Dawn newspaper in trouble

[Irfan Baloch]

IN response to a news report published in Dawn on Thursday, Oct 6, the Office of the Prime Minister has issued yet another statement, strongly denying the contents and rejecting it as a fabrication.

This is the third contradiction issued by the PM office, the first one and then its revised and stronger version being released on October 6.

Following a meeting of the top civilian and military leadership on Monday, the latest PM office statement said, the participants expressed concern over the publication of a “fabricated news story” in Daily Dawn pertaining to security issues purportedly discussed in a meeting of National Security Committee last week.

The statement said, “the participants were unanimous that the published story was clearly violative of universally acknowledged principles of reporting on National Security issues and has risked the vital state interests through inclusion of inaccurate and misleading contents which had no relevance to actual discussion and facts”.

The participants felt that it was imperative that Print and Electronic media refrained itself from speculative reporting and issues of national security and interests of the state.

According to the statement, “Prime Minister took serious notice of the violation and directed that those responsible should be identified for stern action”.

NOTE: Dawn would like to clarify and state on the record several things. First, this newspaper considers it a sacred oath to its readers to pursue its reporting fairly, independently and, above all, accurately. The story that has been rejected by Prime Minister’s Office as a fabrication was verified, cross-checked and fact-checked.

Second, many at the helm of affairs are aware of the senior officials, and participants of the meeting, who were contacted by the newspaper for collecting information, and more than one source confirmed and verified the details.

Therefore, the elected government and state institutions should refrain from targeting the messenger, and scape-goating the country’s most respected newspaper in a malicious campaign. – Editor Dawn

ECL
According to reports, Dawn's member of staff Cyril Almeida, who wrote the news report "Act against militants or face international isolation, civilians tell military", has been put on the country's Exit Control List (ECL).



The ECL is a system of border control maintained by the Government of Pakistan under the Exit from Pakistan (Control) Ordinance. Those persons on the list are prohibited from leaving Pakistan.

on the face of it. ,.. the story was interesting .. forget the contents, the subject matter but ... just the fact that the powerful military & intelligence service can be questioned and advised.

but as the time passed.. the story got worse.

first.. the PMLn disassociated itself with the story and put the blame squarely on Dawn ( a signature deceitful nature use/ abuse & discard)

one can debate whether the civil servant actually raise these questions or not? and whether Shabaz Sherif really have that altercation in the same sitting or not? (if both PMLn and Army have denied that from happening then I have missed that).


the thing is.. Nawaz league is not disputing the contents of the story.. it is only denying the leak from its side. it is blaming Dawn of professional misconduct maybe? suggesting that it either fabricated the story or got it illegally.

issue here is the missing spine in the back of Nawaz who uses someone else's shoulder to speak his mind and fearing the potential reprisal disowns the story. .. but knows well that it has hurt the army and has pleased India as intended

Nawaz government continues to punish Dawn for publishing the story but has not made a clarification saying that it never blamed Pakistan military for its reluctance to go against the terrorist groups inside Punjab (because it is itself a hurdle against any Karachi like operation) after all Nawaz will count on the same terrorist and banned organisations to confront the PTI sit in which is planned in few weeks time.

please quote me any comments from ISPR on this subject. because it is confusing and hard to decide if this India friendly statement was really made by civilian leadership or not?

for me Leaking news is nothing! the thing is how can a civilian asked question from Respectable general, and that news was leaked. that's the problem.

in an ideal world with a real democracy civilian and military people can ask questions for the sake of the state.

respectable generals are part of the state and a civil servant with correct designation and authority can ask questions and seek clarification . this only helps in running the state of affairs of the country.

nothing wrong with that. its not even wrong suspecting and demanding clarification from any state institution.. .. what is wrong is leaking the story like a tabloid and then denying it.. it shows a petty and worthless face and non seriousness of the government
.

Yet another petty reminder that Pakistan is run for the convenience of those in power, not for its citizenry.

absolutely correct. civil or military power ...
you will have a different view
but what really grinds my gears is why government is acting so petty.. it leaks the story and then denies it leaked it?

if it took the plunge and built up the (Dutch) courage to ask the questions (on behalf of India)
then why shy away from officially boasting it to the channels that hey world rejoice.. democracy is in control and we have GHQ under the thumb..

whether the questions were legit or not is another discussion ..i am still not sure if they were really posed to the military brass?

the fall guy here is Dawn.. how it has been abused and abandoned by civilian government is... really sad

 

[Farah Sohail]

Now Ch Nisar will be doing a press conference today at 5:00 pm... Lets see what he has to say...

 

[SBD-3]

in an ideal world with a real democracy civilian and military people can ask questions for the sake of the state.

respectable generals are part of the state and a civil servant with correct designation and authority can ask questions and seek clarification . this only helps in running the state of affairs of the country.

nothing wrong with that. its not even wrong suspecting and demanding clarification from any state institution.. .. what is wrong is leaking the story like a tabloid and then denying it.. it shows a petty and worthless face and non seriousness of the government

Btw what's that "read democracy"? Looks like this is the unicorn about which everyone talks about but its yet to be found, for like ever. For 60 years the Military Junta has been ousting the political setups in search of this "real democracy" only to be colluding with the same or similar faces to keep their political ambitions alive and afloat. Not a single time, the Junta has fulfilled the promise of bringing this "real democracy" despite using it every second or third day to undermine the civic setup and their own image building.

 

[pak-marine]

Reaction to Dawn story
EDITORIAL — UPDATED A DAY AGO
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356 COMMENTS

THERE are times in a news organisation’s history that determine its adherence to the highest principles of journalism — its duty to inform the public objectively, accurately and fearlessly.

This paper recently reported an extraordinary closed-door meeting between top government and intelligence officials where the foreign secretary briefed them on what he saw as Pakistan’s growing international isolation; following this, there was a discussion on the impediments in the way of dealing with the problem of militancy in the country.

The fallout of the story has been intense, and on Tuesday evening, the government placed Dawn’s senior writer, Cyril Almeida, on the Exit Control List.

While any media organisation can commit an error of judgement and Dawn is no exception, the paper believes it handled the story in a professional manner and carried it only after verification from multiple sources.

Moreover, in accordance with the principles of fair and balanced journalism, for which Dawn is respected not only in Pakistan but also internationally, it twice carried the denials issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.

Journalism has a long and glorious tradition of keeping its promise to its audience even in the face of enormous pressure brought to bear upon it from the corridors of power. Time has proved this to be the correct stance. Some of the most contentious yet historically significant stories have been told by news organisations while resisting the state’s narrow, self-serving and ever-shifting definition of ‘national interest’.

One could include in this list, among others, the Pentagon Papers detailing US government duplicity in its conduct of the Vietnam War; the Abu Ghraib pictures that exposed torture of prisoners at the hands of US soldiers in Iraq; the WikiLeaks release in 2010 of US State Department diplomatic communications; and Edward Snowden’s disclosure of the National Security Agency’s global surveillance system.

Even more so in Pakistan, where decades of a militarised security environment have undermined the importance of holding the state to account — something that certain sections of the media have become complicit in despite their long, hard-won struggle for freedom — such a furore as generated by the Dawn report was not unexpected.

However, this news organisation will continue to defend itself robustly against any allegation of vested interest, false reporting or violation of national security.

As gatekeeper of information that was “verified, cross-checked and fact-checked”, the editor of this paper bears sole responsibility for the story in question. The government should at once remove Mr Almeida’s name from the ECL and salvage some of its dignity.

Published in Dawn October 12th, 2016


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[airmarshal]

This is Hussain Haqqani episode repeated over again.

When you have crooks in country's highest offices, who should be in jail instead, this is the end result.

These crooks having undermined all institutions of the country see army as a threat to their existence. Even if army stays neutral in politics, they wont budge from actions that will in one way or another harm the army standing. They want army like NAB, FIA, judiciary and police - compliant and politically compromised institution.

This leak was deliberate. If 4 people are talking something important, how difficult it is to determine who leaked that important info? The govt knows it. At the same time Cyril was put on Exit Control List giving the impression that civilian govt is weak and its the GHQ which prevails in internal and external affairs of the country.

It wanted to play up to the Indian and American gallery. These crook politicians want power, whatever the cost. The theme in the region is to bolster Indian hegemony with American assistance to purportedly stand up to rising China. Nawaz or Zardari will do everything to signal to Americans that they are willing to fall in line but its the army which stands in the way.

 

[HAIDER]

Now Ch Nisar will be doing a press conference today at 5:00 pm... Lets see what he has to say...

Your are right , Ch Nisar press conference was very much cleared the situation. But, it is not that simple , Dawn reporter is in trouble due to some facts mention by Ch Nisar. Inquiry in progress. But anyway, must watch or post Ch Nisar press conference all detail he has provided. " central character in ECL list". His news get more coverage in Indian newspaper.
Govt and military only asking him the name of person who provided him this story....

on the face of it. ,.. the story was interesting .. forget the contents, the subject matter but ... just the fact that the powerful military & intelligence service can be questioned and advised.

but as the time passed.. the story got worse.

first.. the PMLn disassociated itself with the story and put the blame squarely on Dawn ( a signature deceitful nature use/ abuse & discard)

one can debate whether the civil servant actually raise these questions or not? and whether Shabaz Sherif really have that altercation in the same sitting or not? (if both PMLn and Army have denied that from happening then I have missed that).


the thing is.. Nawaz league is not disputing the contents of the story.. it is only denying the leak from its side. it is blaming Dawn of professional misconduct maybe? suggesting that it either fabricated the story or got it illegally.

issue here is the missing spine in the back of Nawaz who uses someone else's shoulder to speak his mind and fearing the potential reprisal disowns the story. .. but knows well that it has hurt the army and has pleased India as intended

Nawaz government continues to punish Dawn for publishing the story but has not made a clarification saying that it never blamed Pakistan military for its reluctance to go against the terrorist groups inside Punjab (because it is itself a hurdle against any Karachi like operation) after all Nawaz will count on the same terrorist and banned organisations to confront the PTI sit in which is planned in few weeks time.

please quote me any comments from ISPR on this subject. because it is confusing and hard to decide if this India friendly statement was really made by civilian leadership or not?



in an ideal world with a real democracy civilian and military people can ask questions for the sake of the state.

respectable generals are part of the state and a civil servant with correct designation and authority can ask questions and seek clarification . this only helps in running the state of affairs of the country.

nothing wrong with that. its not even wrong suspecting and demanding clarification from any state institution.. .. what is wrong is leaking the story like a tabloid and then denying it.. it shows a petty and worthless face and non seriousness of the government
.


absolutely correct. civil or military power ...
you will have a different view
but what really grinds my gears is why government is acting so petty.. it leaks the story and then denies it leaked it?

if it took the plunge and built up the (Dutch) courage to ask the questions (on behalf of India)
then why shy away from officially boasting it to the channels that hey world rejoice.. democracy is in control and we have GHQ under the thumb..

whether the questions were legit or not is another discussion ..i am still not sure if they were really posed to the military brass?

the fall guy here is Dawn.. how it has been abused and abandoned by civilian government is... really sad

Reporter should name the source and cool down the situation. According to the govt Dwan breach the national security and posted very irresponsible news without any verification from top govt source.

 

[Farah Sohail]

This is Hussain Haqqani episode repeated over again.

When you have crooks in country's highest offices, who should be in jail instead, this is the end result.

These crooks having undermined all institutions of the country see army as a threat to their existence. Even if army stays neutral in politics, they wont budge from actions that will in one way or another harm the army standing. They want army like NAB, FIA, judiciary and police - compliant and politically compromised institution.

This leak was deliberate. If 4 people are talking something important, how difficult it is to determine who leaked that important info? The govt knows it. At the same time Cyril was put on Exit Control List giving the impression that civilian govt is weak and its the GHQ which prevails in internal and external affairs of the country.

It wanted to play up to the Indian and American gallery. These crook politicians want power, whatever the cost. The theme in the region is to bolster Indian hegemony with American assistance to purportedly stand up to rising China. Nawaz or Zardari will do everything to signal to Americans that they are willing to fall in line but its the army which stands in the way.

You know what the sad part is? Sad part is tht this will also end unlike Hussain Haqqan'is memo scandal...tht is NO punishment for anyone... if our establishment is ok & fine with it..tht they want to be insulted again and again by these politicians and do nothing abt it...then as they wish....

 

[Danish saleem]

basically you can not ask questions from Particular institution! if you ask then how u dare that,

and where is champion of democracy IK on that issue, he i hope he will support dawn news.

 

[wiseone2]

but what really grinds my gears is why government is acting so petty.. it leaks the story and then denies it leaked it?

that is part of statecraft in Washington DC

 

[SBD-3]

Your are right , Ch Nisar press conference was very much cleared the situation. But, it is not that simple , Dawn reporter is in trouble due to some facts mention by Ch Nisar. Inquiry in progress. But anyway, must watch or post Ch Nisar press conference all detail he has provided. " central character in ECL list". His news get more coverage in Indian newspaper.
Govt and military only asking him the name of person who provided him this story....


Reporter should name the source and cool down the situation. According to the govt Dwan breach the national security and posted very irresponsible news without any verification from top govt source.

Probably its about time your stage a protest infront of white house and ask your very own Jhon Kirby to stop calling Hafiz Saeed an "avowed terrorist".

The United States on Wednesday refused to respond to Jamaat-ul-Dawa Chief Hafiz Saeed’s comments regarding its relations with Pakistan.

The US Department of State spokesperson John Kirby said he will not dignify comments of any avowed terrorist after Hafiz Saeed earlier said that the US is the real enemy of Pakistan.

John Kirby said, “The US is committed to working with Pakistan to eliminate terrorism and urged Pakistan to shut down access to areas within its borders to terrorists, terrorist individuals and terrorist groups.”
http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/201...z-saeeds-comments-on-relations-with-pakistan/
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/us-decline...ttack-mastermind-hafiz-saeeds-remarks-1586167

basically you can not ask questions from Particular institution! if you ask then how u dare that,

and where is champion of democracy IK on that issue, he i hope he will support dawn news.

He plays for his petty political gains. His brain lacks the capacity to think about strategic issues.

 

[Zibago]

basically you can not ask questions from Particular institution! if you ask then how u dare that,

and where is champion of democracy IK on that issue, he i hope he will support dawn news.

Why has dalil waley Ch Nisar put his name on ECL?
Dont blame others for your own shit

 

[Danish saleem]

Why has dalil waley Ch Nisar put his name on ECL?
Dont blame others for your own shit

brother,

what 's IK stance on that issue?

 

[Zibago]

brother,

what 's IK stance on that issue?

I,ll tell you that after you tell me real stance of pmln
Some say their minister informed Almeida and he is just being trampled in an inter institutional fight


Some folks here even want another Hussain Haqani clone in shape of Cyril

 

[HAIDER]

PMLN wants confrontation with military to win next election.....playing victim..diversion from Leaks and corruption.

 

[iPhone]

Nawaz might be getting back at the military for their role in the 2014 Imran khan's sit-ins. when IK used to boast about the third empire and if the reports are to be believed the PML-n escaped the military coup by the skin of their teeth.