"The neutrality of journalists while reporting is the real journalism."
Chehra WebDesk
Mashood ul Rashid
People call journalists and media; journalists are rich, enveloped journalists are even awarded with words like blackmailer and extortion; media does not raise the voice of people's problems. When the poor shopkeeper stands with the police, lawyer, bureaucrat, or politician with the power of law in society, any powerful classes are oppressing him. Is it true that a journalist is the voice of any type or individual who is affected? The course reaches out to these people to make peace; in this way, peace is made between the oppressor and the oppressed, but the oppressor then becomes the enemy of the life of the journalist who spreads the news. The information was given for the sake of the oppressed people. Yes, they leave the journalist alone, and then the journalist is targeted.
One such story is from District Toba Tek Singh, where Mian Ishtiaq a journalist reports on social media about a fight at a mobile shop in May 2021, CCTV footage of which is also in the public domain. In which some lawyers and other elements are killing a person, Mian Ishtiaq's news comes close to action.
Mian Asad Bashir, Advocate, and Ahsan Baig, Advocate, who belong to Gojra Bar, are included in the reconciliation. At the same time, journalist Mian Ishtiaq is not called in the reconciliation, but when Mian Ishtiaq shares the CCTV footage on social media, he gets many complaints. They also receive death threats, which they apply to the local administrative officers. Still, the local bar's lawyers are tortured in the courtroom by spreading false and baseless propaganda against Mian Ishtiaq that Mian Ishtiaq is a fake lawyer. Then, they handed over to the local DSP, Mian Waqar. The local DSP, Mian Waqar, has the position of both sides, but instead of investigating both sides, the DSP succumbed to the pressure of the lawyers and became a journalist Mian. FIR No. 779/21 under section 420 was registered on 4 August 2021 in Ishtiaq, fictitious Police Station City Gojra.
When Mian Ishtiaq is presented in the local court, the court is also pressured by the local bar. Still, after hearing both parties stand, the court approved the bail of journalist Mian Ishtiaq, and at the same time, journalist Mian Ishtiaq was granted bail. It is also allowed to obtain the medico-legal. The medico-legal proves that Mian Ishtiaq has been tortured, and his hearing and eardrum have been affected.
Mian Ishtiaq's lawyer, Mohammad Ramzan Advocate, says a false FIR against journalist Mian Ishtiaq was registered under Section 420 in the General Secretary of Gojra Bar Ayaz Afzal Basra complaint. Still, DSP Gojra Mian Waqar has been under investigation since an inquiry regarding the same. No inquiry report has yet come that journalist Mian Ishtiaq was tortured by lawyers in Gojra Kachhari for publishing a Facebook post and a CCTV video footage on social media. On the other hand, among the lawyers, Mian Asad Bashir was also the opposing counsel in the family cases of journalist Mian Ishtiaq. There is no truth in the allegations made against them.
On the next day after Mian Ishtiaq arrest, on the occasion of his appearance in the court, the court granted Mian Ishtiaq bail, and due to Mian Ishtiaq injuries, Mian Ishtiaq was allowed to get medico-legal from Civil Hospital Gojra. Medical No. 21/704 and cross-version on the same medico-legal report were registered on September 10 2021, under Sections 336/337A1/148/149 in Police Station City Gojra, but the accused were not arrested due to which Mian Ishtiaq Peace had to be made.
Similarly, FIR No. 21/779 of Section 420 filed against journalist Mian Ishtiaq on August 4, 2021, in police station City Gojra was dismissed by the court due to non-compliance of the lawyers and in the cross version filed in Mian Ishtiaq complaint. The lawyers were not arrested. When pressure was put on the local police to arrest them, the Gojra Press was accused of revealing the president and members of the Gojra Press Club, Gojra, on behalf of Muhammad Junaid Haider Bajwa, Advocate, to blackmail the journalists on behalf of the lawyers. Additional Sessions Judge Zubair Ghori filed a writ petition against Club Gojra President Zulfikar Ali Province, General Secretary Mashhood Rasheed and members Ghulam Murtaza and Mian Ishtiaq for fake journalism on September 13, 2021. District Police Officer and Municipal Committee. After calling for a report from Gojra and Society Registration Branch, the case of cross FIR filed by journalist Mian Ishtiaq against lawyers Mian Asad Bashir, Ahsan Baig, Junaid Haider Bajwa and writ petition filed by lawyers was consolidated. Later, on November 25, 2021, the lawyers were granted bail, and the writ petition filed against the journalists was also dismissed on the ground that it was a dispute between two groups of journalists, Gojra Press Club and Tehsil Press Club, and the petitioner Junaid Haider Bajwa. The one who has filed the writ petition against the journalists is the named accused in the case filed by the journalist Mian Ishtiaq under a false name. The lawyers were granted bail in the filed case, and the writ petition filed against the journalists was also dismissed.
After that, the local police do not take any action against the local lawyers even after receiving the medico-legal report. Journalist Mian Ishtiaq goes around the Regional Police Office Faisalabad for a few days, and finally, on the orders of the Regional Police Officer, he issues orders to establish a cross-version. The cross version is established, but the local police do not arrest the accused. Rather, the lawyers take the help of the local police and the local court to prove Mian Ishtiaq is a fake lawyer and a fake journalist. Provides relief to and provides relief to lawyers in cases against lawyers.
Public Relations Officer Attaullah says that in case of objection to any investigation process that has been done according to the law, the higher officers can be re-investigated by applying to the Regional Police Officer or IG Punjab. Spokesman of the District Administration It is said that this is a matter between journalists and lawyers, as per the written decision of the session court that this is a dispute between two rival groups of Journalists called Gojra Press Club and Tehsil Press Club, on which the police department has the authority to take legal action, and the administration accepts the police position as correct.
The shopkeeper says that it can be seen in the CCTV footage how the hooliganism was done, but due to the influence of the opponents, i.e. lawyers, and due to the fact that they came to my house and begged me, I forgave and reconciled. It was deemed appropriate to do so because they are always in the courts and will continue to register various cases against me, due to which I had to settle.
Advocate Mian Asad Bashir took the position that in order to do journalism, it is necessary to take the stand of all the parties to describe any news. If this position were to be explained, the balance of the news would have been maintained, and no action would have been taken against the journalist. Secondly, in a sacred profession like journalism, the use of words on Facebook and social media should be considered. It is important to follow the values, and the journalist becomes news himself when he does not follow these journalistic principles. Education should be necessary for journalists.
Advocate Ahsan Baig and Advocate Junaid Haider Bajwa say that they were not present at the scene of the incident at the mobile shop, so it is not appropriate to blame them for such an incident or to misrepresent the incident. Or if the dispute is with a lawyer or a lawyer's brother and he is being abused, then blaming the whole community of lawyers and lawyers who respect the law is not correct to blame a single person on a community.
So the Journalist should not be biased, and "The neutrality of journalists while reporting is the real journalism."
Note: This research report is part of the Fellowship Program under the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF).
