The attempt by Jang/Geo group journalists to sabotage the Cable Operators Association of Pakistan press conference at Karachi Press Club (KPC) has created a rift between the journalists’ community, isolating over a dozen members of the Jang Group who engaged in a physical clash with the cable operators to allegedly thwart the latter’s so-called “anti-Geo” press conference.
The KPC’s governing body convened an urgent meeting on Saturday that lasted for three hours and took a strong exception to Friday’s episode. The act to sabotage the conference is believed to be unprecedented in the club’s decades-long history.
The governing body decided to suspend the council membership of Azam Ali, a senior Jang Group member who is accused of initiating the row. The maximum punishment Ali faces is the “termination” of his council membership, said KPC President Imtiaz Khan Faran, who also is a Jang Group employee from Urdu-language daily Awam.
If found guilty, other council members from the media group would be served show-cause notices, he said.
The governing body agreed that journalists would not become party to the ongoing institutional conflict in the country. The body, however, was unequivocal in clarifying that the journalists would not tolerate the closure of any television channel or newspaper.
Speaking to Pakistan Today, Khan said, “We have decided not to allow the closure of any kind of media organisation. We will resist any such move tooth and nail. We are against the closure of media organisations.”
RIFT IN KPC: The KPC body also constituted two committees to find facts and bridge the differences that have risen among working journalists after Friday’s unfortunate event. However, none of KPC’s several council members from Jang Group were inducted in the two committees to keep the working of the committees “impartial”.
Some senior members from Burna Group of Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) have reportedly accused the KPC’s current Dastoory-dominated governing body of siding with Jang Group in aftermath of the journalist’s clash at KPC.
Speaking to Pakistan Today, the KPC president said, “As president of KPC, I always treat all club members equally, without any prejudice,” adding that he does not compromise on rules.
A five-member committee, headed by Saeed Sarbazi, has been formed to probe the matter. “We will act on the basis of the report that the fact-finding committee will submit,” said Khan.
The committee, comprising Irshad Khokhar, Bachal Leghari, AH Khanzada and Shams Keerio, is required to submit its report within a week.
According to Khan, the second committee constituted is tasked with addressing divisions between the media persons. The four-member committee is consists of senior journalists Khursheed Tanvir, Maqsood Yousafi, Imtiaz Khan Faran and Amir Lateef.
“Our priority is to maintain the club’s decorum and bring the journalists closer to each other,” said Khan. Khan said that the KPC governors also have taken notice of the “derogatory” remarks made by the cable operators against the journalists. “We will also take appropriate action against them, if required,” he said.
On the other hand, the management of the country’s largest media group has distanced itself from the attempts made by its journalist employees to sabotage the cable operators’ press conference.
Khan said, “Yesterday, we met the Jang management which said whatever happened had nothing to do with it,” KPC president Khan said.
When questioned if he was facing pressure from his management, being a Jang Group employee, Khan replied in the negative saying, “Never ever was I to do a certain thing despite the fact that I have been officiating on many significant posts at KPC.”
