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Why Matiullah Jan forgets to ask Bashir Memon these questions?
The two-part interview,
uploaded on Matiullah Jan’s website – MJTV – on October 6 and 7 have gone viral attracting
mainstream media attention because of the shocking revelations by the controversial officer of the FIA.
Matiullah Janis a fierce
name in investigative journalism. He used to give a tough time in his talk shows
when he worked with Dawn News and Waqt News. He would often touch the untouched
topics of the affairs of judges, media persons and lawyers.
Recently, he was in
trouble because of his tweet about judges, to which the Supreme Court summoned
him. A day before his appearance to the Supreme Court, he was picked up by some
unidentified people outside a school where his wife works in Islamabad.
I watched the interview,
and enjoyed it.
During the interview, Matiullah
Janunusually gives cues to the former FIA boss to name the prime minister
regarding the political victimization of the opposition.
MrMemon claimed he was
summoned to the highest office to take action against PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz
for his social media’s cell role in leaking the pictures of First Lady Bushra
Imran on social media. He says he refused to take action on the illegal orders
of the prime minister. MatiullahJan, however, did not ask MrMemon that none of
his predecessors did take such action, which means the prime minister might be
just seeking his opinion on the issue.
MrMemon resigned from
his post days ahead of his retirement date, what he says, in protest. In his
resignation letter to the Establishment Division secretary, he wrote that “it is
against etiquettes to transfer a government official, who is about to retire”.
“Transferring a few days before retirement means that the government is not
happy with me. I resign from the job in view of the government's decision,” he
added.
MrMatiullahJan
conveniently forgot to ask that the government is run through rules, not norms
or etiquettes.
He might have leaked his resignation letter to the media too only to malign the
government of the day. His interview to MatiullahJan is the part of his
campaign, said a PTI leader.
In his interview, he painted the
PML-N leaders – Khawaja Asif and ShahidKhaqanAbbasi – innocent, if no saint. He,
however, took action against PPP leader Asif Zardari, FaryalTalpur and others in
money laundering cases, which have yet to be decided. PPP co-chairperson Asif Zardari has accused the FIA of torturing his friend HussainLawai, saying
that “he is an 80-year-old man, a respectful banker.
He was picked up and tortured. We condemn this".
Perhaps, MatiullahJan
did not know about the controversial past of MrMemon.
The well-informed journalist also
asked MrMemon why his brother chose to contest the 2018 elections on the
establishment-backed Grand Democratic Alliance.
When Memon was heading the FIA, it
was a horrible time for free speech, and free use of cyberspace to express
dissent.
Under MrMemon, the FIA Cybercrime Wing initiated inquiries against certain
journalists and parties for "a targeted social media campaign" against
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman during his February visit to Pakistan.
A list issued by the FIA
then had the following name: These include:
Matiullah Jan
MurtazaSolangi
Azaz Syed
Ammar Masood
Umer Cheema
Ahmed WaqasGoraya
Majlis-i-Wahdat-i-Muslimeen
Imamia Students Organization
HizbulTahrir Pak
Tameer-i-Watan Party
Several journalists moved the court
against the FIA, then headed by MrMemon, for the exercise of power, abuse of
authority, violation of fundamental rights – especially
freedom of expression – and due process of law, in connection with the
Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016.
Similarly, the FIA used draconian PECA at will in 2017 and 2018. The
agency conducted 2,295 inquiries, registered 255 cases and made 209 arrests in
2018; in 2017, it conducted 1,290 inquiries, registered 207 cases, and arrested
160 people.
In the coming time, this piece of
journalism should be taught to the students of journalism as a graphic example
of ‘propaganda’, ‘set-up interviews’, agenda-driven interviews’ and ‘selective
journalism’.
Thursday, October 8, 2020
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