Dear Journalist Colleagues,
Thanks for coming to this press conference on the invitation of Pakistan Federal Union Journalists.
As you know that Musharraf regime have banned many TV anchors including me without any written charge against us. The main objective of banning us was to pressurize Pakistani media to accept a new code of conduct for print and electronic journalism. This new code was drafted just to manipulate elections.Musharraf regime started pressurizing us to accept new media laws in 2006.I was served with a notice from the government in October 2006 when I hosted a talk show on the role of intelligence agencies in politics. I responded that notice through my lawyer and took a stand that I never violated any law. Government never issued any notice to me after my response.
In January 2007 some top government officials offered me to join state controlled PTV.They said that private TV channels have no future and a big action will soon be taken against all of them. I refused. My office was attacked in March 2007 in Islamabad and I was also beaten by the police.Pervez Musharraf apologized to me after that incident but later on some more incidents took place. His words were different from the actions of his government. Journalists were kidnapped, arrested and tortured many times in different cities. Many of us received threats. I wrote in Daily Jang on May 2nd 2007 that government have decided to ban live TV programs. The government was again angry in August 2007 when I wrote about its plans against media and judiciary in “The News”. I sent my family outside Pakistan after some threats in June 2007.In September and October 2007, President House directly tried to silence me. They offered many bribes.
Emergency was imposed on November 3rd 2007.All the TV channels were banned. We were not available on cable but I was doing my talk show for the satellite viewers. When I started participating in the protest rallies organized by PFUJ and RIUJ, I was informed by a minister of the previous regime that I could be killed in a small road accident.Musharraf regime manipulated to shut down our transmission centre from Dubai on November 16th.Geo TV remained banned for more than two months. Its transmission was resumed in the third week of January 2008 when Musharraf got assurance that I and Shahid Masood will not appear on Geo TV. He dictated his wish when the economic survival of the Geo TV was in danger. It was a clear blackmailing.
Today the Pakistani media is working under pressure.Musharraf regime have plans to rigg the elections. I demand that Musharraf should come out with some justification of banning us with evidence otherwise we have no doubts that “we are banned just to protect his rigging plans”. Rigging few anchors will not help Musharraf.
I am sure that Pakistani media will not allow Musharraf to rig the elections openly.Media will fight against the terror and tyranny on February 18th.
Hamid Mir
Hamid mir is a brave man and so is Shahid Masood. We all are with the media.Mush is so cheap. mush ko tu firing squad ke samnay bhi 3 saal qaid ba mushaqqat ke baad bhejna chahiye. iss dermiann na uss say mil sakey buss din mein eik daffa khana!!!!! He deserves this. Bladdy Bonna!
heheheh…
Koi naye baat tou mir sahab ney batayee nahi …. humay tou pehlay hi maloom thi Bush.. oh sorry sorry mush ki aoukaT … 
Assalam-o-Alaikum,
Hamid Mir Sahib, the contribution of few private tv anchors including you will change the complection of this society in coming weeks and months. The letter we just read on pkpolitics clearly show the courage and strength you have for your duty and profession in the extreme pressure from a dictator and a illegal head of state.
I am very much sure, this struggle will lead Pervez Musharraf to the previous judiciary in short period of time after the re-instatement back on their jobs and he will face several cases in the same Supreme Court benches along with his corrupt political and legal associates who make all the previous illegal changes and played with Constitution of Pakistan.
I am failed to understand, that extremists and terrorists if they are so strong to carry explosives to most sensitive and secure places and have the ability to attack in a groups on army personals and instalations or leading oposition leaders who are out of governments from last many years and not prectically involved to hunt them instead ruling party PML(Q) members and ministers doing all kind of rallies and speaches not getting attacked by terrorists even though extremists knows that Pervez Musharraf is running on an agenda directly ordered from U.S.
It means, terrorist and extremists are under the command and control of some organised personals and do what ever they were asked and paid for the interest of illegal ruler. Assasination of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Sahiba is also an example and other leaders like Mian Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari is on edge until the election results.
Hamid Mir Sahib, its really difficult to change the system for a person or a group of people from different part of civil society ……. but it is not difficult when ordinary people of Pakistan start joing that group and convert into movement which is already in progress by the tv anchors, lawyers, political workers, students, human right activists, government servants and overseas pakistanies.
I salute you and other electronic and print media personals to carry out this mission for the better and independent Pakistan.
Hamid Mir:
You are a true Pakistani and my hero.
Inshallah’ one day your grandchildren would feel proud about you and brag to their friends who is their Nanna/Dadda is just because a few good men like you (Ansar Abbasi, Dr. Masood, Kashif Abbasi, Talat Hussain) changed the mood and perception of the ordinary citizen of Pakistan towards military dictator and establishment. Rats like Sheikh Rasheed, Dr. Sher Afghan and Wasi Zafar are hiding in their holes and afraid to face the public.
And I must say Never in the field of public awareness was so much owed by so many to so few. You keep up the good work.
Here is the quote of Napolean for you to inspire further!
True heroism consists in being superior to the ills of life, in whatever shape they may challenge us to combat.
— Napoleon I
Hamid Mir Sahib!
We love and respect you and all the few anchors who are heroes for the nation, who are few in number but whose threat is sufficient to tremble the president house! We salute your articulate stance and consistant struggle for the rise of right and fall of wrong. And now as the picture is becoming clear and it seems to be written on the walls that the GUY is taking his last sighs and sooner we will see that those who are at his back will pull out becoze ” woh tou ab challa hoa kartoos hai”. the future of you and all others who are fighting for truth is crystal clear but that of HIM is unknow ( i know even HE does not know whats gonna happen to him). So please take good care of you and your family and our prayers and wishes are all with you inshAllah.
ONE THING more, this letter could have been in urdu and be published today in big urdu newspapers like JANG etc so that man in street could get aware and that would have a very good impact on monday voting. Nonetheless ” gape itna hai k Farishtay be kuch nahee kar saktay”.
Thanks for serving my country
may we see the fall of Pakistani Hitler soon!!!!
@ admin
Could you please give this letter a better place ( may be at the top ) on the webpage? you know everybody is so much curious to know about Mir sahib and it is not HIGHLIGHTED.
thank you,
Ayaz.
Hi All
Today Musharraf said thet PML Q will win the elections..i don’t have any doubt about rigging….
http://daily.urdupoint.com/Live-News.php?news_id=57648&featured=1&cat_id=2
Allah plz save pakistan
We support you and the independent media in your struggle for a better Pakistan, we salute you for the steadfastness you have shown.
[...] [...]
I agree with with opinions of nearly all contributors ,as given above, that
Hamid Mir is a talented person. I wont list his faults here, but my advice to
him would be, ( if he has access to these comments ) as follows : -
!. Please start ‘ scaling down ‘ from the status of being a ‘ Maghroor,’ as
somebody ‘ known to both you & me, has observed, having met you lately.
2. Please OPEN a direct line with people ( your viewers ) who MAY put in
a word or two of advice to you, ( when you TEND to go wrong in future ; or
when you get OFF-THE-TRACK, by becoming MAGHROOR. )
3. The direct line could be either, through sms on your mobile phone, and
/ or, through e-mail; EITHER OF WHICH, YOU MUST PERSONALLY
ANSWER.
4. ‘ Apne buzorgon aur logon ki dua-ain, phelay ki tareh, laetay raho ; aur
phir dekhna, ke JALDI, Inshallah, Tumhare din PHERNE wala haen,
( PROVIDED ) buzorgon aur logon( ki ADVICES ) per tumhare kaan,
dhartay rahen. ‘
Mr. Mir, if all what you say is true, and I do not doubt it is, I salute you and the media of Pakistan.
Dear Hamid Mir
We remember you and we will wait till you come back. We are all waiting for the right time when Mush will disappear and
‘Sultani-e-Jamhoor Ka Aata hai Zamana
Jo Naqsh Kuhan Tum Ko Nazar Ai Mita Do’
It is to all the anchors of the talk shows like Bolta Pakistan, Live with Talat, Meray Mutabiq, Hamid mir……. thank you all for making a section litrate of what is happening around us. I did not know about PCO until
9march 2007. This awareness is all due to you all anchors. Thank you all for making many of us aware of what really is happening around us. Inshallah we will see you again on your respective programmes …
Thank God Q league lost.
See you soon Mr Mir
With permission from late Khalil Gibran, to ammend his poem a little:
Pity the nation that welcomes its new heroes with trumpeting, and farewells them with hooting, only to welcome another with trumpeting again.
Hamid Mir,
Capital Talk just doesn’t look like Capital Talk without you. I found you to be fairly moderate. The poor man Dr. Shahid Masood(sharif aadmee LoL)’s removal is also baffling as he would quite often be almost in tears ‘Sheikh sahab, ye kya ho gaya hai’.
Any how, we hope you return soon i.e. BEFORE Geo TV is put for subscription as i am not paying for this. I liked GEO for its freedom of views and freedom of viewership
Jawab Deh, Capital Talk (with Hamid Mir of course) and Mere Mutabiq were excellent programs. Hope to see them all back soon.
I miss him as well as others .Soon every thing will return to normalcy .Hamid Mir has played his role very well, in past and has bright future too ..We are waiting eagerly for their return.
To Hamid Mir
“Plan to Rigg Elections”…..shame on you Hamid Mir. You must feel like S@it right now.
You should apologize publically that you were wrong on your assessment of the election.
Lota league was able to grab 40 seats, its not rigging, then what else would be called rigging?
@thejdofva
You are absolutely right but he won’t because he is a master of jugglery like many of other writers, columnists, intellectuals and media men, those who play with the words and then disown their own words and we ‘the innocents’ (I doubt so) forget what they would say in the past and start missing them. Making mountains out of moles, creating issues, flaring up the situations and igniting the issues, is typical of Hamid Mir. I know most of us are not prepared to listen this all simply because we don’t believe even if the proofs are shown to us. We are an emotional nation. The best word one can use for Hamid Mir is “PHUPHAY KUTEN”. He has a good history of it.
@SnrCtzn
Forget about Musharraf or anyone else for that matter. Remember that humility is what liked by Allah. Beneath the earth we all have the same size i.e. just 8” above the ground. Allah gives you the fame and Allah takes it away. No doubt that Hamid Mir has the courage but unfortunately he was misusing it merely for the evil interests. He was smartly using a platform (GEO) for his vested interests. Will Mir be straight enough to;
1. Expose his links with those who are playing with the fate of my country.
2. Confess that his masters’ (the super power) and his motives are the same?
3. Admit his links with Osama Bin Laden?
Ethics and decency is one thing which Hamid Mir was gradually losing. He has the right to criticize the president, PM and for that matter anyone but one should not forget that when you point a finger at others then rest of the four are pointing towards you.
We do miss Hamid Mir and pray for his early return as a more matured and civilized man.
The truth has prevailed. Elections in Pakistan were held with clear transparency. Another promise held by President Pervaiz Musharraf and delivered to this disillusioned nation. Our nation unfortunately has a very short span of memory, thanks to our Pakistani mainstream media, which emphasizes on what sells today, and not what could be a clear and present danger. Instead of educating the masses, Pakistani media has turned into cheap tabloid press. Instigating rumors and cynically manipulating the facts. I have witnessed similar journalist like Hamid Mir on mainstream world media, sketching an ugly image of Pakistan, manipulating the ground realities and never appreciating our soldiers who are laying down their lives to stop this country from becoming a land of barbaric and hypocrites.
Why doesn’t anyone look at the fact that our country is facing Herculean task to cope with problems related to our integrity and sovereignty. No other nation other than Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine are facing such challenging issues. Any agitation from press, or so called educated class (such as lawyers, most of them are inefficient professionals) would have created hurdles in holding elections. Benazir was warned many times, and unfortunately she met her sad demise.
I hope better sense prevails to our countrymen and we keep our national interest before our personal gains.
Will Hamid Mir admit that he was mistaken? Let’s wait for truth.
@ smanan
“Will Hamid Mir admit that he was mistaken? Let’s wait for truth”.
I think you will waste your time. Our pseudo intellectuals, writers, columnists and reformers do not have a conscience. You have seen yourself that how irresponsibly and carelessly they tackled the recent crisis. Especially our talk-show moderators were behaving as they were not answerable to anyone. The only reason is the ‘backdoor entry’. YEs, a book door entry in every profession,, especially media. Where ‘wanted’ billionaires would seek a newspaper’s declaration, merely to have access to the political corridors, there one should say ‘Fateha’ for the demise of ethics and norms. Our problem (including me) as a nation is only and only ‘Chaska’. We tune our TVs for crispy gossip without realizing the consequences. And our attitude has brought us to the present state.
So, only I can say,
“Ja appni hesratuon pay aansoo behaa kay so ja
Kaheen su’n naa lay zamana, kaheen duoor jaa kay so ja
This is happen so far. some peoples are doing for money and some peoples are doing for ruled. These are all coming from United States. As Rice says we have spent money to enhance media in pakistan.
we are so sad.
Jab Tak America toota nai
pakistan aisa hi rahay ga
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