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Alert

Punjab government bans paper before first issue can appear

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF has called on the federal government and Punjab provincial authorities to publicly explain why they had banned the new daily "Islamabad Times" before it could put out its first issue. The organisation also demanded the release of the paper's printer, his son and two employees who were arrested.

RSF suspects the ban was a new move against editor Masood Malik, who had angered President Pervez Musharraf three years ago (see IFEX alert of 26 July 2001).

On 31 August 2004, plainclothes officials went to the printing works in Rawalpindi where the Urdu-language paper was being put together for its launch on 6 September and ordered work on it to stop. When printer Malik Abdul Aziz asked why, the officials left and returned with police who arrested the four, closed the works and seized equipment.

Malik told RSF he had obtained all necessary authorisation from administrative officials to start up the paper. Government officials have refused to comment on the ban. Malik said he suspected the federal government was involved.

In its 2002 Annual report, RSF wrote: "On 20 July 2001, Masood Malik, chief reporter of the right-wing Urdu daily 'Nawa-i-Waqt', was sanctioned by the newspaper's editors only a few hours after asking the Pakistani president a question during a press conference. The journalist asked General Musharraf, who had just returned from the Indo-Pakistani summit in Agra (India), if it wouldn't have been easier for a democratically-elected head of state to obtain an agreement with the Indian president. General Musharraf replied by asking the journalist if "he was joking". A few hours later, Malik learned that he had been removed from the newspaper's investigation desk. According to the private newspaper "Dawn", this sanction could be due to pressure from the authorities, especially the Press Information Department in charge of regulating the Pakistani press. The Department denied putting pressure on the editors of 'Nawa-i-Waqt'."