Tuesday, June 25, 2013 - Pakistan is one of the most dangerous places for media in the world. More than 90 journalists have lost their lives in the line of duty since 9/11.Pakistani journalists often receive death threats not only from non-state actors but also from state actors. Dozens of journalists left their profession or left Pakistan. Most of the journalists face problems when they raise questions about the incompetence of our security agencies for guarding our national interest. Iam their target for many reasons. I am one of those who were banned on television by General Pervez Musharraf due to my stand against his unconstitutional actions in 2007.I was attacked in my office by police in March 2007.I was forced to send my family out of Pakistan for many months because secret agencies were giving threats to me. On the other hand religious fanatics were also unhappy with me because I condemned suicide attacks on security forces openly in my TV shows and also in my columns.

TTP Spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan issued life threats to me last year when I criticized attack on little girl Malala Yousafzai. A bomb was planted under my car in November 2012 and Ehsanullah Ehsan accepted the responsibility but an article published in Pakistan Observer forced me to doubt the claim made by TTP Spokesperson. Mohammad Jamil wrote an article in Pakistan Observer on December 11, 2012 and gave an impression that bomb planted under my car was a message from someone else because I was very vocal in criticizing the security agencies. He gave me warning in very clear words and wrote that “one should exercise restraint and be careful while using the pen and the tongue”.

Same Mohammad Jamil wrote another article against me in Pakistan Observer on June 18th 2013 on my comments about the role of security agencies in Balochistan. Mohammad Jamil wrote “pseudo-journalist Hamid Mir and pseudo-journalist Kamran Shafi, instead of condemning the heinous acts of the insurgents and terrorists chose to malign the ISI and law enforcing agencies. They said that mutilated bodies were found even after nationalist parties formed government. By doing so they are advancing the cause of separatists.”

Many people know that famous Baloch separatist leader Dr Allah Nazar Baloch recently wrote an open letter to me and accused me for collaborating with Pakistani security agencies against his fighters. On the other hand some defenders of military establishment in media started accusing me that I was supporting the cause of separatists. Facts are different from the allegations made by state actors and non-state actors. In fact both I and Kamran Shafi condemned the terrorist attack on girl students of Quetta in very clear words in a talk show on Geo News on June 18th 2013. We actually raised some questions about the incompetence of intelligence agencies and said they failed to stop terrorist attacks in Quetta despite heavy deployment in city. Same questions were later raised by Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in the national assembly.

In the same article the defender of ISI and security agencies Mohammad Jamil objected that why Hamid Mir went to Bangladesh in March 2013 for receiving “friends of Bangladesh award” by Prime Minister Hasina Wajid for his late father Prof Waris Mir who opposed the military operation in Dhaka in 1971.Mohammad Jamil never mentioned that I opposed political victimization of Jamaat-e-Islami leaders of Bangladesh in the same visit to Dhaka. Writer intentionally ignored to mention that friends of Bangladesh award was also given to famous Pakistani poets late Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Habib Jalib. He only targeted Prof Waris Mir because he is my father. I am proud to be his son. I am proud that my father opposed military action of 1971 despite the fact that he was a teacher in University of Punjab Lahore. I am happy that history will remember my father as the man who opposed the human rights violations in the name of national interest and he was not among those who surrendered to the enemies and broke Pakistan. He decided to sacrifice his life for the ideas of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Iqbal. The writer of the said article also tried to spit on the moon by repeating some old baseless allegations in the murder of former ISI official Kahlid Khwaja. He repeated these allegations many times in different articles published in different newspapers against me. According to his allegations I instigated Taliban to kill a former ISI official Khalid Khawaja. Again facts are different from allegations. He should know that kidnappers of Khalid Khwaja were ultimately killed on the order of Taliban chief Hakeemullah Mehsud as reported by many national dailies in September 2010.Today I would like to set the record straight. First of all it’s a known fact that I had no personal enmity with late Khalid Khwaja. I had no contact with him since 2006.There was no reason of instigating someone to kill Khalid Khwaja.

He went to North Waziristan with another former ISI official Colonel Imam, British journalist Asad Qureshi and driver Rustam on March 24th 2010.These four people were kidnapped from North Waziristan on March 25th.A video message of Khalid Khwaja was released on April 10th 2010 in which he said that he was sent to North Waziristan by General Aslam Beg, General Hameed Gull and Colonel Sajad of ISI for making a peace deal with Taliban. Some colleagues told me that the real mission of Khalid Khwaja was to make a documentary on North Waziristan IDPs and that was why journalist Asad Qureshi accompanied him. Unfortunately Khalid Khwaja was killed by Taliban on April 30th 2010.

He was buried in Islamabad on May 2nd 2010.I did a show on Geo News about the missing persons on May 5th 2010 in front of Parliament house Islamabad in which the then opposition leader in the national assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan criticized secret agencies for the illegal detentions. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry took suo motu action on my show and first hearing was held on May 7th.In that hearing a journalist Shakil Turabi accused that Army officials were responsible for the illegal abduction of his son. Next day I was warned by a PPP minister that ISI was not happy with me and they may implicate me in the murder of Khalid Khwaja on the basis of an audiotape.

On May 16th 2010 an English newspaper owned by the then Governor of Punjab Salman Taseer published the details of an alleged telephonic conversion between me and some unknown person and claimed that I instigated Taliban to kill Khalid Khwaja.On May 19th 2010 same newspaper published the statement of Osama Khalid who said that Hamid Mir is an American agent and he conspired to kill his father with the help of Taliban. Osama Khalid also confessed in the same statement that one of his younger brothers was working for Al-Qaeda. Many TV anchors invited this boy in their talk shows and demanded inquiry against me. Intrestingly some of my anchor friends told me that they were given the copies of an audio tape by an ISI official to run in their shows despite the fact that tape was not authentic. On May 20th 2010 English newspaper owned by Salman Taseer published a story that ISI confirms voice on tape is of Hamid Mir. Journalists asked a question to many security officials that who recorded the telephonic conversation and who made the tape but nobody owned the tape. Nobody came up with a clear charge sheet against me.

Same day I requested the government, journalist bodies, human rights organizations and management of Geo Television to start inquiry against me because my hands were clean. Rawalpindi Islamabad Union of Journalist (RIUJ) was the first to establish an enquiry committee. I appeared before the committee on May 23rd but Osama Khalid never turned up. He filed an application against me in Shalimar police station on May 25th 2010 and claimed that he actually purchased that audiotape from one Mohammad Rashid for one lack rupees on May 6th.He claimed in his application that I sent his father to North Waziristan.

Islamabad police started a separate enquiry. I joined that enquiry and recorded my statement to police officials. I offered police to check my phone record they will not find a single contact with late Khalid Khwaja from 2006 to 2010.Another enquiry was started by the management of Geo Television. Police and Geo Television enquiry teams met Osama Khalid separately and recorded his statements. The allegations of Osama Khalid were very weak and he failed to answer some simple questions like where was Muhammad Arshid who gave him the audiotape? If he got the tape on May 6th why he filed application against me on May 25th? Islamabad police refused to register FIR against me despite the fact that a PPP Senator Faisal Raza Abidi was openly supporting Osama Khalid.

According to the application of Osama Khalid filed in Shalimar police station my alleged conversation with the kidnappers of his father took place on April 19 2010.The whole world was aware that his father Khalid Khwaja was kidnapped in North Wazirastan. His first video message was released on April 10th 2010 but things were entirely different in the fake audiotape. According to that tape Hamid Mir was telling Usman Punjabi that Khalid Khwaja was kidnapped by some militant commander of Darra Ademkhel whose name was Tariq Afridi which was nothing but a joke. This concocted tape was a compilation of different conversations which were recorded by unknown people. I was told by a top govt functionary that audio tape was also sent to an international lab for voice test and the result was negative. The main purpose of using Osama Khalid against me was to silence my voice for the missing persons. The application filed by Osama Khalid was full of contradictions that is why no FIR was lodged against me. Osama Khalid filed a case against me in a local court. Islamabad police presented its enquiry report in the court on June 6th 2010 and rejected the allegations levelled against me. Court dismissed the case against me. I was also cleared by RIUJ and Geo management enquiry committees. I faced three different enquiries just for raising voice against the illegal activities of our intelligence agencies.

Later on Journalist Asad Qureshi was released after paying huge ransom while Colonel Imam was assassinated in a brutal manner. Kidnappers were offered money for the lives of Khalid Khwaja and Colonel Imam but why they never accepted money? Why they eliminated both Khwaja and Imam? Why no enquiry was initiated about those who actually sent two former ISI officials to North Wazirastan? I have seen phone records of Khalid Khwaja. It was clear that he was in contact with some important people from July 2007 to March 2010.One of his friends Javed Ibrahim Paracha tried to stop him in Kohat in the morning of March 25th 2010 but why his son Osama Khalid never mentioned about Paracha in his application? Who forced them to go to North Waziristan by risking their lives? Who called the security officials at the entry point of the most dangerous tribal area and ordered “don’t stops let them go”? Why Hakeemullah Mehsud ordered to kill Usman Punjabi in September 2010?

These question needs answer but there was no effort to get the answers of these real questions. Whenever I raised some questions about the incompetence of our security agencies people like Mohammad Jamil start mingling with Khalid Khwaja case. If they are so much concerned let them file another case against me in the court of law and this time some new facts about the mysterious killing of Khalid Khwaja may unmask the real culprits who actually pushed him towards death in the name of national interest. It’s time to use our energies for highlighting truth not for spreading lies. Pakistan was created by Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah with the power of truth. Only truth can save Pakistan. I am a follower of Jinnah and Iqbal. Nobody can stop me for speaking truth. Yes they can silence my tongue but they cannot silence my voice.



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