Saturday, August 18, 2012

Ansar Abbasi & Vulgarity / Obscenity.

General Ziaul Haq offering Prayers behind Ayatollah Khomeini --- It is this cherry picking of issues, petitioners and the amicus curiae that raise serious concerns about the ideological agenda of the Pakistani Supreme Court -- The Supreme Court of Pakistan has taken the hapless acting chairperson of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulation Authority (PEMRA), Mr Abdul Jabbar to task again. Remember the grainy video of the chairperson being grilled by the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, while presiding over a full court meeting recently? At that time, he had come under fire after a ‘planted’ interview of the Bahria Town fame Malik Riaz was aired on a private television channel. It is pertinent to recall details of that episode as the august court has developed a penchant for taking up serious, yet simple issues, with an unusual populist sensationalism. In that video the Chief Justice was seen sitting at the head of the table, which had his brother judges comfortably occupying the other seats. The PEMRA chairperson was then called to the front and made to stand next to the Chief Justice. There did not appear to be a chair for him there and neither was one offered to him. The chairperson, with a stack of files under his arm, stood there literally trembling. The spectacle was reminiscent of a harsh schoolmaster chastising his unruly student. Now the chairperson himself was not an accused in the matter and obviously not a serf of the Supreme Court to have been subjected to such humiliation. To add insult to injury, the whole episode was being recorded and was subsequently released to the media. With whose permission the cameras were allowed in that room, we might never know. The release of the video was never probed or owned by the court. No matter what the rationale behind the court’s decision to let the poor man’s ordeal be televised, this is certainly not what is meant by the adage that justice must also be seen to have been done. But this time around the honourable court was apparently relaying its displeasure on certain ‘objectionable’ programmes being televised on various channels in Pakistan. The court has taken upon itself, inter alia, to act as the moral police or more accurately as the nation’s nanny. It has set out to decide for the people what is, or is not, vulgar or obscene. The three-member bench of the SC was deliberating on a letter filed by the former Jamaat-e-Islami chief, Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Justice (retired) Wajihuddin of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf against what they alleged was obscenity on the television channels. The court also quoted columns by Ansar Abbasi and Orya Maqbool Jan, apparently thanking them for their columns that pointed out the vulgarity on television. The court claimed that the television channels were spreading vulgarity and PEMRA had done nothing to stop them. It has ordered the PEMRA chairperson to submit a detailed report by August 13 about the TV programmes spreading vulgarity. According to this newspaper of record, during the proceedings, the honourable Chief Justice remarked, “We can’t watch TV with our families due to this vulgarity. He said PEMRA would be responsible if obscenity was shown on TV channels. He also said some vulgar programmes were being aired even during Iftar, which should be avoided.” It is this cherry picking of issues, petitioners and the amicus curiae that raise serious concerns about the ideological agenda of the Pakistani Supreme Court. Some of us do remember General Ziaul Haq’s brutal Islamisation unleashed in the name of amr bil ma’roof wa nahi anil munkar (ordering for acknowledged virtues and forbidding from sin) and the Chador aur Chardiwari ka Tahaffuz (preserving the sanctity of the women’s cloak and abode) and are concerned that this is where the nanny court may be headed. REFERENCE: COMMENT : The nanny court — Dr Mohammad Taqi Thursday, August 09, 2012 http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012%5C08%5C09%5Cstory_9-8-2012_pg3_2

Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, Deoband & Sex Education - 1


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCvPhHQtWhc


Much needed to be done to define ‘vulgarity’: CJ: ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Monday said that a lot needed to be done to arrive at a definition of vulgarity, DawnNews reported. A three judge bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar was hearing a petition filed by Justice (retd) Wajihuddin and former Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed against obscenity aired on TV channels. In his remarks, the chief justice said had members of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) done their job right, obscenity could have been controlled. He said he did not want anyone to say that restrictions were imposed on broadcast material without hearing the points-of-view of concerned parties. The chief justice advised the Pemra to assemble together all the stakeholders and reach a stance on the matter. Moreover, Justice Khawaja remarked that 10 years had passed and Pemra had yet to arrive at a conclusive definition of vulgarity. Every individual had their own interpretation of vulgarity and obscenity, he added. Previously, the Supreme Court had expressed its surprise when the Pemra had stated that the government had neither a policy to monitor TV programmes, especially of foreign channels, nor did it have a clear definition of obscenity. REFERENCE: Much needed to be done to define ‘vulgarity’: CJ DAWN.COM | 13th August, 2012 http://dawn.com/2012/08/13/much-needed-to-be-done-to-define-vulgarity-cj/

Mullahs are Preoccupied with Sex and Sexual Intercourse:) Fatawa Alamgeere Par Aik Nazar by Khawaja Muhammad Qasim http://www.scribd.com/doc/100252203/Fatawa-Alamgeere-Par-Aik-Nazar-by-Khawaja-Muhammad-Qasim

Fatawa Alamgeere Par Aik Nazar by Khawaja Muhammad Qasim

Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, Deoband & Sex Education - 2


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5QsMJokImc



No policy to check TV programmes, SC told ISLAMABAD, Aug 6: The Supreme Court was surprised on Monday when the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) stated that the government had neither a policy to monitor TV programmes, especially of foreign channels, nor it had a clear definition of obscenity. Pemra’s acting chairman Abdul Jabbar was of the opinion that obscenity or vulgarity was a relative term because a programme might appear to be vulgar to some people but not offensive to others. But the court corrected him by citing Section 20c of the Pemra Ordinance and Code of Conduct for Media Broadcasters and Cable Operators which prohibits airing of obscene, pornographic or any programme injurious to public morality and against basic cultural norms and values. A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja and Justice Tariq Parvez had taken up a petition of former Jamaat-i-Islami Amir Qazi Hussain Ahmed and a letter by Justice (retd) Wajhiuddin Ahmed to the chief justice on which a notice had been issued to the Pemra chairman. Besides, articles were also published in the print media about the airing of illegal Indian channels through cable network, obscene and vulgar dramas, immoral advertisements and entertainment segments during news bulletins on Pakistani channels and illegal CD channels by cable operators in connivance with Pemra. The court also objected to the airing of press conferences and talk shows against the judiciary and asked the Pemra’s acting chairman to submit a comprehensive report about such programmes by August 13. Advocate Tauseef Asif, representing Qazi Hussain, regretted that the institution of judiciary was being abused with impunity on different channels and said that Pemra should clarify the issue of landing rights of foreign channels, especially of Indian channels. REFERENCE: No policy to check TV programmes, SC told From the Newspaper | Nasir Iqbal | 7th August, 2012 http://dawn.com/2012/08/07/no-policy-to-check-tv-programmes-sc-told/ Ansar Abbasi’s unpublished article August 13, 2012 http://www.saach.tv/2012/08/13/ansar-abbassis-unpublished-article/


“The court is aware about programmes solely aimed at maligning the judiciary,” the chief justice observed. The court was also critical of prevalence of vulgarity in television programmes and regretted that Pemra was acting as a silent spectator and doing nothing to prevent them. “It is the duty of Pemra to ensure that no obscene programme is aired.” The court noted in its order that the Pemra chairman had come up with no satisfactory answer and said it could assist the organisation if it was unable to discourage the tendency of airing obscene programmes. “We can help if it concerns the public interest and public rights,” the chief justice said. The acting chairman informed the court that Pemra monitored 54 channels round the clock and recently issued a show-cause notice to a private television channel for airing an interview of TV actor Veena Malik. But he regretted that channels did not comply with its orders. Abdul Jabbar again failed to satisfy the court when asked to provide a list of cases where Pemra action had been stayed by courts. He only said that an appeal was pending in a court against a private channel. The court asked him to categorise programmes with proper ratings as were done in the West so that people should know what they were watching. Deputy Attorney General Dil Mohammad Alizai also highlighted the prevalence of parodies and caricatures of politicians in an insulting manner, but the court defended such programmes and said these were in good taste and humorous. REFERENCE: No policy to check TV programmes, SC told From the Newspaper | Nasir Iqbal | 7th August, 2012 http://dawn.com/2012/08/07/no-policy-to-check-tv-programmes-sc-told/
Ansar Abbasi’s unpublished article August 13, 2012 http://www.saach.tv/2012/08/13/ansar-abbassis-unpublished-article/

Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, Deoband & Sex Education - 3


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hig1M3JkT3Y

Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, Deoband & Sex Education - 4


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7dDMdRupT4


Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan and Objective Resolution:) SC takes suo moto notice of obscenity in media ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has converted the letters of Justice (R) Wajihuddin Ahmed, Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Muhammad Hussain Mehnati against obscenity and vulgarity on the media into a petition and issued notices to chairmen PTA and Pemra and has fixed it for hearing on July 27, 2012. The petition is marked 104/2012 and the case will be heard in the open court on Friday. The SC order issued on Wednesday titled “Regarding control of obscene and other objectionable material carried in the media” reads: “Take notice that three separate letters were received from Justice (R) Wajihuddin Ahmad, Qazi Hussain Ahmad, ex-Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan and Muhammad Hussain Mehnati, Ameer Jamat-e-Islami Karachi on the subject cited above and on placing all these letters before the honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan. His lordship was pleased to call reports from chairman PTA and Chairman Pemra. After perusal of the said reports, the honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan was pleased to pass the following order; ‘Treat this matter as petition under article 184(3). Put up in court. Notice to attorney general, chairman Pemra and to petitioners be issued for 27.07.2012.’ “Take further notice that the matter has been registered as the Constitutional petition No 104/2012 and is fixed for hearing on 27.07.2012 in Court House Islamabad.”The major issues regarding obscenity highlighted in the petition involve airing of illegal Indian channels through cable network, obscene and vulgar dramas on Pakistani channels, immoral advertisements on TV channels, illegal CD channels distributed by cable networks in connivance with Pemra, and in particular the entertainment segments in the news bulletins on Pakistani news channels.



Following complaints from the two respected public figures, the Human Rights Cell of the apex court, following CJ’s direction, had sought views from chairman Pemra and chairman PTA, both of whom have given routine bureaucratic responses without any concrete assurance that the menace would be effectively checked and controlled. Chairman Pemra in his response to the Supreme Court wrote: “The local market is flooded with smuggled and pirated CDs, DVDs, decoders, dishes and cards, which are proliferating obscenity through broadcast media and distribution service. On its part, Pemra took action against distribution and sale of illegal decoders and seized the equipment of Zee TV package. This action was challenged in the Lahore High Court (LHC) and the court was pleased to suspend the seizure. “Consequent to which Pemra had to return the equipment. Nevertheless, Pemra has not stopped its efforts in this regard. It may kindly be appreciated that Pemra cannot fully eradicate this menace and it will only be possible with coordinated efforts of all other relevant agencies as well.” It is important to mention here that whenever the Supreme Court takes up the issue of obscenity and vulgarity some objectionable Indian TV channels are closed for a few days but they stage a comeback. Even on Wednesday when the Supreme Court issued this latest order and fixed the case for Friday, sources told The News that Indian TV channels were closed in some big cities. Sources say a huge amount of money is involved in allowing illegal CD channels, distribution of illegal Indian TV channels and in many other similar illegal acts. REFERENCE: SC takes suo moto notice of obscenity in media Ahmad Noorani Thursday, July 26, 2012 http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-16359-SC-takes-suo-moto-notice-of-obscenity-in-media Objectives Resolution is passed - Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan and  Objective Resolution http://storyofpakistan.com/objectives-resolution-is-passed/ Ansar Abbasi Fatwa and Qazi Hussain Ahmed Petition n Supreme Court Daily Jang 2 July 2012

Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, Deoband & Sex Education - 5


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0nrCk0S76g

Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, Deoband & Sex Education - 6


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_d3cGHv72U


Imran clear about dress code for women, in private and in public ISLAMABAD: Chairman Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf, Imran Khan, who had a good day in Karachi on Sunday, says that under his rule no law will be made against Quran and Sunnah. He also hints that the likes of Veena Malik, the actress who remained centre of controversy for a nude photo shoot for an international magazine, would not be allowed to do so in Imran’s Pakistan. While replying to questions asked by The News regarding his Islamic view and vision of Islamic socialism, Imran Khan said that under his rule ‘no law can be made against the Quran and Sunnah.’ Analysts however say both these views of Imran Khan are not contradictory as women can be allowed to wear whatever they like in their private lives but where public morality issues are involved a more Islamic and stricter code of ethics can be followed. This is done in many open and free western countries as well. When asked on a television channel about his views about dress code for women, Imran replied that ‘clearly Veena Malik types cannot do so in Pakistan.’ It is worth mentioning here that Imran, in a television channel, had said that Pakistan will not be a country which would put a bar on dress code for women and women who will be free to wear anything. Tongues are wagging as to how Imran will take the liberal and secular elite along with religious minded people, as both are his supporters. There are many Pakistanis who wish to see the ethical principles of Islam play a more active role in public life. In his book “Pakistan: A Personal History,” Imran Khan referred to Allama Iqbal as the ideological father of the nation, and added that “Iqbal’s teachings have inspired me to a great extent.” In the book, Imran calls Islam a “comprehensive blueprint for how Muslims should live in accordance with the highest ideals and best practices of Islam.” Imran Khan wrote: “If we follow Iqbal’s teachings, we can reverse the growing gap between Westernized rich and traditional poor that helps fuel fundamentalism.” REFERENCE: Imran clear about dress code for women, in private and in public our correspondent Monday, December 26, 2011 http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-84221-Imran-clear-about-dress-code-for-women-in-private-and-in-public

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