ISLAMABAD: I joined The News Rawalpindi as chief reporter just ten days before it came out on February 11, 1991 and am thus amongst its pioneers. I worked in this position for seven years. My 22-year experience (excluding one-year’s dissociation) qualifies me to talk to some extent how The News works, how news reports and analyses are handled, how far Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman (MSR), Group Editor-in-Chief, gets his “hidden agenda” implemented through me and others and how far he sets the “agenda”.
The agenda, if any, can’t remain concealed from a journalist like me who files at least one story every day even on Sundays. Shrewd journalists, who are in abundance in this media house, have the acumen, knack and ability on the basis of their experience to sense any kind of agenda they are asked to implement. Only fools can argue that Group Editor-in-Chief is engaged in “agenda setting” while sitting abroad. They don’t know or they know but are not speaking truth why he is sitting abroad.
As chief reporter, I vividly remember not to have ever got any direction or prompting from Group Editor-in-Chief to do a specific story or get it done by any other reporter working under me to target any individual or group of individuals, any political party or a private concern.
Whatever interaction I had with Group Editor-in-Chief, I have found him extremely less meddling. However, he will not hesitate to intervene when some story is one-sided. His passion that he translates into reality every day is that nobody should be condemned unheard and every side’s version must be incorporated. He makes it a point even in the case of those who hurl abuses over him that their denials and clarifications are duly published with the concerned reporter’s version.
Long time ago, one of our reporters brought a scoop against the mega business concern of one of Group Editor-in-Chief’s friends. Group Editor-in-Chief did not trash the story, but desired that the business magnet’s point of view should be taken. Finally, the story was front-paged in The News although the editor-in-chief had his relations marred with his friend.
During my 22-year association, I have never come to know of any agenda that Group Editor-in-Chief has against any individual or institution what to talk about anything against the supreme national interest. The moment I and several of my colleagues will get even a minor hint about anything detrimental to Pakistan that Group Editor-in-Chief wanted to do us would quit the organisation. One fact that the mudslingers don’t note is that the media house is a mirror and it can’t hide anything because whatever it says or prints is before everybody next moment or morning. What is this agenda all about that is so under the wraps that it is hidden from its journalists and the readers or viewers. There are a number of instances that some reporters working with the investigation cell stubbornly declined to do stories because they were not convinced about the information provided to them. Some time back, one of our relatively junior reporters even visited Karachi in connection with such a story and when he came back he was not convinced with the information given to him by a tycoon, and he refused to do the story. And he didn’t do it. He earned no reprimand from anyone, including Group Editor-in-Chief, despite the fact that the Group Editor-in-Chief said he had not been taking the telephone calls of the industrialist friend for some time.
Even more recently, another reporter wanted to do a story on the tax paid by all the media houses after the release of the tax directory of individuals and companies. When Group Editor-in-Chief came to know, he voluntarily provided to the reporter all the details of the tax paid by the Jang Group and did not mind his effort to do the story.
However, it could not be done because the correspondent failed to get the details of taxes paid by other media houses.
Even these days when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has subjected the Jang Group to a barrage of baseless allegations, Group Editor-in-Chief stopped one of my stories that talked about the forfeiture of security deposits of PTI candidates and how many seats this party did not even contest in the 2013 general elections. Another story that exposed the political background of two members of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority went unpublished.
However, whenever a story is not published, the reporter freely, rather aggressively, discusses its contents with Group Editor-in-Chief and insists on its publication. Most of the time, he is convinced when the argument is strong. There is no media house owner in Pakistan who has so much tolerance and patience to listen to the counter arguments of reporters.
The freedom of press available to them can be a dream only in other groups. I never found Group Editor-in-Chief imposing his opinion or stand on me or anybody else. He will always carefully listen and respond in an amicable and humble manner. While talking to him, one never felt that one was talking to the editor-in-chief/owner of the media house.
What I have observed during my long association is that he always respects and solidly stands with the journalists who deliver and consistently work. He is fond of having a variety of views in his newspapers and Geo television. He feels something missing when the other view is not published or aired. It has always been comfortable to work with the Group Editor-in-Chief.
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