Protecting the source

The Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court, Justice Musheer Alam, has asked all media stakeholders to assist the court with the issue of disclosure of journalists source, and called them for a hearing on March 6. The question of the ‘source’ arose during the hearing of the petition filed by the wife of reporter Shamim who, according to a leading Urdu newspaper, was arrested in connection with the murder of MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq.

After the police and intelligence agencies denied having custody of Shamim, the court enquired the reporter, Aga Khalid, who had filed the story, about the news and its ‘source’. The reporter was resolute about the evidence in his story but refused to disclose his source.

Intelligence agencies do pick up people for questioning and keep them in custody for months, in some cases, even for years, without disclosing their formal arrest. Pakistan’s history is full of such cases. Therefore, if you are filing any such story, the reliability of your source is very important. It is the responsibility of the reporter concerned to play it safe in instances where he or she has no evidence for back-up. The burden of truth is on the reporter’s shoulder.

A few years back, a reporter of a private TV channel provided breaking news that the government had decided to notify the restoration of the judges of the Supreme Court (SC). Following the report, all Supreme Court judges decided to stay back in the SC building till the government clarified its position. Even though the government denied it, the Court wanted it in writing.

All this led to complete uncertainty in the country. The government blamed the media for ‘irresponsible reporting’, and constituted a committee headed by Mr Hameed Haroon, the then President of the APNS. Other members were from Pemra, the Pakistan Broadcasters Association, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists and the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors.

The committee submitted its four-page report. Its findings also address the issue of ‘source’. It observed that in case of the sensitive nature of reporting, it is always important for the reporter to verify the news from more than one source. In the case of Shamim, the reporter should have taken the view of the ministry of law into account.

Reporters committed the same mistake when reporting on the release of Sarabjeet Singh where, in fact, Sarjeet Singh’s release order had been issued. In this case also, we failed to get the reaction from the ministry concerned or presidency. The government, on its part, issued a belated clarification.

In Mir Murtaza Bhutto’s case, the Dawn reporter stood by his story and refused to disclose the source before the judicial commission headed by Justice (retd) Nasir Aslam Zahid. But he also had evidence to defend his case and was on a strong footing.

The protection of source is an essential part of journalism. In some countries, the laws are quite strict and the journalists are supposed to disclose the source, if it is in the interest of the public. The logic is very simple. If I disclosed the source of my story today, who will give me the news tomorrow? But it is always better that the reporters also know how to protect the source and how to report news of sensitive nature.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 5^th, 2013.