Sarah Khan
On 12 January 2016, the
paramilitary Rangers raided the home of a New York Times journalist Mr
Salman Masood, who is also the Islamabad-based resident editor of English daily
The Nation. Soon after the raid, Salman Masood posted series of posts on his
Twitter account, documenting the search as Rangers looked around the house.
According to Mr Masood’s account, Rangers personnel arrived at his residence,
located in Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Islamabad. A man in plainclothes
repeatedly rang his door bell at around 7am. He was accompanied by Rangers
personnel and a police officer. “They claimed that they wanted to search the
house for a suspect, but they did not have a search warrant”.
The news of house raid of New York Times Correspondent received
tremendous attention even in international media and sparked outcry in
Pakistan’s social and print media. Leading dailies of US and UK reported the
incident and New York Times demanded a full inquiry into the matter. Soon after
the reporting of incident Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said he was
taking notice of the raid and had directed the interior secretary to
investigate who ordered the raid and why. He also sought an explanation from
the security agencies, saying that such action was not acceptable. A senior
editor on The New York Times’s international desk, Douglas Schorzman,
said the interior minister had issued an apology, which included a claim that
the search “was part of a broader pattern of searches across his neighborhood”.
A senior Islamabad
police official later explained that the search operation carried out in DHA
Islamabad was not a targeted one. “It was a search operation in which several
houses were searched and 25 suspects – including two Afghan national – had been
picked up during the search operation across the Sihala and Loi Bher areas.” He
added that SP (Rural) Syed Mustafa Tanver, police and Rangers personnel
searched 300 houses, including Mr Masood’s residence, and collected information
about the occupants of these houses. Police officials said that when Mr Masood
asked to see a warrant, he was told that a search operation could be carried
out in the presence of a magistrate. Magistrate Yasir Langah, accompanied the
search party.
In June 2013, Declan Walsh, The New York Times Pakistan
bureau chief, who is also a close friend of Salman Masood, was officially
placed in category A of the Black List (BL), with the government declaring him
persona non grata, documents revealed. According to the letter issued by Shahid
Riaz, assistant director (BL Cell) at the directorate general for immigration
and passports, Walsh had been blacklisted on the recommendation of the interior
ministry and will no longer be able to avail visa facilities without the prior
approval of the immigration and passports authority.
The paramilitary raid on
house of Salman Masood received criticism from journalists but it is very much
justified. His writings are mostly comprised of anti-Pakistan themes usually
followed by Indian writers. He is close friend of Declan Walsh, who was
expelled from Pakistan due to his undesirable activities. They both are
co-writers of dozens of anti-Pakistan articles and their only agenda is to
defame Pakistan and tarnish its international image. Our Interior Minister’s
reaction to house raid of Salman Masood seems a bit over. Pakistan is fighting
a war against terrorism and such raids are frequently carried out through out
Pakistan. Instead of encouraging Law Enforcement Agencies, our minister has
ordered an inquiry into the issue because Salman Masood is linked to NY Times.
Our government officials must support all steps that are being taken to counter
terror in the country instead of taking notices and initiating actions against
those who are putting their lives at risks by raiding houses in order to search
terrorists who are at large. Our government officials must serve the government
of Pakistan instead of serving for the interests of those states who are
sending such reporters in Pakistan.
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