By Ahmad Noorani
ISLAMABAD: Another General Musharraf-style assault on the Jang and Geo Group is being planned in the Presidency, this time in the name of democracy to take revenge from the Group for exposing the massive corruption during this regime.
While a lot of lip service is being paid to the policy of reconciliation and promotion of democracy, in reality the elected rulers have crossed the dictator in inflicting financial and physical damage to the largest media group. All this has been done because the Group effectively used the freedoms that are allowed in a democracy, as against the dictatorships.
While the nation is passing through a critical period of its history after recent devastating floods, the worst ever economic crisis and mindless terrorism across the country, the so-called ‘democratic-regime’ wholly led by the Presidency, has one thing on top of its agenda these days: how to stop the Jang Group’s channel Geo Super from airing the Cricket World Cup 2011 matches exclusively so that the Group could be completely financially crippled which is already facing financial problems because of the present worst economic and business situation in the country.
Puzzled with the unearthing of mega corruption scandal mostly involving the cronies of the man at top in The News, Jang and on Geo News, the presidency has adopted the Musharraf strategy and tactics to financially damage the Geo and Jang Group’s channels. General Musharraf, the military dictator of Pakistan, on November 3rd 2007, after imposing emergency and imprisoning the independent judges of the superior judiciary had pressured the cable operators across the country through Pemra to put off-air all the channels including the Geo Network.
The most popular news channel of Pakistan, ‘Geo News’ had remained off air for about 79 days and the Geo and Jang group had suffered loses of billions of rupees. The Group is still struggling to come out of the financial losses suffered at the hands of the military dictator simply for speaking up and showing truth to the nation by using its constitution right of freedom of expression.
No one else but the top sources of presidency confirmed that there have been repeated briefings in the presidency by the media cells of presidency and top management of state-owned channel PTV, dealing with financial position of Geo and Jang Group at present and how this was the best time to push this biggest media group of the country towards complete financial collapse by confronting the superior judiciary and violating the Supreme Court and Islamabad High Court orders by illegally showing the Cricket World Cup matches through PTV on the cable network. The SC has already accepted the Geo Super’s right to show the matches on cable exclusively.
In a country facing the worst crisis of its 64 years history is being given Power-point presentations in the presidency to explain how much loss the Geo and Jang Group can be inflicted if it was deprived of its exclusive rights to show all the cricket world cup matches on cable and satellite.
A spokesman for Geo Network said that the Geo and Jang Group is used to facing the wrath of governments, whether dictators in khaki or in civilian suits throughout its history. “The malpractices and ill-motivated steps taken by the present regime against Jang and Geo Group are clear and the superior judiciary of the country has seen the proofs and evidence of how the management of this group is being mentally tortured and punished vigorously by the present regime simply to teach a lesson for exposing their corruption,” the spokesman said.
The spokesman said hat the management of Group is facing extreme mental torture and pressure for using the right of freedom of speech and expression, and paying a very heavy price for using this constitutional right.
The spokesman said that Geo and Jang Group has paid/invested about one billion rupees to acquire these exclusive rights of Cricket World Cup matches. The spokesman explained the pattern of how the presidency was punishing the Group. They take one illegal step to cause huge financial losses and when the Group invokes constitutional jurisdiction of superior courts, and gets relief and refrains the government from taking any illegal step, the very next day the government comes up with some new illegal and ill-motivated move. This has happened repeatedly with the Geo Super in recent days and weeks in complete disregard to the court orders.
Their new illegal step is again challenged in the superior courts along with all documentary evidence, and when the court gives relief to petitioners and directs the government to implement the court orders in letter and spirit, the very next day, as per the well thought out strategy to defy the apex court judgments, the regime comes up with a new illegal and ill-motivated moves against Geo Super.
The government punishes the independent media on a daily basis simply for speaking the truth and using its right of freedom of speech. The details of the illegal and ill-motivated steps of the PPP government to deprive the Geo Super from its rights to air Cricket World Cup matches are as follows:
– Geo Super acquired exclusive rights to show all World Cup matches on satellite and cable network in the territory of Pakistan while the state-owned PTV acquired the rights for terrestrial network (Antenna) for the same territory from ESPN (Mauritius) which was the global copyright holder for the event.
– On December 22, 2010, Pemra issued letter to all cable operators to respect the exclusive copy rights of Geo Super on cable network and not to show the Cricket World Cup 2011 matches on any other channel except Geo Super on the cable network.
– However, under the same strategy devised in the presidency, Pemra was pressured by the government to issue another letter on January 10, 2011 which withdrew December 22 notification issued to all cable operators and ensuring the exclusive rights of Geo Super on cable.
– Geo and Jang Group moved the Supreme Court which on January 24, 2011 after seeing the clear ill-motivation of the government behind the withdrawal of the December 22 Pemra letter, suspended the operation of January 10, 2011 letter and ordered the federal government and Pemra to ensure in letter and spirit the implementation of its original letter dated December 22, 2010.
– The January 24 order of the Supreme Court was still to be implemented when Pemra issued a press release informing Geo Super that its landing rights licence having a validity of five years was expiring on February 28, 2011 (The ICC Cricket World Cup is starting on February 19, 2011 and ending on April 2, 2011). The same was again in blatant conflict with facts and Pemra rules as Geo Super’s landing rights license was issued on January 12, 2007 and its five years period was coming to an end on January 11, 2012.
– Top Pemra officials confided to The News that basic reason behind issuance of this press release was to confuse the Geo Super viewers and advertisers to financially harm the Geo and Jang Group under the presidency’s strategy. These top Pemra officials also confided to The News that during a Pemra board meeting on January 28, 2011 the cronies of the regime in Pemra board gave the logic that management of Geo Group was unaware of the date of expiry of their licence. According to the sources, in the same meeting the eligibility criteria for the renewal of licence was also changed in order to deprive the Geo Super from renewal of its licence if it applied for such a renewal.
– On the other hand Geo had all the documents proving that Geo Super’s landing rights licence duration was starting from the date of issuance of licence (January 12, 2007). These documents include a 2009 Pemra letter and official notification of minutes of 53rd Pemra board meeting which established that Geo Super’s licence could only expire on January 11, 2012.
– Geo and Jang Group moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to ensure the implementation of Supreme Court’s January 24 order. Being caught red-handed in IHC on February 1, 2011, Pemra counsel gave undertaking in the courtroom that Geo Super will not be put off-air till the ICC World Cup 2011 ended and that any license fee issues will be resolved with Geo Group representatives. No licence fee of Geo Super Licence was pending and all dues were paid in time and there was still some time for the current year licence fee. Geo already exhausted with the lengthy and complicated litigation, showed flexibility and withdrew the petition.
– Defying the orders of the Islamabad High Court, Pemra again issued a horrible letter to Geo Super demanding five percent of gross revenue of previous four years which earlier was not demanded along with some late fee surcharge. Interestingly, the Pemra’s rule of five percent surcharge on annual gross revenue has already been challenged in honourable Sindh High Court (SHC) for being unconstitutional and illegal by various TV channels and the petition is still pending. SHC has already stopped/suspended the operation of this rule till the decision of this petition. While the late fee surcharge issue was brought by Pakistan Broadcasting Association (PBA) in SHC and this petition is also pending with the same status as above. However, Pemra, under the Presidency’s strategy to ‘kill’ Jang and Geo Group defied the SHC and issued the malafide notice on February 2, demanding all these illegal dues and payments.
– Geo and Jang group moved the Sindh High Court against this latest illegal letter on February 4, 2011 and the honourable high court ordered not to initiate coercive action as mentioned in the notice. However, the management of Geo has decided to pay the legal licence fee of current year within the due date.
The aggrieved Geo Network is moving an application in Islamabad High Court on Monday to recall its dismissal order dated February 1, 2011. It will be further prayed to the IHC that the honourable court in exercise of its constitutional jurisdiction under Article 187, pass directions to ensure compliance of the apex court’s direction dated January 24, 2011, through the following modes:
a- Forthwith suspend the operation of respondent Pemra’s letter dated February 2,.2011;
b- to immediately appoint a commissioner at applicant’s expense, who may ensure that Pemra really complies with the direction of Supreme Court dated January 24, 2011 by:
i) Monitoring and ensuring that Pemra takes whatever steps that are available to it, to ensure that no cable operator broadcasts World Cup matches on any channel except Geo Super, and
ii) To address PTV’s admitted lack of control over cable operators that are under licence of Pemra, monitoring and ensuring that Pemra takes whatever steps that are available to it, to ensure that no cable operator carries PTV’s terrestrial transmission of World Cup matches over cable TV network.
It is also being prayed that the said commissioner may graciously be required to submit his report before this honourable court. It is also prayed that this honourable court may allow such commissioner, in case of any lack of cooperation by the respondents, to approach this honourable court for help and further instruction.
Source: The News
Date:2/7/2011
