ISLAMABAD - The federal government on Monday informed the Senate that it has ordered an inquiry into social media trolling of some journalists and anchorpersons by a group on the basis of their political ideology.
“When the rights of a citizen are breached to an extent that it constitutes a crime, it becomes responsibility of the government to take action against the culprits,” Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told the house. His remarks came after the issue of the campaign, being run against senior journalists Syed Talat Hussain, Hassan Ayub, Muneeb Farooq and Muzamil Hussain Shah through anonymous social media accounts was raised in the house by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Saifullah Khan Dhareejo.
Tarar said it was highlighted during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif how the journalists were being targeted as their political ideology was not liked by a group. He was actually referring to supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) but didn’t directly name the party. Parliamentary leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML- N) Senator Irfan Siddiqui regretted that in the last few years, a new trend of suppressing the voice of dissent in total disregard to democratic values had been started. While indirectly referring to PT, he said that a party, had in a very systematic way, when it was in the government, rendered these journalists jobless by putting pressure on their respective organisations. “Such tactics don’t work and the voice of truth cannot be stifled”, he said.
He said this kind of suppression, whether from a political party or from somewhere else would not work. Senator Siddiqui said some people defame the state institutions in the world by saying that oppression in Pakistan was more than Indian Occupied Kashmir. However, he said that genuine criticism from any side was everyone’s right. Without naming PTI, he underlined that resorting to violence in the name of peaceful protest must be brought to an end. PTI Senator Saifullah Abro in his speech proposed a house committee sans representation of PTI into the alleged killing of relative of a Senate employee named Mobeen on November 26. He said gunshot had been mentioned as cause of death in the certificate putportedey issued by Polyclinic Hospital. Senator Irfan Siddiqui, who at that time was presiding over the session on this said the PTI had taken the matter to the court and should present evidence there.
Abro said the proposed panel should also ascertain as to who was behind putting President Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and other prominent political leaders into jail. He also said it should also be probed as to why a money laundering case involving billion of rupees had been registered against “Innocent Shehbaz Sharif” during the PTI’s days in power. “I will condemn if the case is found out to be concocted. Otherwise, those who played role in acquittal should be condemned.” PML-N Senator Khalil Tahir Sindhu while referring to the PTI’s recent protest in Islamabad, said it was the party’s workers, who had asked Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur not to flee and had thrown shoes at him and beat him with sticks but he still managed to flee on a punctured vehicle from the protest venue. He slammed Gandapur for his declared intention to come to Islamabad with guns again.