, because the situation is extremely dangerous. What's more, the curfew makes it impossible for our staff to move about." According to news reports, Farooq and his family have fled Swat.

Swat Press Club president Salahuddin Khan told reporters that journalists had left the valley. "We are leaving Swat as we are under direct threat from all sides," he said. Khan advised all journalists choosing to stay in Mingora, Swat's main city, to work from home.

RSF is demanding the Pakistani authorities give journalists better protection and permits "that allow them to circulate during curfew hours so that they are able to do their job."

Visit these links:
- Journalists flee Swat Valley en masse (RSF): http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=31276

BBC launches new language sites

The BBC College of Journalism and the BBC World Service have today launched five new language learning micro-sites, with one more to come soon.

The launches mean the number of language sites from the College of Journalism now totals at 30.We have launched external language sites for our last group: Spanish, Portuguese for Brazil, Albanian, Macedonian and Serbian, which will be shortly followed by Turkish. Today's launches will bring up the number of the language sites created for America and Europe to seven. The language sites for Ukraninan were launched last month.

Sixteen months ago it seemed an almost impossible task to create an external language micro-site for all the language services in the World Service, but today it is a reality.

This has been a unique opportunity presented to the language services by the College of Journalism, enabling every service to concentrate on its own language for the first time.
Language experts, senior colleagues and specialists from outside BBC were asked to find consensus for terminologies, style, wording, translation techniques, writing styles for a multimedia platform and much more.

The aim was to create bespoke, unique sites for every language which will serve the need of that particular language. The use of impartial language was the main point for some languages; others concentrated on grammar, spelling, style, pronunciation, translation and original writing.

The College of Journalism site in Portugese for Brazil mainly concentrates on the use of impartial language, accuracy and storytelling. Rogerio Simoes, head of Brazilian Service, believes that: "The College of Journalism site can be a very important tool in our relationship with our audience, as it shows to the user of our site what are the main concerns and principles behind the journalism produced by the BBC. We hope to gradually make it a larger and even more effective reference for members of our audience who want to understand more about BBC's aims and what BBC journalism stands for."
Spanish, For many languages this has been an opportunity to share the BBC editorial values with the audience, the College of Journalism site in Spanish carries the BBC editorial guideline highlighted by an interview with expert. Hernando Alvarez, current affairs editor, says: "Through the Spanish College of Journalism site we have an opportunity to show everyone how and why we are taking the editorial decisions."

Albanian, Language is a living organism which is constantly changing and developing. The language expert on the Albanian site explains the dilemma of foreign words in the media, where is it necessary and when it is destroying the language. The head of Albanian Service, Diana Kola, believes that the unique selling point the BBC output has is its ability to analyze and go under the skin of the story, while at the same time use simple, unpolluted language that is understood by all.

Macedonian, The BBC is delighted to be able to develop this knowledge and share it with journalists across the world.

The head of the BBC Macedonain Service, Zaneta Skerlev, says: "School of Journalism in Macedonian will enrich our online offer with something completely different - how we do what we do best - writing for radio. It is good that we are not selfishly keeping the knowledge, experience and talent - we are sharing that with our listeners and colleagues."

Serbian, The College of Journalism language sites also carry some expert advice from the main College of Journalism English site. We have been able to translate a film by the BBC correspondent Allan Little on how to write for radio in many languages.Creating College of Journalism language micro-sites is a first step and a firm recognition of the fact that journalists broadcasting in languages other than English need a mechanism of support which can also be a reference point for the BBC and non-BBC journalists across the world.

Aleksej Zoric, head Of Serbian Service, believes that the BBC School of Journalism presentation on the BBC Serbian internet pages have the potential of becoming a very useful and instructive tool for the users. For those working in journalism it will clarify the usage of language in radio.

This is the beginning of a very important task: to gather and develop the great knowledge and experience that exist in the language services, an important part of our broadcast life, the knowledge which is linked to the language in which we broadcast.To unify and share the information that we can call the BBC style in Arabic, our way of writing in Farsi, or the in-house style of BBC in Chinese.

Please contact Najiba.Kasraee@bbc.co.uk for further information.

Taliban warn media against hostile coverage

The Tehreek-e-Taliban in the troubled Swat region of Pakistan has warned newspapers and TV channels against publishing or broadcasting news against the Taliban.

In a poster issued on 28 April 2009, the Taliban warned the media of dire consequences if they did not stop "propaganda" against the struggle of Taliban "for the enforcement of Shariah" in Malakand Division. Copies of the poster were posted outside the offices of a number of newspapers and private TV channels.

The poster addressed to "all editors of private and official news agencies, journalists and columnists" said, "you have a key role in changing the direction of the society, bringing revolution and making public opinion," and added that it is "your responsibility to give space in your columns, editorials and headlines, to such news which creates positive results and represents the aspirations of the people of Malakand. Our two-year struggle was purely meant for the enforcement of Nizam-e-Adl (Islamic system of justice) and we have no other objective."
The poster claimed that the tone of media coverage had changed over the previous one week and added "this changed tone of the media shows that journalists are either lured by the pro-West polices of media or are doing so under pressure."

The poster said the Taliban would go to the Shariah court to file cases against the media if such reporting was not stopped. The poster added: "The media's biased coverage was giving the impression that Taliban were sabotaging the Nizam-e-Adl. Journalists would be responsible for the grave consequences if they did not stop working on that agenda."

The warning comes amidst growing nationwide criticism of the Taliban for violating the peace deal and resumption of armed patrolling in Dir and Buner districts of Swat even after the enforcement of Nizam-e-Adl Regulation.

The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) expressed concern over the threat which is tantamount to intimidation of the media and media personnel.

In a statement the PFUJ said if this tendency was allowed to develop, all non-state actors would start telling the media to project their particular point of view, and the media would not be able to play its due role as envisaged in the Constitution of Pakistan.

The PFUJ appealed to the Taliban's leadership and government to realize their moral responsibilities and to ensure the protection of journalists and create a "conducive environment," for fair and factual reporting. The PFUJ pointed out that media would not succumb to pressure from any group, government or Taliban for reporting as per their mandate.

Click here to view source

Journalist arrested, detained overnight

Dilawar Jan, a reporter in the Peshawar bureau of the daily "The News", was picked up by intelligence agency personnel from his office on the evening of 28 April 2009 in a bid to force him to disclose the source of news filed by him about an impending military operation in Buner. He was released on the morning of 29 April after refusing to be pressured into disclosing his source.

Jan told PPF that three personnel of an intelligence agency came to "The News" Peshawar office around 7:00 p.m. (local time) and started questioning him about the source of a news item which he had filed about a military operation in Buner.

Jan said that when he refused to disclose the source, the agency personnel took him to their office and interrogated him about the source of the news. He said he told them that as a responsible journalist it would be unethical to identify his source.

After some time, they blind-folded him and transferred him to another place for further interrogation, but he stuck to his position. Jan said that they did threaten him, but did not torture him. "Ultimately, they left me near my office," he said.

After one hour of Jan's detention, two of his journalist colleagues, Bukhar Shah and Mushtaq Yusufzai, went to the intelligence agency office to seek Jan's release. The agency personnel demanded that they disclose the name of Jan's news source, but they also refused. After waiting there until past midnight, they returned unsuccessfully.

The group editor of "The News", Shaheen Sehbai, has in a statement urged the security officials and the army not to target journalists if they cannot keep their operations a secret. They should look inwards and stop information leaks in their system, instead of victimizing media persons. He said Jan had done nothing unprofessional or irresponsible.

On 29 April, a meeting held at the Peshawar Press Club attended by members of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and the Khyber Union of Journalists (KHUJ) strongly condemned the harassment of the journalist.

Click here to view source

Coverage, resources available on media in Fiji

Anyone interested in following developments on the deteriorating media environment in Fiji can access a variety of Web sites providing media coverage with different perspectives than those offered by the mainstream press.

Foreign and local news media in Fiji have come under harsh controls imposed by the political regime since April 10. According to Pacific Media Watch, the regime gagged Radio Australia broadcasting repeater stations in Fiji, imposed censorship and intimidated, detained and deported journalists.

The following Web sites are operated by students and staff of the Pacific Media Centre (PMC) of the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) in New Zealand.

Pacific Media Centre News Blog
Pacific Media Watch
PMC on YouTube
Pacific Media Centre websiteCafe Pacific

Police fail to arrest newsman’s killers

Local journalists and different political organizations took out a protest rally here on Monday from local press club to protest against the police failure to arrest the killers of late Journalist Zubair Ahmed Mujahid and threats of dire consequences given to local journalist Rashid Saleem.

Protesters led by senior journalist Saleem Azad, carried banners and placards, marched through main roads while they raised slogans against the police and strongly condemned the threats of dire consequences given by unknown persons to journalist Rashid Saleem.

They reached at market chowk where speaking at the protesters Saleem Azad, Rashid Saleem, Mehmood Sultan Chandio, Moulana Mufti Shareef Saeedi, Javed Junejo, Moulana Hafeezur Rehman Faiz, Asghar Narejo , Zila Naib Nazim Dr Zafar Ahmed Kamali and others have strongly condemned the threats of dire consequences given to local journalist Rashid Saleem and demanded the district administration to ensure arresting of the culprits involved in murder of journalist Zubair Ahmed Mujahid.

Click here to view source

Reporter dies as a result of shooting injuries

Reporters Without Borders is appalled to learn Wasi Ahmed, a newspaper reporter based in Khuzdar, in the southwestern province of Balochistan, died on 16 April 2009 in a Karachi hospital as a result of the injuries he received in a shooting on 11 April. TV reporter Muhammad Khan Adil was injured in a bombing on 10 April in the same province, where tension is high following the murder of three Baloch leaders.

"The abduction and murder of three Baloch leaders and the constant threats against Baloch journalists and human rights activists are unacceptable, but they must not be used as grounds for acts of revenge against the press," Reporters Without Borders said.

"We urge all parties, above all the Baloch armed groups and the security forces, to show the utmost restraint and not treat the media as targets," the press freedom organisation added.
"There is an urgent need for the government to restore calm in Balochistan. To this end, it must not allow human rights violations to go unpunished."

The Khuzdar correspondent of the Quetta-based "Balochistan Express" daily newspaper, Ahmed was shot in the stomach in front of a newsstand on 11 April. The newspaper vendor was also injured in the shooting. It is suspected that the attack was carried out by a Baloch armed separatist group and that Ahmed, who was from Punjab province, was the target.
Adil, a reporter for Dunya TV, was injured by a roadside bomb on 10 April.

This latest violence against journalists in Balochistan comes less than two months after Jan Muhammad Dashti, the owner and editor of the Baloch daily "Asaap", was seriously injured in a shooting as he was driving to work in the provincial capital, on 23 February.

A Quetta-based journalist told Reporters Without Borders: "Baloch journalists are targeted by the security forces while journalists from the Punjab are targeted by Baloch separatist groups. We are trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea."

Click here to view the source

Complicated issue of plot allotments in Islamabad!

• By Muhammad Ahmad Noorani
  IslamabadHow plots are being allotted in posh and expensive sectors of Islamabad is an interesting phenomena and new facts are throwing light on this process.
  
  In one case the officer who allots plots to others has himself acquired an expensive plot, and says he has the right to do so.Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation (FGEHF) Director General Sher Afzal, however, said that the plot was allotted to him in accordance with rules.
  
  But interestingly before he got the plot in Sector I-8, the FGEHF Executive Committee offered plots to CDA chairman and all the six CDA members in other sectors.But these offers were not meant to bribe CDA for getting the plot in I-8 sector, Mr Sher Afzal told ‘The News’.
  
  According to official documents, Sher Afzal, who is responsible for allotting plots to federal government employees from junior cadres to federal secretaries, is a grade-19 officer, who was appointed as the foundation’s DG in January this year but had joined the FGEHF six months back. No plots were available then in sector I-8 with FGEHF.
  
  CDA provides required plots to FGEHF in sector I-8 measuring 600 square yards to officers in Grade 20 and above but still a Grade-19 officer got one because he is head of the FGEHF.
  
  Currently FGEHF is making allotments to federal government employees in sector G-14. However, according to DG Sher Afzal, plots could also be allotted in other sectors if available.
  
  The location wise value of plots in the capital city Islamabad is very different from other cities as according to real estate experts the prices of plots existing in luxurious sectors like I-8 are extremely high than those existing in far flung sectors like G-14.
  
  According to one such expert the price of 600 square yard plot in sector I-8 is Rs30 million while that a plot with the same measurement in sector G-14 is merely Rs3 million to Rs4 million.
  
  When Sher Afzal was asked that plots to other federal government employees were being allotted in sectors G-13 and G-14, how could he allot himself a plot in sector I-8, he replied that as plots were available in sector I-8 so he got one.Asked that according to information with ‘The News’ plots in sector I-8 were in fact not available and that he had offered 7 plots to top CDA officials including CDA Chairman Tariq Mehmood, member finance Saeed-ur-Rehman, member administration SM Farooqi, member P&D Syed Tanveer Hussain Bokhari, member engineering Tahir Shamshad, member environment Mazhar Hussain and member Estate Brigadier (r) Asad Munir and in return demanded plots in Sector I-8, Sher Afzal replied that these plots were offered to these CDA officials, but this offer was never meant to bribe them to create more plots in I-8.The DG, FGEHF told this correspondent last Wednesday that CDA chairman and CDA members had accepted the offer and were ready to get their plots.
  
  However, on Monday he said that all the members and chairman have now refused to accept the offer.‘The News’ had also learnt reliably that all the CDA officials were ready to take the plots, but when they came to know the scandalous nature of the whole episode and learnt that media had started probing it, they dropped the idea to take these plots.CDA members Briggadier (r) Asad Munir and Saeed-ur-Rehman told ‘The News’ that they were not availing the plots offered by FGEHF.
  
  Sources close to members SM Bokhari and Tahir Shamshad say that these two members are also not willing to avail the offer. Syed Tanveer Hussain Bokhari was of the view that he didn’t avail any plot so far, but offer of FGEHF was not in a good spirit and FGEHF) should not lay ambiguous conditions for it.Mazhar Hussain was of the view that though he has already taken a plot back in 1985 from CDA, he will only avail this opportunity if there is nothing wrong legally in availing it.
  
  “If I will avail the offer, I will avail publicly and not secretly,” Mazhar said.CDA Chairman Tariq Mehmood told ‘The News’ that he was never officially offered a plot by the FGEHF. “Verbally some officials offered me a plot, which I refused and will not accept it,” he said.While giving his response to ‘The News’, Sher Afzal said: “Allotments of plots to the officers of FGEHF are made on the basis of one per cent quota only to those employees who have served 10 years in government and have served in FGEHF for not less than six months. In my case I have more than 13 years service and I have completed six months of mandatory service in FGEHF.
  
  No deviation from the rules and law has been made in my case. Everyday we issue dozens of allotments to federal government employees, and if one allotment has been made as per rules in my favour, it is not a major event.” Sher further added: “Executive committee of housing foundation in its 105th meeting has confirmed category-I allotment in my favour.” Asked that he was only a Grade-19 officer and could not get a Category-2 plot, how he had managed to get a plot for Grade-20 and higher officials, Sher Afzal replied that the Executive Committee had allotted him the plot in Sector I-8.
  
  On the other hand head of the executive committee and federal secretary housing and works GM Sikandar, while talking to ‘The News’ said that executive committee never allotted any plot to Sher Afzal in sector I-8. “He may himself have allotted the plot to himself,” Sikandar said.Another member of the executive committee, Syed Tanveer Hussain Bokhari, who is also member planning CDA, said that executive committee members were not aware that Sher Afzal was in grade-19 rather they were considering him a grade-20 employee as he was DG, FGEHF which is a grade-20 post.
  
  He too said that executive committee has nothing to do with the allotment to Sher Afzal in sector I-8. He said that he was even unaware that whether executive committee has permitted Sher to get a category-I plot.
  
  Click here to view the source
  
  While doing the story, the reporter spoke to Mr Nazir Naji, who abused the reporter. The conversation was recorded and splitted in three files, links are available below:
  
  Conversation-One Conversation-Two Conversation-Three

Taliban partially lift ban on cable TV broadcasting in Swat valley

Reporters Without Borders calls on the Pakistani authorities and Taliban leaders to ensure that cable TV operators in the Swat valley are able to resume broadcasting of both Pakistani and international TV stations without delay.

On 5 April 2009, Taliban leaders gave cable TV operators the green light to resume broadcasting "Islamic" and Pakistani TV stations, but foreign news and entertainment channels continue to be banned. "We have been given permission to resume cable distribution services but on certain conditions," a cable operator in the Swat valley city of Mingora told Reporters Without Borders after meeting Taliban leader Maulana Shah Dauran.

The Movement for the Enforcement of the Sharia banned TV broadcasting in the Swat valley in mid-2008. The office of one cable TV operator was even bombed by the Taliban.

Reporters Without Borders said: "The authorities have a duty to help the Swat valley population enjoy the same news media as the rest of the country's inhabitants. Failure to do this will bode ill for respect for the free flow of news and information in the valley, now subject to Islamic law."
The Taliban ban on TV news broadcasting by cable was condemned by Reporters Without Borders in a report on press freedom in the Swat valley released on 2 April: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=30742

Click here to view source

Kidnapped journalist escapes his abductors

Khawar Shafiq, "Daily Waqt" correspondent in the city of Faisalabad, managed to flee from his abductors on 11 April 2009, four days after he was abducted from his village.

According to press reports, Shafiq said he was kidnapped by three men who shoved him into a car and made him sniff some liquid, after which he lost consciousness. When he regained consciousness, he found himself in a dark room and was without his cell phone, cash and other belongings.

Shafiq claimed his kidnapping was linked with his opening of a Daniel Pearl Foundation in Faisalabad. He said during his captivity, his captors asked for the addresses and details of Pakistani journalists who had been awarded fellowships by the Daniel Pearl Foundation in the US.

According to earlier press reports, Shafiq was questioned by an intelligence agency about the Centre of Interfaith Studies that he had established. Two computers in Shafiq's office were stolen a week before his abduction.

In late March, the US Consulate's Principal Officer, Brian D. Hunt, inaugurated the centre and the US consulate provided 100 books on inter-faith topics.

Shafiq claimed that on 11 April, his kidnappers told him that he would be presented before the 'Sheikh', who would decide his fate. Two captors armed with pistols got him in a car and after travelling on a bumpy road for about one-and-a-half hours, the car broke down. He claimed that while his captors were busy repairing the car, he got out of the car and ran away, taking advantage of the darkness.

After running for one kilometre, he got on a bus and called his colleagues from the bus stop. Shafiq arrived in Faisalabad on 12 April, where he was reunited with his family.

Click here to view source

Hindu extremists attack Pak journalists in India

NEW DELHI: The extremists of a Hindu religious organisation, Shri Ram Sena attacked a group of Pakistani journalists here on Wednesday.

According to an Indian news channel, the Shri Ram Sena extremists thronged New Delhi’s International Center where a meeting of Indo-Pak Forum was going on. They thrashed visiting Pakistani journalists and chanted anti-Pakistan slogans.

Senior Pakistani journalist Rahimullah Yousufzai was busy going through an article published in an Indian newspapers when the poignant incident took place.

Later, an Indian journalist told Geo news that the person shown in the video footage was a Shri Ram Sena extremist and not a Pakistani journalist.

Click here to view the source

Election train for BBC reporters

BBC Worldwide, one of the oldest news services in the world, has planned to send 30 reporters on a special train journey to report on the lok Sabha elections to its 20-million-strong audience in India. It has already worked out the logistics with the Indian Railways.

The election train, according to BBC, will begin the journey on April 25 from New Delhi and will cover Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Patna and Allahabad, before returning to the capital on May 13.

BBC World Service executive editor for South Asia, Nazes Afroz said, “The purpose of travelling across the nation with a team of 30 reporters from our various language services and various media forms like TV, online and radio, is to investigate the key themes surrounding the elections and what Indians want from the polls.”

He pointed out, “We covered the US presidential elections, travelling across the nation over six weeks on a bus and used a boat to cover the recent Bangladesh national polls. We realised that if one has to properly capture the mood of India, taking a train is the best way.”

Equipped with communication devices like satellite phones, the reporters will alight from the train at places to get in-depth understanding of situations. “Our reporters will use mobile Internet, but the reports will not be live. Although satellite phones can’t be used from moving trains, we cam generate a lot of material on our laptops and use them later,” Afroz said.

Besides, the journey will help BBC reporters ascertain India’s place in the global economy. He said, “The world wonders how India is managing to still grow at a rate of around six per cent.
There has not been a meltdown here, but a slowdown. And people want to know how.”

Kidnapped journalist escapes

BAHAWALPUR: Khawar Shafiq, a Faisalabad-based journalist who `went missing’ while going to home at Chak No 14, Ram Dewali on Sargodha Road in Faisalabad on Tuesday night, fled his captors’ custody in Liaquatpur, 120 kilometres from here, on Saturday night.

On arrival in Bahawalpur, Mr Shafiq claimed that he fled while the car (KHN-2627) he was being transported to some unspecified location by his captors broke down near Mauza Jindoo Pir on Liquatpur-Channigoth Road.

Mr Shafiq said he was kidnapped by three bearded men from his village on April 7 evening. The kidnappers bundled him into a white car and soon he was administered some liquid spiked with intoxicants and afterwards he fell unconscious.

When he regained consciousness, he found himself on a charpoy in a dark room and was without his cell phone, cash and other belongings. He said his captors treated him inhumanly.Mr Khawar claimed that his kidnapping was linked with the opening of the office of the Daniel Pearl Foundation in Faisalabad.

The foundation founded by Daniel’s father Dr Judea Pearl was set up in the memory of Mr Pearl who was killed in Pakistan a few years ago.

US Consulate principal officer Brian D. Hunt had inaugurated the office and the US consulate had also provided the office with 100 books on Jews and other inter-faith matters.He said during his confinement his captors grilled him on this matter and “my links with Jews and Hunt”.

Sometimes, they also tortured him and asked the addresses and details about those six Pakistanis, including some TV anchors, who had been awarded fellowships by the Daniel Pearl Foundation.Mr Shafiq claimed the kidnappers had told him that he would be presented before the ‘Sheikh’, who would decide his fate.

During his captivity, Mr Shafiq said, it felt that he had been detained in some rural area, where he could hear ‘azaan’ or prayer calling in the morning.He said the kidnappers claimed themselves as the members of an “Islamic Soldiers’ Front”.On Saturday after Maghrab prayers, the two captors asked him to change his dress.

Armed with pistols, they got him on the car and after traveling on some bumpy road for about one-and-a-half hour, the car broke down. He claimed that while his captors were busy repairing the fault, he got off the car and started strolling along the road.Soon he ran away from the scene taking advantage of the darkness.

After covering over one kilometer, he got a bus coming from Rahim Yar Khan. The bus conductor informed him that he was near Jindoopeer Adda, where he disembarked from the bus and took shelter in a shop of an ex-serviceman.Inside the shop, he phoned his colleagues in Bahawalpur and Faisalabad.

He said his captors also came to the adda in search for him but the shopkeeper hid him in the rear portion of the shop. Later, Mr Shafiq arrived in Bahawalpur and on Sunday, he was finally reunited with his family in Faisalabad.
Source: Dawn
Date:4/13/2009

Click here to view the source