Matiullah Jan says he has never been in the good books of 'influential people'

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 24 October 2018

Matiullah Jan claims his sacking from Waqt TV was orchestrated by the military establishment due to his stance on democracy and civil rights. He highlights the media's lack of independence in Pakistan.

Summary

ISLAMABAD - Journalist Matiullah Jan has blamed the military establishment for his sacking from Waqt TV last week, saying he has never been in the good books of the influential people as he likes to “talk about the implementation of the constitution, the supremacy of civil rights and prevalence of democracy.”

In an interview with Asia Times, Matiullah recounted two incidents which he says prove that the military establishment was behind his sacking.

“Last year in September, I was traveling with my family when I was attacked [with] stones [thrown at] my car. Then the director general on Inter-Services Public Relations (Armed Forces of Pakistan) … while passing remarks on my social-media post termed me a state enemy.”

He regretted that the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) did not pursue the issue of ISPR terming him as state enemy. “The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists strongly condemned this act but later on, it gave up and didn’t pursue it for some untold reasons.”

Matiullah maintained that currently, the media in Pakistan was not independent. For this, he blamed the owners of the media houses “consulting military spokespersons to sort out their problems.” He also had harsh words for the federal government. “When a dummy government surrenders everything just to accomplish its tenure, then what’s the use of such power or governance? If it continues, the media industry will be ruined. Journalists will have to find [other] ways for their living.”

Photo: Twitter (@Matiullahjan919)