Ambassador of USA to Pakistan Mr. Raphael was a guest speaker in a seminar arranged by Area Study Center of Quaid I Azam University Islamabad, we the students of M.phil US Studies were the only audience, our professors and some other dignitaries were also present in Library hall of ASC, at the end of the lecture from Ambassador Raphael, I was having a chit chat with my American Professor Mr. Louis D Hayes and his pretty wife madam Syndy, my class fellow Mada Khan Mehsood of South Waziristan had interrupted and I came out from the hall with him, he had said Mr. Raziq you are looking too smart in this black suit, if I became prime minister of Pakistan, I’ll make you foreign minister of this country and you will remain abroad on tour during my tenure because all the girls are on your side and I feel bad when no girl takes interest in me, I laughed and came back to the hall to meet the guest speaker. I was greatly encouraged by Professor Khalid Rasheed to start writing for an English daily in which he was also working as part time employee, when obediently I had accepted his suggestion to start writing a column in English daily “The Muslim” I never had an idea about difficult situation which the writers and journalists were facing in Pakistan, during Nawaz Sharif era our beloved senior journalist and writer Dr. Maleeha Loodhi was arrested and on state controlled government electronic media prime minister Nawaz Sharif had suggested death sentence for her, then I had realized that journalists in Pakistan are in a very serious trouble, since last 20 years I am in this profession and have always managed to steer clear from troubled waters, when General Musharf came into power he has appointed Dr. Maleeha Loodhi as ambassador of Pakistan to Great Britain, she is still their.
The reign of terror unleashed on journalists on 29th of September 2007 in Islamabad was showing its symptoms a week earlier, I was facing constant derogatory remarks from traffic police men posted in Kohat district, they reached to extreme on 30th of September when I came to Kohat main bazaar for shopping heavy contingent of police was present their shopkeepers were screaming while looking at me go back go back they will attack you, I calmly did the shopping and have returned back towards my residence, near National Bank Building in Kohat when I was about to cross the road a speedy public transport vehicle just pounced on me and stopped at distance of few inches, when I looked angrily towards the driver a traffic policeman in uniform was sitting along with him. I had just given him a bad look and have safely reached my residence within next fifteen minutes.
Economic strangulation of journalists and writers specially those with higher qualification is order of the day in Pakistan, Associated Press of Pakistan a government news agency without any fear of God or court of law exploits the journalist by forcefully employing them without taking into consideration their qualification at minimum wages like 60 dollars a month or so, talking through my personal experience with Associated Press of Pakistan, I was threatened by Nawaz Sharif regime and was forced to join Associated Press of Pakistan, in my appointment letter it was clearly mentioned that I am not entitled to any medical insurance or pension and my initial salary was less then twenty dollars a month now it is raised to 60 dollars per month three months ago, I use my family finances to work as writer and Journalist, good point about General Parvez Musharaf is that he has given permission for establishment of private TV channels and state control media is considerably free now, but extremely corrupt state machinery is now at logger heads with the exploited and economically strangulated journalists community, I wonder whether UN Secretary General will take notice of this situation and will form a special committee to probe into this matter.
Submitted by
Abdur Raziq