ISI smear campaign: Geo tried to bribe SIC, says Hamid Raza

Sunni Ittehad Council chief says Geo offered Rs20m if they did not protest against its smear campaign against ISI.

Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief  Sahibzada Hamid Raza has said that Geo News tried to bribe them and offered them Rs20 million if they did not protest against its smear campaign against the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Talking to anchor Mubasshir Lucman in a private TV channel show, Hamid Raza claimed that Geo offered them money through indirect channels, which they refused. “When people alleged that we have become an agent of Pakistan Army. We replied that at least we are not working for RAW or Mossad,” he said.

He said Geo had launched a misleading campaign to lead people away from the idea of Pakistan. He said 65 years after the creation of Pakistan Geo was telling people that Pakistan was not formed on the basis of two nation theory. “I want to know what Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority is doing to stop these violations?” he asked.

Following the attack on anchorperson Hamid Mir, Geo TV had put the blame on the ISI chief and launched a marathon campaign against him.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2014.