Mir to remain off-air until probe into contentious speech completed: Geo

A day after Geo News took journalist Hamid Mir off-air, removing him as host of Capital Talk programme, the media house on Tuesday said it removed the anchor for potential “violation of policy and law” during a speech he delivered last week.

Mir on Friday made a fiery speech at a rally in support of a vlogger, Asad Ali Toor, who was beaten up by three unidentified men outside his apartment in Islamabad the previous day.

In his speech, Mir had “threatened” to “identify those responsible” for what he claimed was a spate of recent attacks on journalists in Pakistan. He also implied the involvement of the security agencies but did not provide any evidence to back up his claims.

“The Editorial Committee [of Jang Group] and lawyers will check for violation of policy and law” during the speech which received “backlash from different segments of society”, the group said in a statement issued Tuesday. “It becomes difficult for the Group and its editors to take ownership of the content that is delivered outside the purview, input and guidance of its editors, and which are not fact checked and approved by the editorial teams,” it said. “The anger, disappointment and frustration that Hamid Mir and other journalists feel on fellow colleagues being attacked is a shared and grave concern,” it said.

“But better ways and means exist on how to channel that energy for productive gains for the safety of journalism and journalists.” The group, which in the past has been accused of tax evasion to the tune of $13 million, said its reporters were “financially strangulated more than any other media organisation”, adding it “has lost more than Rs10 billion to keep viewers and readers informed”. Geo News’ move drew swift condemnation by journalists, politicians, and members of civil society groups. The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists asked the group to explain whether the step was taken under government pressure. “The PFUJ, Human Rights Commission, Pakistan Bar associations, PBA, APNS, AEMEND, CPNE as well as international human and media rights organisations all have advocated on many occasions that the government must proactively protect journalists and act against the perpetrators but no respite has been given till now,” the statement said.