Pakistan journalists 'threatened by security' personnel

[IndianTiger]

Two senior Pakistani
journalists say they have
received threatening
messages after raising
questions over the
military's role in their respective television
shows. Both suspect the threats have
emanated from Pakistan's
powerful security
establishment and its premier
intelligence service, the ISI
(Inter-Services Intelligence). The ISI was widely accused of
killing a local journalist,
Saleem Shehzad, in May 2011. It vehemently denied the
charge. Journalists' organisations say
at least 29 journalists have
been killed in Pakistan during
the last five years, many of
them specifically for their
work. Messages A senior journalist, Najam
Sethi, disclosed at a television
talk show on Wednesday
night that he had received
"serious" threats from "both
non-state and state actors". He said if these threats did not
cease, he would be "compelled
to take names of the
organisations and officials"
who were behind them. Without naming any
intelligence service, he said its
operatives were "in touch
with and threatening several
other senior journalists". "We did not speak about this
before because we did not
want to destabilise things, but
the time has come when all of
them should come forward
and speak about it publicly," he said, speaking in Urdu. "This is not the age when the
intelligence operatives should
be threatening their own
civilians. A state within the
state is not acceptable," he
said. Mr Sethi is the main analyst at
a late night news show on
Pakistan's Geo TV in which he
has been offering comments
critical of the military's role. His disclosure comes a week
after another senior journalist,
Hamid Mir, sent out an email
to journalists' bodies around
the world claiming that he
had been receiving threatening messages from
what he called "the security
establishment". Mr Mir is the host of Geo TV's
popular talk show, Capital
Talk. The New York-based
Committee to Protect
Journalists (CPJ) released the
text of Mr Mir's email last
week, which contains the
text of an SMS message he had received. According to Mr Mir, the SMS
read, "I have not seen a real
bastard than you. I wish
somebody comes and strips
you naked. I hope some army
man has not done real dirty with your dear ones." Mr Mir wrote in his email that
these threats have emerged
following two talk shows he
did which contained critical
comments about the military. "I am sure that the security
establishment of Pakistan is
once again angry with all
those who raise questions
about the political role of the
army," he wrote. He added: "If anything bad
happens to me or my dear
ones, the security
establishment will be
responsible." A commission constituted to
investigate the May 2011
killing of journalist Saleem
Shehzad is investigating the
role of the ISI, among others,
as a possible suspect in the case. Journalists working on
security-related issues say
they have always been
threatened and intimidated by
the intelligence agencies and
have often been forced to under-report "sensitive"
issues. But in recent months, they
have increasingly spoken out
in public on the issue.

 

[Desi Guy]

Two senior Pakistani journalists say they have received threatening messages after raising questions over the military's role in their respective television shows.

Both suspect the threats have emanated from Pakistan's powerful security establishment and its premier intelligence service, the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence).

The ISI was widely accused of killing a local journalist, Saleem Shehzad, in May 2011.

It vehemently denied the charge.

Journalists' organisations say at least 29 journalists have been killed in Pakistan during the last five years, many of them specifically for their work.
Messages

A senior journalist, Najam Sethi, disclosed at a television talk show on Wednesday night that he had received "serious" threats from "both non-state and state actors".

He said if these threats did not cease, he would be "compelled to take names of the organisations and officials" who were behind them.

Without naming any intelligence service, he said its operatives were "in touch with and threatening several other senior journalists".
"We did not speak about this before because we did not want to destabilise things, but the time has come when all of them should come forward and speak about it publicly," he said, speaking in Urdu.

"This is not the age when the intelligence operatives should be threatening their own civilians. A state within the state is not acceptable," he said.

Mr Sethi is the main analyst at a late night news show on Pakistan's Geo TV in which he has been offering comments critical of the military's role.

His disclosure comes a week after another senior journalist, Hamid Mir, sent out an email to journalists' bodies around the world claiming that he had been receiving threatening messages from what he called "the security establishment".

Mr Mir is the host of Geo TV's popular talk show, Capital Talk.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released the text of Mr Mir's email last week, which contains the text of an SMS message he had received.

According to Mr Mir, the SMS read, "I have not seen a real bastard than you. I wish somebody comes and strips you naked. I hope some army man has not done real dirty with your dear ones."
Mr Mir wrote in his email that these threats have emerged following two talk shows he did which contained critical comments about the military.

"I am sure that the security establishment of Pakistan is once again angry with all those who raise questions about the political role of the army," he wrote.

He added: "If anything bad happens to me or my dear ones, the security establishment will be responsible."

A commission constituted to investigate the May 2011 killing of journalist Saleem Shehzad is investigating the role of the ISI, among others, as a possible suspect in the case.

Journalists working on security-related issues say they have always been threatened and intimidated by the intelligence agencies and have often been forced to under-report "sensitive" issues.

But in recent months, they have increasingly spoken out in public on the issue.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16355064

 

[Doctor09]

ISI please dont do this

 

[Desi Guy]

ISI please dont do this

yes keep laughing ....we will see when its your turn ... dactar saab!!

 

[53fd]

I am pretty sure it was the ISI sent out this message, it's not like they have more important things to do in the country anyway, like protecting the country from numerous foreign & domestic terrorist threats:

According to Mr Mir, the SMS read, "I have not seen a real bastard than you. I wish somebody comes and strips you naked. I hope some army man has not done real dirty with your dear ones."

Real mature ISI, real mature

And I definitely would not want Hamid Mir to get stripped naked, just the thought of him like that is a disturbing & scarring image.

 

[VCheng]

Mr. Sethi needs to be careful, for his odds of ending up dumped in a ditch can only increase, given past instances, all never proven, of course.

 

[p4kistan]

The quicker they get rid of stooges like sethi the better.

Pakistan Zindabad
ISI Zindabad

 

[VCheng]

The quicker they get rid of stooges like sethi the better.

Pakistan Zindabad
ISI Zindabad

So are you sanctioning extra-judicial murders by state apparatchik?

 

[Deno]

If this journalist killigs is a part of a operation for defending the states by killing journalist who try to turn the state into a chaotic place then congradulations but If this is done for protecting few power hungry people then my condolences to Pakistani people.

Hope and work for the best.

Pakistan zindabad!!!

 

[Last Hope]

Well... Again the media twists the stories to make them look more interesting.

If you report something targeting the national security and raise propaganda which could result in serious effects, you surely would be warned. But if you don't stop doing that, instead of constant warning, you are an enemy of the state.

Better watch your tongues if the title is true. Stop twisting the stories.
If you were an honest and truthful journalist working for a better cause of spreading knowledge and awareness towards the public, you would not have been targeted. Being otherwise, spreading fear and chaos, making people confused and divert them from good to bad by portraying the losers as saviors (PPP) and talking against the possible saviors (ISI/PTI) will add fuel to this national fire. And your pathetic journalism is the reason.

 

[rohailmalhi]

If they want to kill these a**holes they wont send them sms or emails ,they wont leave any account of that .They will simply do it coz there are millions of ways to do sumthing .They are secret agencies so everything they do is suppose to be secret .

I think these bastard journo should get kicked in there arses real hard coz they are one creating choas in Pakistan.They should be controlled at every cost.

 

[p4kistan]

So are you sanctioning extra-judicial murders by state apparatchik?

Call it what you want, if a policy or action is good for the nation DO IT. Every nation in the world does it, so get off your high moral horse. Your nation probably carries out the most extra judicial killings, murders and terrorism in the world. If there was a competiton your nation and the zionists would win, Ladens group and taliban wouldn't even make it on the list.

 

[Desi Guy]

So are you sanctioning extra-judicial murders by state apparatchik?

Najam Sethi likes are the only hope I see in Pakistan for friendly relations with India...but seeing the forum members replies hopes are very grim ...

 

[Desi Guy]

here is the video ...

 

[VCheng]

Call it what you want, if a policy or action is good for the nation DO IT. Every nation in the world does it, so get off your high moral horse. Your nation probably carries out the most extra judicial killings, murders and terrorism in the world. If there was a competiton your nation and the zionists would win, Ladens group and taliban wouldn't even make it on the list.

And just who decides what is "good" for the nation?