A Grave Error: Letter to the Editor in Response to ones own Obituary

On 27th September Dr. Farhat Taj in the article titled “The Taliban and Salarzais” reported that Malik Munsaib Khan had died in an attack to say

The same day they informed me on telephone that Malik Munasib Khan, the spokesman of the Salarzai lashkar, had been killed. They held the ISI responsible for his killing

Interestingly Malik Munsaib Khan happended to read his own obituary and responded to Dr. Farhat in a letter to the editor “I am Alive” published a day later to say

…. I am very much alive and can be contacted on telephone no 0300-7044755. It is highly regrettable that the news of someone’s death is published without verification. The writer must apologise for the trauma caused to my family and well-wishers. – Malik Munasib Khan” — OOPS

Credit: Five Rupees


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17 responses to “A Grave Error: Letter to the Editor in Response to ones own Obituary”

  1. temporal Avatar

    shooting from the hip

    talk of responsible journalism

    very few of them research or verify

    that is why the rumour mills are always in full swing

  2. Talkhaba Avatar

    Farhat Taj exposed!

  3. farrah shah Avatar
    farrah shah

    How safe is it to say ,"I am alive?" is the question.

    so if they have missed they should come and get you.

    It just shows the caos…

    Met someone from Afghanistan here .He said his brother was killed at the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

    Do not know,Who killed him?

    Why he was killed?

    Was it Pakistanis?

    Was it US?

    Was it locals?

    WHO and WHY?

    …………………….

    Endless people burried in nameless graves

    When a person dies how do you know he was Afghani ?

    He was a Pakistani

    He was an American who got a lot of TAn due to long posting in Afghanistan………

    The tragedy is death

    people waiting with empty eyes

    not knowing what happened to their loved ones……..

    Why nobody talks about it?????????

  4. shaista Avatar

    Proliferation of ‘journalists’…

    there is a rush to take the credit of saying “yeh khabar sab se pehlay aap tak—–pohncha raha hai”

  5. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    Transparency in Pakistan’s Media, Benazir and the US

    http://www.yousufnazar.com/

    December 26, 2008

    By Yousuf Nazar

    The credibility of the government is low but so is the credibility of the media. The media coverage, with some exceptions, is compromised by commercial interests and the agencies. Also, there is no transparency in terms of ownership, business interests, and finances.

    The politicians and the establishment get a lot of flak but it is about time the self-righteous media takes a critical look at its own state of affairs. We complain about dynasties in politics but is the media any better or different?

    Let us talk about the conflict of interest.

    Daily Times and Business Plus are owned by Governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer, who also served Musharraf as a federal minister. How can they be impartial?

    DAWN CEO's elder brother, Hussain Haroon has been appointed as Pakistan's permanent representative to the UN. This may have nothing to do with the DAWN or CEO but it is a matter of history that Mahmud Haroon served military dictators (who were American puppets) and let people, like Cowasjee, take out their personal venom against Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for over decades. Bhuttos and Haroons were political opponents for a long time.

    ARY's owners were involved in the famous case (1994) of transfer of $10 million to Mr. Zardari's Capricon Trading account with Citibank Dubai.

    GEO TV broadcasts programmes from Voice of America. How much money does it receive, if any, from VOA or other US sources? VOA is owned and controlled by the United States government. Its Board members are appointed directly by the President of the United States.

    It is inappropriate to receive any money from a foreign government, directly or indirectly, or a propagate its views, for a media organisation that purports to believe in independence and objectivity. Would GEO like to discuss, or can it discuss this aspect publicly? Those who believe in the freedom of press, expression and accountability should also talk about their owners and probe if they too are compromised.

    Militancy is an illegitimate child of the establishment. So it does not matter who killed Benazir Bhutto – militants or the establishment? But have we made any progress during the last one year in exposing and catching her killers?

    A dodgy news agency correspondent (Syed Saleem Shahzad of Italian Adnkronos International) claimed within hours of Benazir Bhutto's assassination that Al-Qaeda/Baitullah Mehsud killed her.

    This was endorsed the same night about two hours after her assassination by the editor [Najam Sethi] of a newspaper (Daily Times) in his interview to BBC Urdu service. This newspaper's owner is now the governor of Punjab and was then a minister in Musharraf's government.

    Three weeks later, on Jan. 18th the CIA chief confirmed that Bhutto's killer was indeed Al Qaeda and Baitullah Mehsud.

    Bingo. Problem solved!!!

  6. readinglord Avatar
    readinglord

    The role of Paki media in reporting on alleged Pakistani smugglers of heroin to Saudi Arabia arrested and freed by Saudi Authorities.

    I refer to the 5 pm Urdu News bulletin of Geonews, dated 28.9.09, reporting about delay in freeing the Pakistani family allegedly involved in heroin smuggling case.

    This reminds me of a column of Attaulhaq Qasmi in Urdu Jang wherein he had commented on the arrest of a certain moulana in a bank robbery case involving a big amount of money. I reproduce it from my memory:

    An Urdu paper had reported that the moulana…(A well-known personality perhaps of whom I forgot the name) 'Bank robbery ke kes mein police ki tehwil mein hein’.

    Commenting on this report Qasmi had remarked:

    "Mahloom hota he kih mulzim begunaah he kionkih agar us ne bank loota hota to police uski tehwiil mein hoti woh police ki tehwiil mein nah hota."

    Mazkoorah heroin case mein mulzaman ka case iske kuchh bar aks nazar aata he kionkih tamaam police, media (khaskar Urdu) and even our government unki tehwil mein nazar aati he jese kih unka bas yahi kaam reh gaya he kih mulzaman ko, jo kih mubayyanah tour par Saudia mein range haathon pakrhe gaey, beqasoor saabat karein aur unko rahaai dilwaaein aur unki jaggah Saudi government ko koi qurbaani ka bakra mohayya karein taa kih woh bhi, mubayyanah tour par, range haathon pakrhe jaane wale muzlaman ki rahaai ko kisi tareh justify kar sakein. Doosari surat mein unko Pakistani family ko itna arsah begunah qeid rakhne ko bhi justify karna parhe ga.

    Btw, mujhe Geo ki us reporter aurat par bhi hansi aa rahi thi jo kih ek mulzamah ki maan ke baare mein live reporting kar rahi thi kih who bachon ko roti khila rahi hein magar haqiqat mein who muzloomah ki maan khud chabarh chabarh kha rahi thi aur bache bechaare uska moonh dekh rahe the.

    Kia justice he aur kia live reporting he, hehehe!

  7. readinglord Avatar
    readinglord

    It is a good attempt in’Aql-baazi’ (intellectualism). But where does it take us? See what Ghazali says in this respect:

    (Quote in Urdu), “Aql ka nafah tum ko is qadar bas he kih who tum ko Aan-Hazrat (SAAW) ke sacha jaanane ki tarf hidaayat kare aur aapke ishaaron ke mansha aur moorad samjhaawe. Pas jab yih soorat ho jaaye to iske bahd aql ko mahzool karo kih kuchh tasarraf nah kare aur ittebaah ko apne oopar laazam karo kionkih tumhaari salamati ittebaah se hi hogi.” (Ehyaa-ul-Aloom, Vol. I, page: 84)

    I tend to totally agree with him as Aql ( I am at a loss to find any synonym of this word in English) as aql is evidently useful only to the extent it helps in one’s survival and is hardly of any use in finding a ‘faith’ as Allama Iqbal had said ‘Aql charaaghe raah he manzil nahien he”.

    Ay how the Quran Hakeem does provide a lot of space for use of our aql. That is why they say “ Ba-khuda diiwana bashad, baa Moammad hoshiaar”.

    More later on if I find some body interested in exercising our intellect within the parameters of the Quran, the threat of blasphemy law imposed by Zia notwithstanding.

    As for the TV program ‘Aif’ I like it very much as good exercise of aql or intellectualism.

  8. readinglord Avatar
    readinglord

    A correction: Excuse me, I intended to submit my last post only but I don't know how the first one also got posted. It seems to be due to my overactive browser.

  9. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    Shaheen Sehabi on the Accountability of Media/Press.

    http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2009/10/shaheen-

    I would never forget a supposedly well known name in today's op-ed pages who, in order to "please" a lady ambassador in Washington, turned himself into her private photographer and started taking her pictures with all those present at a grand farewell dinner thrown at her official residence. For three hours this newspaper columnist behaved like a personal privately hired professional. He even carried his "act of sycophancy" to the next day at the airport where people went to see her off, clicking rolls and rolls of pictures with the ambassador sitting, standing, waving and smiling at every Tom, Dick, Harry and Larry. Even junior embassy staffers started making jokes about this senior journalist and his "buttering skills". To his ultimate disgrace, he was never obliged by the slick ambassador, despite his publicly self-demeaning conduct. But later these very skills worked well with the successor political government and he landed a cushy government job in Islamabad. The moment the government was ousted, his columns started attacking his previous employers. Still he retains his claim to be an "impartial and objective" analyst and writer and does not include himself in the long list of trapeze artists that crowd the media circus in Pakistan.

    COURTESY: CHOWK

    URL: http://www.chowk.com/articles/4687

  10. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    CIA and Mossad Mossad Blog [ANSAR ABBASI]

    Mr. Hamid Mir and Mr. Ansar Abbasi in their last night program of Capital Talk [5 Nov 2009 – GEO TV] have declared that your blog http://letusbuildpakistan.blogspot.com/ is being run from President House by Asif Ali Zardari. They also said that PPP AND http://letusbuildpakistan.blogspot.com/have been creating DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ARMY AND MEDIA. LAUNCH THAT PROGRAM ON YOUR BLOG SO TO DISCUSS THIS ALLEGATION.

    Nazir Naji and Ansar Abbasi were literally fighting and exchanging allegation of corruption against each other. They also say that PPP through this blog has specifically targetted Shaheen Sehbai, Ansar Abbasi and Dr Shahid Abbasi and creating differences between Army and Journalists mentioned above. Ansar Abbasi declared that this blog is being run by CIA and Mossad.

    Note: They forgot to mention one thing that Shaheen Sehbai used to run Anti State Anti Army Website from USA from 2002 to 2005/06.

  11. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    The 'Capital Talk' and the 'Let us build Pakistan' debate

    http://letusbuildpakistan.blogspot.com/2009/11/ca

    Hamid Mir and his guest Ansar Abbasi alleged that the 'Let us build Pakistan' was being run from the President House, and that an ambassador was the overall in charge of this blog. Mir also alleged that the CSPP and the Let us build Pakistan were trying to create differences between Pakistan Army and media. It was also suggested that this blog is being run by CIA and Mossad. We refute these allegations, and advise Hamir Mir, Ansar Abbasi and other journalists to incorporate an element of responsibility in their exercise of the freedom of media.

    We also refuse to be silenced and subdued by the systematic and coordinated bullying and harassment which our blog faced today in the said program of Capital Talk. While Geo News and other TV channels have a predominantly commercial orientation, we are an independent blog, and we are very proud of this. We seek our readers and fellow bloggers' advice regarding our future course in this matter.

    HAMID MIR's REAL FACE:

    Hamid Mir Calamity & Geo TV.

    http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2008/12/hamid-mi

    Daily Dawn, Hameed Haroon, Hamid Mir & Nuclear Bombs

    http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2009/04/daily-da

  12. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    Ansar Abbasi, Hamid Mir and Nazir Naji labeling Corruption allegations against each other. Note: They forgot to mention one thing that Shaheen Sehbai used to run Anti Pakistan / Anti Army Website from USA from 2002 to 2005/06 and Ansar Abbasi and Rauf Klasra were the regular contributor for that website South Asia Tribune.

    http://www.jang.com.pk/jang/nov2009-daily/06-11-2

    Shaheen Sehbai: Journalist or Man with an Agenda

    Thursday, November 5th, 2009

    http://pakistanmediawatch.com/2009/11/05/shaheen-

    It is interesting to note that in today’s The News, the OpEd written by Shaheen Sehbai, an Editor in the newspaper, has been relegated to the inner pages. It seems like even The News governing board has realized that Mr Sehbai is not a journalist, but a campaigner. And that his stories are not based on fact, they are based on conspiracy theories. Where did the minus-1 formula come from? By Shaheen Sehbai Thursday, November 05, 2009

    http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=206941

    Or is it possible that Mr Sehbai has his own agenda. Ten years ago in an article in Dawn titled “The Patient and the Surgeon” (October 22, 1999), Mr. Sehbai described Pakistan as a “patient” and General Musharraf as the “surgeon.”

  13. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    Selective Freedom of Expression!

    Hamid Mir condemns http://letusbuildpakistan.blogspot.com/2009/11/ca… for allegedly an Anti-ISI and Pro PPP blog whereas Hamid Mir himself had written this Anti Pakistan Army story : De facto Sindh CM finally transferred Monday, April 21, 2008 By Hamid Mir

    http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id

    ISLAMABAD: The man who has ruled Sindh as a de facto chief minister for many years finally lost his powers on Saturday. Brigadier Huda, who was an ISI commander in Sindh, was in fact the caretaker of the MQM-PML-Q provincial coalition government. He was responsible for running the coalition in a smooth manner. All major decisions were taken after his consultation.

  14. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    Just compare two articles on Altaf Hussain by same Hamid Mir to know as to HOW OPPORTUNIST Hamid Mir is that in first article he almost declared that Altaf Hussain is a Saint and in the second article Hamid Mir declared that ALTAF HUSSAIN IS ANTI-PAKISTAN.

    Three Milion Dollor Man by Hamid Mir

    http://www.pkcolumns.com/2009/10/26/three-milion-

    Hamid Mir openly against MQM (Altaf's Speech in Dehli)

    http://www.insaf.pk/Forum/tabid/53/forumid/1/tpag

  15. khaskheli Avatar
    khaskheli

    Dr. Jawwad,

    Kion time zaya kar rahey ho bhi… Amir Mughal to apnaa hee Evening Special Chapney kai chakkaron main hai, tum to apnee DAGTREEE karo..

    Tum bologey kah raat hai, to yai bolega nahee din hai aur sirf iss liey 4 5 comments post kardegaa aur bekar bekar kai references dedega…

    Tum bolegaa kah din hai to yai raat sabit karney per tull jaey gaaa…

    Bhi, yahee iskee dukaan hai, tum apnee dukaaan kee fikar karo.

  16. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    Amir Mughal to apnaa hee Evening Special Chapney kai [Khaskheli]

    =========================

    Saeen,

    Ainjan Wadheek Evening Special post Kanrna Ahina. Parhi Watho:

    Pakistani bloggers are united in support of the "Let us build Pakistan" blog

    http://letusbuildpakistan.blogspot.com/2009/11/pa

  17. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    DONT BLOCK THE BLOG:

    Every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, and there shall be freedom of the press, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, [commission of] or incitement to an offence. Every citizen, not being in the service of Pakistan, shall have the right to form or be a member of a political party,. REFERENCE: 1973 Constitution of Pakistan

    http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2009/11/geo-tv-s