Supreme Court admits petition seeking journalists' treason trial

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 7 May 2014

The Supreme Court has accepted a petition from Zaid Hamid seeking the treason trial of several journalists and analysts. The petition names individuals linked to the South Asian Free Media Association and calls for a ban on their TV appearances.

Summary

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has admitted a petition filed by political commentator Zaid Hamid (pictured) seeking treason trial of several prominent journalists, media reports said. In his petition he named journalists associated with South Asian Free Media Association, among them Imtiaz Alam, Khalid Ahmed, Beena Sarwar and Sarmad Manzoor besides analysts Nusrat Javeed, Hamid Mir, Najam Sethi, Hassan Nisar and former president Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Asma Jehangir.

Zaid is also seeking a ban on their television appearances for "these people gave statements against two-nation theory, the Constitution and Quaid-e-Azam."

DG Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) have also been nominated by the petitioner for explanations.

Justice Nasirul Mulk admitted the petition for hearing. Senior lawyer Ahmed Raza Kasuri represented the petitioner. Zaid first filed this petition on March 27, 2012 which was returned by the court with objections.

KEY POINTS:

• Zaid Hamid filed a petition for journalists' treason trials.
• Prominent journalists from the South Asian Free Media Association are named.
• Petitioner seeks a ban on their television appearances.
• Court admitted the petition for hearing by Justice Nasirul Mulk.
• Zaid's initial petition was filed on March 27, 2012.