Sensitive matters: PM to Altaf: Think twice before speaking

Says MQM chief’s apology ‘good gesture’; urges media to abide by code

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday called MQM chief Altaf Hussain’s apology over his unsavoury remarks against the army a ‘good gesture’ but said one should think twice before speaking on sensitive matters, especially those of national importance.

The statement came a day after chief military spokesperson Maj Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa said Altaf’s irresponsible remarks and use the media to incite the people of Pakistan to rise against the state would be pursued legally. The MQM chief, however, apologised and said his remarks were meant to be ‘sarcasm’.



Referring to the MQM chief’s controversial televised speech on Thursday night, Premier Nawaz said such “irresponsible statements not only hurt the integrity of the national institutions but also the feelings of the people”.

“It is the government’s responsibility to protect the integrity of the armed forces, because the institution is in charge of the country’s defence and security,” he added.

A day earlier, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) issued show-cause notices to 14 private television channels that had aired Altaf’s speech. Urging the media to abide by the Constitution and the code of conduct, Nawaz asked them to ensure that irresponsible statements that are against national interest are not aired in the future.

A senior member of the Nawaz Sharif cabinet, meanwhile, said the government was “awaiting answers to the show-cause notices served by Pemra to media houses”.



“No one will be allowed to compromise on national security,” Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid said. “The process of transparency under Pemra and the law will be taken to its logical conclusion.” Speaking to journalists at the Karachi airport, Rashid urged the media houses to block transmission of derogatory remarks against the national security institutions and the judiciary. The Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, but it should be within parameters defined by the statute book, he added. “We all must abide by the restrictions about expression as embodied in the Constitution.”

He reminded the electronic media of the code of conduct devised by Pemra and the one formed by media representatives themselves. He said the government was acting according to the Constitution and expected the same from others.

Rashid said the person making disparaging remarks about Pakistan’s security institutions was facing two cases, of murder and money laundering in London. He said that in London Altaf Hussain fully abided by law and cooperated with Scotland Yard and even did not hesitate to visit the police station to explain his position in the money laundering case.

“Altaf Hussain has shown full respect of the law in London. We expect the same attitude from him towards the Pakistani law,” he added.

Asked if the government would initiate legal action against Altaf under Article 6 of the Constitution, the minister said it was a legal issue that would be looked into by legal experts. However, he said, the law would take its course.

“It is not fair that a common man is punished for a violation of traffic rules and the influential one goes unscathed for ridiculing the institutions and abrogating the Constitution,” he said. “We have started doing away with this culture.”

In his Thursday night address following the explosive speech of SSP Rao Anwar to party workers at Nine-Zero, the MQM chief had criticised army officers who had surrendered in during the fall of Dhaka in 1971. He also asked his supporters to seek commando training and learn to use weapons to ‘prepare for the battles ahead’.

“I request RAW to openly support us, just once, and give us arms. And then we shall tell them who the RAW agents are: us or those who surrendered,” Altaf had said in an indirect reference to the 1971 war that led to the creation of Bangladesh.

But on Friday, the MQM chief apologised for his controversial remarks and claimed his statement about seeking help from RAW was meant to be sarcasm. “If my words have hurt the national security institutions, then I apologise from the bottom of my heart. I respected the Pakistan Army yesterday and I respect the army today,” he said.


Published in The Express Tribune, May 3^rd, 2015.