Reporting on court proceedings and legal matters is an important and legitimate duty of the media. But in doing so, journalists should be fair to both sides of a complaint. After all, it is up to the court to decide the outcome - not a reporter. For Ansar Abbasi, however, that restraint appears to be too much to ask. In today’s The News, Abbasi writes about a complaint filed on Steel Mills that reads like a plea for the prosecution.
Abbasi’s column, “SC asked to intervene immediately,” reports that Watan Party has moved and application saying that the Steel giant is on the verge of collapse. While it may be true that a political party has filed some application with the court, Abbasi appears to have failed to do any independent research, and merely repeats the claims of the complaint.
Abbasi even goes so far as to suggest that the problem is one of political interference:
The PSMC, it is said, has the potential to meet the steel requirements of the country as per installed production capacity of the plant, provided it gets adequate supply of required material, an efficient, honest and professional management and is saved from the political interference.
But even Abbasi is forced to admit that the government has been acting only to remove administrative corruption from the industrial giant.
In August last year, the prime minister sacked the then chairman PSMC Moeen Aftab Shaikh on corruption charges and directed the Interior Ministry to investigate the affairs of the PSMC and to submit a report.
Watan filing a complaint on Steel Mills is a newsworthy story. But it is not proper to take this story as an opportunity to use the media to influence the public or the court to support one side or the other. Abbasi’s writing, unfortunately, does a disservice to the ideal not only of a fair media, but of a fair judiciary as well. How can anyone believe that they will get a fair hearing when they have to defend not only against the prosecutor, but the news media as well.
Please, Mr Abbasi, let the lawyers make the speeches and you only report the facts.
PDF Tags: Ansar Abbasi, corruption, Gilani, Steel Mills
Notice served on former PTV chief Shahid Masood By Khawar Ghumman
Wednesday, 02 Jun, 2010 http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/local/islamabad/recovery-of-rs5.1m-notice-served-on-former-ptv-chief-260
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Television Corporation has served legal notice on its former chief Dr Shahid Masood for recovery of Rs5.1 million which he had to pay as per his contract before leaving the organisation.
Acting Secretary Information and Broadcasting Mansoor Sohail informed the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday that on May 27 the PTVC had sent the legal notice to the former PTV managing director, who also held the additional charge of its chairmanship for some time. The issue came before the PAC when it was scrutinising the ministry’s audit report for the year 2008-09.
The cabinet secretariat vide its notification dated June 21, 2008, appointed Dr Shahid Masood as managing director of PTVC with the additional charge of chairmanship. He assumed the charge on the same date. As per appointment letter dated June 27, 2008, his contract period was five years and in case of early termination of the contract a notice of six months was required from either side or gross salary in lieu thereof. The gross salary of the officer was fixed at Rs850,000 per month.
Dr Masood tendered resignation which was accepted by the prime minister with effect from November 3, 2008. The officer did not serve the notice of six months and, therefore, was liable to pay the gross salary amounting to Rs5.1 million in lieu of the notice period. The irregularity was reported to the management on April 2, 2009, and to the ministry on June 1, 2009.
PAC Chairman Chaudhry Nisar Ali said when it came to public money no favour should be done to anybody; therefore, the committee backed PTVC’s decision to serve legal notice on Dr Masood.
Commenting on the overall working of the information ministry, the PAC chairman said the ministry was keeping its various operations secret which over the years had cast shadow over its affairs. Accepting that the ministry during PML-N’s two terms in power also remained involved in such activities, Mr Nisar called for a serious re-examining of its working. “Until this day, I am unable to understand why the ministry keeps a secret fund,” he said, warning that next time the PAC would like to know each and every penny spent by the ministry.
PTV FOUNDATION: The PAC directed the secretary information, who is also chairman of the PTV, to wind up its foundation whose affairs over the years had gone from bad to worse.
Mr Sohail informed the committee that since taking over the charge of the ministry, he had a couple of meetings with the foundation’s board of directors and found it was not a viable option. In response, the PAC chairman said the committee also recommended the same and was willing to extend help to the PTV administration.
The PTV board of directors in its meeting held on August 28, 2001, had approved incorporation of the PTV foundation. As per its charter, the foundation was established to carry on the business of advertising, publishing, film making, drama production to establish, operate studios, theatres and other institutions for the promotion of science, art and culture. So far the foundation has consumed Rs30 million loaned money but failed to start even a single project.
INQUIRY: The PAC also directed the secretary information to hold an inquiry into reported complaints against Radio Pakistan boss, Murtaza Solangi.
Dr Shahid Masood joins ARY Network Updated : Thursday June 3 , 2010 8:48:25 PM http://www.thearynews.com/english/newsdetail.asp?nid=49918
Jang Group & Veracity of Transparency International & IRI Survey.
http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2010/11/jang-group-veracity-of-transparency.html Mob of Kamran Khan i.e. Mr. Ansar Abbasi, Mr Shaheen Sehbai, Mr. Irfan Siddiqui and Mohammad Malick are usually very fond of the reports of Transparency International and Survey of International Republican Institute (IRI) particularly when they carry “Corruption Reports on Pakistan. Quite funny isn’t it that the same group often raise hell against US Central Intelligence, Mossad and countless others and these very journalists “conveniently” forget that such surveys/reports could be a brainchild of the Organizations on the payrolls of the same US Central Intelligence Agency and Mossad. One of the Professional Colleague Mubashir Luqman openly said Transparency International an Israeli/CIA Agent:)