(PPF/IFEX) – Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials and the police manhandled staff of the local Urdu daily “Ausaf” of Islamabad on 3 February 1999. The editor of “Ausaf”, Hamid Mir, said that they were being punished for helping the Jang Group, as the paper decided to supply four reels of newsprint to the Jang Group, […]
(PPF/IFEX) – Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials and the police
manhandled staff of the local Urdu daily “Ausaf” of Islamabad on 3
February 1999. The editor of “Ausaf”, Hamid Mir, said that they were
being punished for helping the Jang Group, as the paper decided to
supply four reels of newsprint to the Jang Group, which was facing a
severe shortage of newsprint as a result of the government’s decision
not to release newsprint to them.
**Updates IFEX alerts of 5 February, 3 February, 2 February, 1 February
and 8 January 1999, 16 December and 15 December 1998**
The “Ausaf” van, carrying newsprint for the Jang Group, was stopped by
FIA officials and police, and the van’s driver was beaten. Plain clothes
police officers also stopped a “Nawa-e-Waqt” newspaper van, but later
released it. When the on-duty police was contacted for help, they said
that they could not interfere in the FIA’s affairs.
Senator Saif ur Rehman allegedly threatened the editor of the daily
“Ausaf” with closure of his newspaper for providing support to the Jang
Group.
To protest these actions, journalists covering parliamentary proceedings
staged a symbolic walkout from the press galleries, and only returned
when the government assured them that they would look into the matter.
Information Minister Mushahid Hussain expressed ignorance of the
incident and later personally apologized to Mir.
According to press reports, two of “Ausaf”‘s Karachi bureau telephones
have also been disconnected, making it difficult for the bureau to send
news stories to its Islamabad office.
