ISLAMABAD – The district magistrate of Skardu, in the northern area of Pakistan, has revoked the declaration and publication licence of the weekly paper “K-2” for “promoting anti-Pakistan feelings and advocating curtailment of territories within the boundaries of the state.” The newspaper was printed in Rawalpindi. The newspaper’s declaration has been revoked by the district […]
ISLAMABAD – The district magistrate of Skardu, in the northern area of Pakistan, has revoked the declaration and publication licence of the weekly paper “K-2” for “promoting anti-Pakistan feelings and advocating curtailment of territories within the boundaries of the state.”
The newspaper was printed in Rawalpindi. The newspaper’s declaration has been revoked by the district magistrate of Skardu, where the declaration was obtained. The magistrate issued a show-cause notice to the printer and publisher of the weekly, Raja Hussain Khan Maqpoon, for “flagrantly” violating the provisions in Sections 3-e and 3-d of Sub-Section 1 of the Press and Publications Ordinance, 1995.
According to press reports, the magistrate’s show-cause notice accused the paper of “condemning the creation of Pakistan, advocating curtailment of the territories lying within the borders of Pakistan and bringing hatred and contempt of government established by law in Pakistan with intention of causing defiance of the authority of the government” in their three issues. The magistrate asked the printer and publisher to explain why his declaration should not be revoked after the publication of this information.
In his reply, the printer and publisher, who is also the editor-in-chief, said that he had already made it clear in the footnote that the newspaper did not ascribe to the views of the writer. Regarding the other two issues, he said, what occurred was a simple and truthful reporting of events, which were also published by many other Pakistani newspapers.
The magistrate, in his October 17 order, found that “the editor-in-chief has indirectly consented to the charges in the cover of freedom of the press, thus hurting the trust you were entrusted by the government” and revoked the declaration under Section 27(3) of the Registration of Printing Press and Publication Ordinance, 1995.