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ISLAMABAD: ‘The News’ investigative journalist Umer Cheema has said that no intelligence agency in Pakistan, including the ISI, MI and IB, had any law to govern their working.
Talking to Kamran Khan in ‘Aaj Kamran Khan Kay Sath’ show on Tuesday, Cheema said these intelligence agencies worked under the standard operating procedure due to which their work carried no legal value.
He said the Saleem Shahzad Commission report had also talked about intelligence reforms. He said even Bosnia had a law to govern the working of intelligence agencies.
He said a number of Central Asia states, which broke away from Russia, had suffered a lot at the hands of intelligence agencies and the first thing these states did after independence was that they introduced reforms for their intelligence agencies.
He said when Dr. Shoaib Suddle was DG Intelligence Bureau, he had made a law to govern the working of the agency but he was removed before he could present it to the government for presentation in Parliament.
He said the good omen for a county was that its rulers learn a lesson from their mistakes but unfortunately here in Pakistan we commit mistakes and repeat them. He said not even a single example existed in the United States where its premier intelligence agency CIA had ever kidnapped, attacked or killed a journalist.
Cheema mentioned the case of American computer professional and former employee of the CIA Edward Joseph Snowden. He said when Snowden was in the US he was not afraid of being abducted by the CIA and killed and dumped on the roadside rather he feared the US law.
He said one could imagine the consequences if someone in Pakistan had blown the whistle on the Inter-Services Intelligence or Military Intelligence (MI).Agreeing to Kamran Khan, Cheema said the CIA faced the allegation of killing President John F. Kennedy but there was not as much fuss and hue and cry from the intelligence agency against the accusation as was being witnessed in Pakistan these days.
He said a murder attempt had been made on senior journalist Hamid Mir and the channel pointed a finger at the ISI director general in the light of the attacked journalist’s statement that if something terrible happened to his life then the responsibility would lie with the agency. He said it was just an allegation but the security institutions were not ready to face it.
To a question, Cheema said that he was attacked in September 2010 after which he talked of ‘intelligence reforms’ and wrote many articles about it. “I did not talk of revenge and wanted to become part of the solution. Let’s find a solution to this problem. I also put blame on the ISI for beating me up. This should not happen to anyone,” Cheema said.
He further said, “Year 2014 has come. Mistakes can be made by anybody. Being a patriotic Pakistani, I think of the future of this country and am perturbed by it. We invest confidence over others but not in the Parliament. Whenever we see corruption, we expose it.”
To a question by Kamran Khan, Umer Cheema said that the ongoing talk on Geo was not of a single institution but of one personality. “We respect the ISI chief, but Hamid Mir is no lesser in status. He is a star anchor and has been attacked. He feels unsafe in his own country. He is afraid of those who are to save him, which for me as a Pakistani, is a shame,” he said, adding that a “Gentleman Agreement” was essential, and if not so, there should be legal limits for all.
To another question, Cheema said that the procedure for overall coverage should be changed. “Either we should not have aired the bakery-affair of Sharif family, or we should not have aired the picture of General Pasha with reference to Raymond Davis case? Moreover we should not have telecast the picture of DG IB when Benazir Bhutto was assassinated? Law should be equal for all,” he said.
Umar Cheema added that Hamid Mir had come to many people before this incident took place, and whatever he discussed was aired. He noted that the news with reference to ISI chief was aired and it is essential to present the picture of the person in question, which is a new phenomenon of electronic media. He further said that we were not mentally prepared for this new phenomenon in electronic media which had led to prejudice or obscurity. He said that when clarification came from DG ISPR, no one objected upon the airing of the picture of the DG. “Neither ISPR, nor ISI complained for telecasting his picture,” he clarified.
Responding to another query, journalist Umer Cheema said that back in 2010, his case was highlighted by the then opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar. “At that time Mian Nawaz Sharif also said that the ISI was involved in the case of Umer Cheema,” he said. Moreover, he said that at a certain stage, Chaudhry Nisar also demanded for the resignation of General Pasha, which led Cheema to question if law was not applicable in this case.
In response to a query, Cheema said that Chaudhry Nisar should clarify whether he was wrong then or right.In reply to a question, Umer Cheema said that the government’s spokesman Pervaiz Rashid had said many things between the lines. He said that those groups, who talked with arguments, were standing together with the government and civil society. He said that this statement was different from that of Chaudhry Nisar. “Perhaps the office of Chaudhry Sahib has some requirements, or he is playing the role of a fire fighter which he wants to retain,” Cheema said.
To a query, Cheema said that we knew only to rule over the ignorant. “We talk of only those things which the people want to listen to. If we turned to a different talk, they will call you a ‘traitor’. There is a dearth of media’s overall training. We should also enforce relevant code of conduct,” he added.
Umar Cheema, responding to a question, said that his opinion was not necessarily the prefect one. He added that everyone had his own opinion about a thing or two. He noted that if it could be highlighted that someone was being blamed then also Hamid Mir was not an ordinary man; he held a respectable status in journalism, and if his family said that they had his recorded statement, this was a newsworthy thing. However, he said that some people might not conform to this opinion, but he opined that a meeting should be held to decide whether or not this opinion be revisited, as there is always a room for improvement.
Speaking on the show, Editor Investigations ‘The News’ Ansar Abbasi, to a question Kamran Khan about his demand that the ISI chief should step down after the attack on Hamid Mir, said he had said that it was a serious allegation raised by Hamid Mir and his brother Amir Mir pointing a finger at the DG ISI. He said this allegation caused bashing of the institution and he thought that institution should be protected as individuals do not matter.
He said if he were in place of the DG ISI, he would have stepped down so that allegation is not made on the ISI and the institution is not bashed worldwide. He said many people including Mir’s brother shared his opinion.
Asked why he did not advocate going to court to prove the allegations, Abbasi said this matter is not about allegations and indictment. He said he is talking about respect of the institution as the whole world is bashing the ISI now. He said if the allegations are proved, it will be a matter of shame for the country. He said he wants to protect the ISI from bashing.
Kamran Khan pointed out that allegations were also levelled against Nawaz Shaif and Iftikhar Chaudhry but none of them left the office.Abbasi said what he had said was his opinion and not that of Geo TV. He said if his opinion is in violation of the Constitution, it should be taken to the court of law.
Kamran Khan again pointed to Arslan Iftikhar case and the fact that they did not at that time demanded that Iftikhar Chaudhry should leave office.Abbasi said Malik Riaz had told him that he had evidence against Arslan but he did not have any evidence against the then chief justice. He questioned if a son did something wrong, should the father be punished?
He said Hamid Mir is not an ordinary person. He said Hamid Mir had shared these allegations with many persons, so what should we do now? He said wrongly or rightly, Mir had shared his apprehensions with top management of Geo TV.
He said things should not be twisted. He repeated that DG ISI is not more important as an individual than the institution. He said he thinks that if you remove the DG, you save the institution of the ISI. He said it is his viewpoint which can be rejected.
He explained that this is not the opinion of his organisation. He said he often speaks against his organisation so when he is doing so, how can it be opinion of his organisation.
Kamran Khan questioned how things will be settled when the Defence Ministry has accessed the Pemra against Geo TV, and the Interior Ministry also disliked the coverage.
Ansar Abbasi said there should be a fair deal as he is a man of rule of law. He said he only called for a fair deal but his comments were stretched beyond limits. He said, “Leave me. I am a traitor. Every body in Jang Group is a ‘traitor’. We all should be given medals for being traitor.”
He said those levelling allegations against them should monitor their activities. He said totally free media is a dangerous thing. He said had Pemra been doing right things, it should have called Geo TV to restrict if any red line was being crossed. He said Pemra has asked the media to show restrain at the time of Chehlum tragedy in Rawalpindi because there was a risk of violence in the country.
He said why Pemra and the government were sleeping at the time of transmission of Hamid Mir attack. He questioned why Pemra did not make a phone call to mention that Hamid Mir’s allegations are wrong and these pictures should not be aired on the media. He said he has objections to the working of Pemra which took no notice of abuse of the former chief justice, adding that the government and the Pemra should regulate themselves.
Kamran Khan questioned how should they defend themselves at a time when the ministries of interior and defence are levelling serious allegations against them?
Ansar Abbasi said Pemra is the body to deal with media legally and the ministers criticising the media are not in apposition to do so. He said Pemra should hear the ministries. He said justice should done with them (media) and the Ministry of Defence. He said if an assurance for such a justice is made, then they should fully submit to the law. He said they could go to the independent judiciary in case of any injustice.
Abbasi said there should be no conflict between military and civil government portraying his or others’ statements on Geo TV. He said some channels are stocking fire. He said he heard at a channel that the prime minister is siding with Geo TV but the interior minister and some other people are on the other side.
Ansar Abbasi has said that a divide is being created because of them but for them, national interest is supreme. He said they would never want that a dark environment is created because of them in the country. He said they should submit to the law as they believe in institutions. He said those who oppose should put up all their complaints to Pemra. He added fire is being stocked by wrong interpretations of their statements and these issues should be brought before the institutions concerned.
Pakistan has no law to govern intelligence agencies: Umar Cheema - thenews.com.pk
Talking to Kamran Khan in ‘Aaj Kamran Khan Kay Sath’ show on Tuesday, Cheema said these intelligence agencies worked under the standard operating procedure due to which their work carried no legal value.
He said the Saleem Shahzad Commission report had also talked about intelligence reforms. He said even Bosnia had a law to govern the working of intelligence agencies.
He said a number of Central Asia states, which broke away from Russia, had suffered a lot at the hands of intelligence agencies and the first thing these states did after independence was that they introduced reforms for their intelligence agencies.
He said when Dr. Shoaib Suddle was DG Intelligence Bureau, he had made a law to govern the working of the agency but he was removed before he could present it to the government for presentation in Parliament.
He said the good omen for a county was that its rulers learn a lesson from their mistakes but unfortunately here in Pakistan we commit mistakes and repeat them. He said not even a single example existed in the United States where its premier intelligence agency CIA had ever kidnapped, attacked or killed a journalist.
Cheema mentioned the case of American computer professional and former employee of the CIA Edward Joseph Snowden. He said when Snowden was in the US he was not afraid of being abducted by the CIA and killed and dumped on the roadside rather he feared the US law.
He said one could imagine the consequences if someone in Pakistan had blown the whistle on the Inter-Services Intelligence or Military Intelligence (MI).Agreeing to Kamran Khan, Cheema said the CIA faced the allegation of killing President John F. Kennedy but there was not as much fuss and hue and cry from the intelligence agency against the accusation as was being witnessed in Pakistan these days.
He said a murder attempt had been made on senior journalist Hamid Mir and the channel pointed a finger at the ISI director general in the light of the attacked journalist’s statement that if something terrible happened to his life then the responsibility would lie with the agency. He said it was just an allegation but the security institutions were not ready to face it.
To a question, Cheema said that he was attacked in September 2010 after which he talked of ‘intelligence reforms’ and wrote many articles about it. “I did not talk of revenge and wanted to become part of the solution. Let’s find a solution to this problem. I also put blame on the ISI for beating me up. This should not happen to anyone,” Cheema said.
He further said, “Year 2014 has come. Mistakes can be made by anybody. Being a patriotic Pakistani, I think of the future of this country and am perturbed by it. We invest confidence over others but not in the Parliament. Whenever we see corruption, we expose it.”
To a question by Kamran Khan, Umer Cheema said that the ongoing talk on Geo was not of a single institution but of one personality. “We respect the ISI chief, but Hamid Mir is no lesser in status. He is a star anchor and has been attacked. He feels unsafe in his own country. He is afraid of those who are to save him, which for me as a Pakistani, is a shame,” he said, adding that a “Gentleman Agreement” was essential, and if not so, there should be legal limits for all.
To another question, Cheema said that the procedure for overall coverage should be changed. “Either we should not have aired the bakery-affair of Sharif family, or we should not have aired the picture of General Pasha with reference to Raymond Davis case? Moreover we should not have telecast the picture of DG IB when Benazir Bhutto was assassinated? Law should be equal for all,” he said.
Umar Cheema added that Hamid Mir had come to many people before this incident took place, and whatever he discussed was aired. He noted that the news with reference to ISI chief was aired and it is essential to present the picture of the person in question, which is a new phenomenon of electronic media. He further said that we were not mentally prepared for this new phenomenon in electronic media which had led to prejudice or obscurity. He said that when clarification came from DG ISPR, no one objected upon the airing of the picture of the DG. “Neither ISPR, nor ISI complained for telecasting his picture,” he clarified.
Responding to another query, journalist Umer Cheema said that back in 2010, his case was highlighted by the then opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar. “At that time Mian Nawaz Sharif also said that the ISI was involved in the case of Umer Cheema,” he said. Moreover, he said that at a certain stage, Chaudhry Nisar also demanded for the resignation of General Pasha, which led Cheema to question if law was not applicable in this case.
In response to a query, Cheema said that Chaudhry Nisar should clarify whether he was wrong then or right.In reply to a question, Umer Cheema said that the government’s spokesman Pervaiz Rashid had said many things between the lines. He said that those groups, who talked with arguments, were standing together with the government and civil society. He said that this statement was different from that of Chaudhry Nisar. “Perhaps the office of Chaudhry Sahib has some requirements, or he is playing the role of a fire fighter which he wants to retain,” Cheema said.
To a query, Cheema said that we knew only to rule over the ignorant. “We talk of only those things which the people want to listen to. If we turned to a different talk, they will call you a ‘traitor’. There is a dearth of media’s overall training. We should also enforce relevant code of conduct,” he added.
Umar Cheema, responding to a question, said that his opinion was not necessarily the prefect one. He added that everyone had his own opinion about a thing or two. He noted that if it could be highlighted that someone was being blamed then also Hamid Mir was not an ordinary man; he held a respectable status in journalism, and if his family said that they had his recorded statement, this was a newsworthy thing. However, he said that some people might not conform to this opinion, but he opined that a meeting should be held to decide whether or not this opinion be revisited, as there is always a room for improvement.
Speaking on the show, Editor Investigations ‘The News’ Ansar Abbasi, to a question Kamran Khan about his demand that the ISI chief should step down after the attack on Hamid Mir, said he had said that it was a serious allegation raised by Hamid Mir and his brother Amir Mir pointing a finger at the DG ISI. He said this allegation caused bashing of the institution and he thought that institution should be protected as individuals do not matter.
He said if he were in place of the DG ISI, he would have stepped down so that allegation is not made on the ISI and the institution is not bashed worldwide. He said many people including Mir’s brother shared his opinion.
Asked why he did not advocate going to court to prove the allegations, Abbasi said this matter is not about allegations and indictment. He said he is talking about respect of the institution as the whole world is bashing the ISI now. He said if the allegations are proved, it will be a matter of shame for the country. He said he wants to protect the ISI from bashing.
Kamran Khan pointed out that allegations were also levelled against Nawaz Shaif and Iftikhar Chaudhry but none of them left the office.Abbasi said what he had said was his opinion and not that of Geo TV. He said if his opinion is in violation of the Constitution, it should be taken to the court of law.
Kamran Khan again pointed to Arslan Iftikhar case and the fact that they did not at that time demanded that Iftikhar Chaudhry should leave office.Abbasi said Malik Riaz had told him that he had evidence against Arslan but he did not have any evidence against the then chief justice. He questioned if a son did something wrong, should the father be punished?
He said Hamid Mir is not an ordinary person. He said Hamid Mir had shared these allegations with many persons, so what should we do now? He said wrongly or rightly, Mir had shared his apprehensions with top management of Geo TV.
He said things should not be twisted. He repeated that DG ISI is not more important as an individual than the institution. He said he thinks that if you remove the DG, you save the institution of the ISI. He said it is his viewpoint which can be rejected.
He explained that this is not the opinion of his organisation. He said he often speaks against his organisation so when he is doing so, how can it be opinion of his organisation.
Kamran Khan questioned how things will be settled when the Defence Ministry has accessed the Pemra against Geo TV, and the Interior Ministry also disliked the coverage.
Ansar Abbasi said there should be a fair deal as he is a man of rule of law. He said he only called for a fair deal but his comments were stretched beyond limits. He said, “Leave me. I am a traitor. Every body in Jang Group is a ‘traitor’. We all should be given medals for being traitor.”
He said those levelling allegations against them should monitor their activities. He said totally free media is a dangerous thing. He said had Pemra been doing right things, it should have called Geo TV to restrict if any red line was being crossed. He said Pemra has asked the media to show restrain at the time of Chehlum tragedy in Rawalpindi because there was a risk of violence in the country.
He said why Pemra and the government were sleeping at the time of transmission of Hamid Mir attack. He questioned why Pemra did not make a phone call to mention that Hamid Mir’s allegations are wrong and these pictures should not be aired on the media. He said he has objections to the working of Pemra which took no notice of abuse of the former chief justice, adding that the government and the Pemra should regulate themselves.
Kamran Khan questioned how should they defend themselves at a time when the ministries of interior and defence are levelling serious allegations against them?
Ansar Abbasi said Pemra is the body to deal with media legally and the ministers criticising the media are not in apposition to do so. He said Pemra should hear the ministries. He said justice should done with them (media) and the Ministry of Defence. He said if an assurance for such a justice is made, then they should fully submit to the law. He said they could go to the independent judiciary in case of any injustice.
Abbasi said there should be no conflict between military and civil government portraying his or others’ statements on Geo TV. He said some channels are stocking fire. He said he heard at a channel that the prime minister is siding with Geo TV but the interior minister and some other people are on the other side.
Ansar Abbasi has said that a divide is being created because of them but for them, national interest is supreme. He said they would never want that a dark environment is created because of them in the country. He said they should submit to the law as they believe in institutions. He said those who oppose should put up all their complaints to Pemra. He added fire is being stocked by wrong interpretations of their statements and these issues should be brought before the institutions concerned.
Pakistan has no law to govern intelligence agencies: Umar Cheema - thenews.com.pk
