Islamabad: Hundreds of Urdu-language newspapers and magazines, most of them simples of jingoism, are published in Pakistan but Aaj Kal is the first that has a moderate, reasonable and rational approach which is affiliated by an English newspaper Daily Times.
Now the newspaper and its staff are under threat from the extremists who don’t like media freedom and realistic approaches.
According to a press release issued by Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), clerics at the Islamabad’s Red Mosque have repeatedly issued inflammatory statements aimed at the newspaper and its staff.
‘The accusations leave them vulnerable to attack by militant groups at a time when civil violence is on the rise’ added the release.
Umme Hassan cartoon
According to the press release, which quotes owner of the paper Najam Sethi, a renowned journalist and writer, ‘On July 09, Aaj Kal published a cartoon depicting Umme Hassan, wife of cleric Abdul Aziz, who had been jailed after last year’s fighting. The cartoon showed her calling for resistance among her followers and their children. Hassan, who had led the women’s branch of the well-known seminary, which police closed after last year’s raid, is on record making statements similar to the ones the cartoon portrays, according to Reuters.’
The release further adds, ‘Hassan and other groups affiliated with the mosque demonstrated on July 11 against the cartoon and the broader anti-extremism and anti-terrorism editorial policy of Aaj Kal’.
Threats to the paper
Hassan, says release, held a press conference on Monday in Islamabad in which she characterized the cartoon as an affront to Islam equivalent to the Danish cartoons ridiculing the Prophet Muhammad published last year, according to Sethi. On Wednesday, Hassan attended a mullah’s conference in Lahore and repeated strong statements classifying the newspaper as anti-Islamic, Sethi said. She has “accused us of blaspheming and including us in the category of anti-Islamic elements who attacked the Lal Masjid a year ago. Those people are now the target of suicide bombers,” Sethi said.
Following the July 11 demonstration, anonymous callers threatened staff in the paper’s Islamabad offices. They warned us “not to test their patience,” Sethi said. After Wednesday’s statements, more threats were called in to Aaj Kal offices in Lahore, according to Sethi. The paper has offices in Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi.
Condemnation of the threats
The threats are undoubtedly an aggressive attack on the freedom of media. The extremists praise only those newspapers that make false claims and reports of the non-existed popularity of the extremists and threat those who has realistic approach and against the killing of the people.
CPJ takes these threats very seriously, says the release. Made in the context of the widespread civil unrest and violence in Pakistan, anyone who is considered an enemy of the mosque’s supporters, particularly those who work for a civilian media organization, is at great risk
We note that Minister of Information Sherry Rehman and Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif have condemned the threats, according to Pakistani news reports, and that Minister Rehman has promised to help increase the paper’s security at its offices. We urge you to ensure that all steps necessary to ensuring the safety of the newspaper’s staff are taken, and that these threats are fully investigated and addressed under the law, the release urged.