Tag: government

New policies to recover president’s political trip expenses

The Auditor General has begun to establish policies ensuring that expenses for both campaign and unofficial trips made by the president are repaid to the state.

Auditor General Ibrahim Niyaz said that in developed countries, criteria are established to distinguish the president’s official and unofficial visits.

“We have experienced it before, and are experiencing it now as well, that State funds are used for the wife and children to accompany the President when he travels abroad. As a rule, unless it’s a state visit, it would not be acceptable that State funds are used even for the wife. So it’s important that these policies are established in detail, which is why we are doing this,” he told Sun Online.

He stated that studies are currently being carried out by taking similar policies in countries like the USA as examples. After the study has been concluded, it can be decided as to why a trip is categorised as a political trip.

“For example, we see multiple visits being made to the atolls as we approach local elections. Promises are made during these trips. That shows that they are campaign trips. We will establish policies on how to act under those circumstances,” he said.

According to the Auditor General, the policies will be sent to parliament and the president’s office, both of whom will be recommended to execute them.

“These policies will not obstruct the President’s trips. He will be able to travel with full security and such. The purpose of these policies is that the political trip expenses are recovered,” he said.

Niyaz said that Ministers should also pay for their campaign trips.

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Ameen proposed by JP council as replacement transport minister

The Jumhoree Party’s (JP) Vice President and Chairman of VTV, Ameen Ibrah, has been proposed by the JP council to replace Dr Ahmed Shameed as Transport Minister.

If accepted, Ameen will replace recently dismissed Dr Ahmed Shamheed.

Dr Shamheed – who is also a JP member – was removed from his cabinet post after he extended the Maamigili Airport lease to JP leader Gasim Ibrahim for 99 years.

JP Spokesperson Moosa Rameez said that 15 out of 22 members present at last night’s council meeting voted in favour of Ameen.

JP Secretary General Hassan Shah was also suggested, however he received no votes as Ameen’s name was passed by the council, Moosa said.

The coalition-aligned party asked the government earlier this week to reinstate Dr Ahmed Shamheed as Transport Minister, however this was rejected by the government.

Sun Online reported that reliable sources had said Ameen was passed by the council with strong backing from JP leader Gasim Ibrahim. This was later denied by the party spokesperson.

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Adhaalath party extends GMR ultimatum to November 30

The Civil Coalition’s ultimatum to reclaim the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) from its operator GMR has been extended to the end of this month.

The initial ultimatum for the Maldivian government to annul the agreement with GMR had an original deadline of November 15.

Speaking at the artificial beach on Friday night, leading figure in the anti-GMR activities, Adhaalath Party President Sheikh Imran Abudlla, said: “The Maldivian President has heard our plea, [He] has said that he heeds and respects it, [He] needs some time to arrange a few things.

“Hence to give [him] some time even if the previously issued ultimatum is up. The work is being done in this manner. Hence to give some space and stay put.”

According to Sheikh Imran, the ultimatum has been extended to November 30 as the president has heard their plea and respected it.

He added: “However our patience will wear out at some point, after that point we will go for direct action. After November 30, we will go for direct action. We will not stay still.”

President’s Office spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza, announced that “GMR must go” at the Friday night rally.

He added that the anti-GMR campaign must continue until GMR is ousted, insisting that relations between India and the Maldives should not be affected by it.

“Maldives has always considered India as an uncle, we will never go up against India. It is not GMR who sells us potatoes and onions, it is not GMR who sells us construction material, it is our brothers in India. They will always remain by our side,” Abbas said.

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Coalition government “abusing religion”, “spreading xenophobia”: former President Nasheed

Former President Nasheed has expressed concerns over what he alleged was the current government coalition’s deliberate spreading of xenophobia, abuse of religion for political gains and negligence in bringing MP Afrasheem’s murderer to justice.

Speaking to a gathering of an estimated 2000 attendees at Sunday’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) gathering on the occasion of Republic Day, Nasheed strongly criticised the political opposition to the contract with GMR to develop the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

“With the direction Maldivian politics are going in now, we may have to face consequences where the country’s citizens become prey to powerful foreign countries,” Nasheed warned.

“For the purposes of justifying this coup, people who are passing themselves off as religious scholars are spreading hatred for foreigners among our citizens. Under the guise of religion and nationalism, they have instilled xenophobic sentiments in the hearts of a few Maldivians.”

“A few politicians, for their personal gain, have brought the Maldives to the edge of a very dangerous precipice. The political actions of people who are nearing the age of hundred to try and revive their personal pasts, to repeat what has happened in a different century, will prove to cause a loss to us citizens in the end,” Nasheed said.

He added that it was impossible to “chase the Indian High Commissioner” out of Male’ in this day and age as might have been done in the distant past, and that GMR could not be sent away either.

Nasheed once again asserted that the contract with GMR was one beneficial to the people of the Maldives, “although some businessmen may not be benefiting from it.”

At a recent meeting, Nasheed had shared figures detailing the financial benefits the GMR contract had for the Maldives, while denouncing the Dhivehi Qaumee Party’s economic criticism of the same contract.

“Creating rifts was a common strategy during the long 30 year old regime [Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom’s administration]. Some Maldivian politicians see creating a rift to then take political advantage from it to be a strategic and inventive skill. Baaghee (“Traitor”) Waheed may possibly have read in some book that creating rifts would be beneficial, but Maldivians will get no benefits through setting up India and China against each other and creating problems between them,” Nasheed stated.

Nasheed stated that the country’s foreign policy needed to be clearly laid out, with the aims and objectives clearly defined.

“Stop hiding Afrasheem’s murderer” : Nasheed to CP Riyaz

Nasheed expressed disappointment that the police had to date failed to uncover details in the case of PPM MP Afrasheem Ali who was found brutally murdered in early October.

“There seems to be none among us who is even concerned about it anymore,” said Nasheed. “On the first couple of days, we were very vocal about giving money to Dr Afrasheem’s widow from state funds, but we have not taken any steps to bring the murderer to justice.”

“This government has been negligent in the case of Dr Afrasheem’s death,” said Nasheed. “We assure you that an MDP government will bring his murderer to justice.”

The former president further alleged that the police had failed to find any relevant information about the case, saying “Baaghee [‘traitor’] police claim they have uncovered a lot in their investigations; that it was indeed Afrasheem who had been killed, his identity card number, that he was a member of parliament, his wife’s name, who his friends and relatives are… these traitor police claim to know all the details, except what concerns the actual case of the murder.”

Stating it was a direct message to the Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz, Nasheed said: “Stop hiding Afrasheem’s murderer. You know who Afrasheem’s murderer is. Please send the related details to the judicial institutions and courts of the Maldives. Ensure Afrasheem’s murderer is brought to justice immediately.”

“A republican government is one that belongs to the people”

“The current people in government came to power through a coup. What we see today is a violent, illegitimate, coup government kept in power through the force of pepper spray and batons of a few police officers and MNDF soldiers,” Nasheed said.

He further stated that it was a national obligation of all Maldivian citizens to bring down the coup government and establish a democratic government voted in by the people.

“It is because of that coup that today the country’s economy is being destroyed for the benefit of a handful of businessmen,” Nasheed said.

“This coup government has broken up the social protection programme that we established in our democratic government. Their intention is to create dependency and keep us citizens forever at the mercy of these traitors or some rich businessmen. We need to bring an end to this coup government for the sake of the country’s development.”

Nasheed ended his speech by calling on the Speaker of the Majlis to assume leadership of the country and to hold presidential elections within two months. As a final word, he led the crowd of supporters to chant “Elections Now!”

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“Prosecution’s only objective to ensure I cannot contest next elections”: former President Nasheed

Former President Mohamed Nasheed in a public speech on Tuesday challenged the Prosecutor General (PG) as to why “such a small charge” was being raised against him while he was being accused of “the much larger crime of having hijacked the entire criminal justice system of the Maldives”.

Following Nasheed’s first hearing in the case against him regarding the arrest of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed, the former president addressed a crowd of over 1500 supporters at the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s rally grounds in ‘Usfasgandu’ on Tuesday night.

Speaking at the rally, Nasheed stated that the Prosecutor General had filed a case against him under Article 81 of the Penal Code for the arrest of a judge.

Article 81 of the Penal Code states that it is a criminal offence for any employee of the state to use the constitutional powers to arrest vested on him to deliberately arrest a person who has not committed a crime. The article further details that the maximum penalty for this offence is either a jail sentence or banishment for a period of up to three years, or a fine of up to MVR 2000 (US$130).

“If, as the President of the Maldives, I arrested the Chief Judge of the Criminal Court, then it is not as small a crime as is stated in Article 81. The Prosecutor General’s only objective is to ensure that I cannot contest in the next presidential elections. To do so, he has identified an article which would provide just the required period of detention to cancel my candidacy,” Nasheed explained.

“In truth, if I have committed the crime he is accusing me of, then it is far more serious than he is currently saying. If such a crime has been committed, then the charges must be for having dismantled the whole criminal justice system.”

“That the PG is not charging me for that, and instead is sticking to such a small charge shows beyond any doubt that he is looking at the matter from a political perspective,” Nasheed alleged.

Nasheed said he was confident that his legal team would prove in court the challenges that the criminal justice system of the country was facing, the problems that the whole justice system of the Maldives was facing, the ensuing risks to national security, and that the steps taken by the President of the Maldives to solve the issue fell within the legislative framework of the country.

“What is the specific moment during the orchestration of the coup that all political actors were noting as most important? The moment when Abdulla Ghazi (Judge Abdulla Mohamed) was released. The coup d’etat that was brought in this country was made possible because our criminal justice system has failed,” said Nasheed.

Nasheed also said that government employees in the southern atolls had raised concerns of not having received their monthly salary.

“Hassan Thaajudeen declared a wage system in the 1600s. Since then, the state has never once failed to pay wages, until now. What we are seeing are the effects of the coup,” Nasheed said.

Regarding the actions of the police, Nasheed stated that there were many police officers who worked with the national interest in mind. He said that these officers were following the orders of their “political leaders” with reluctance.

“The Home Minister may have instructed (police) to shoot me in the head and bring me back. Home Minister may have asked them to bring me with my hands cuffed behind my back. The Home Minister may also have asked them to completely destroy Aslam’s house, or destroy Fares-Mathoda and bring me back. We do not at all doubt that the state has the means and manpower to do so. However, these past few days have made it even clearer to me that there are lots of police and soldiers who are aligned with the national spirit,” Nasheed stated.

Nasheed further stated that the MDP’s campaign trip to the southern atolls, the “Journey of Pledges” had been interrupted by the state with the use of force disproportionate to the situation.

“Some days we fall, but then we get back up even faster,” Nasheed said, stating that the campaign trip would resume on Wednesday morning.

After the first hearing of the case on Tuesday, the court has scheduled the next hearing to be held on November 4. Although Nasheed has been freed from police custody after Tuesday’s hearing, he is still effectively under island arrest.

“We have heard the manifesto of our political opponents. They vow only to detain President Nasheed for a long period of time. There is nothing for the benefit of the people,” Nasheed said.

“Our party’s and my own first pledge is that my name will be on the ballot paper,” Nasheed declared, prompting loud cheers from his supporters.

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Waheed’s lack of solid policies led to increase in state expenditure: MP Jabir

Amid rising concerns about state expenditure, debt and the economic stability of the country, some political actors who are part of the unity government coalition have started expressing concern about the government’s actions publicly.

The government-aligned Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) earlier this month expressed concern over Waheed’s handling of the coalition’s dispute with the GMR contract to develop the airport, while one of the party’s MPs called for his resignation should he be unable to settle the matter.

More recently, Jumhoree Party Deputy Leader and MP Abdulla Jabir on Sunday criticised President Waheed’s commitment to bring down state expenditure.

“Spending money he does not have”

MP Jabir said Sunday that President Waheed was acting with no consideration for the extremely high levels of state expenditure.

Jabir claimed that while the norm elsewhere in similar circumstances was that the president would work to cut down on spending, Waheed was continuing to appoint people to new political posts and campaign with “money he does not have”.

“He picks people off the streets and gives them posts,” Jabir said. “Why hold on to such a pointless formula?”

Jabir asked Minister of Finance and Treasury Abdulla Jihad if Waheed had discussed his pledges with him prior to making them public, speaking at the Public Accounts Committee meeting on Sunday. Jihad responded that he had no documents detailing Waheed’s presidential pledges and only become aware of them as they were reported in local media.

Jihad also stated that Waheed mostly consulted the leaders of the coalition parties when appointing people to head the state companies, although he said he had been consulted about a few appointments.

The Finance Minister on Monday revealed that the country’s budget deficit for 2012 was set to reach MVR 6 billion, (US$390 million), MVR 3 billion (US$195 million) over estimates.

In addition to Jabir, DRP MP Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed also expressed his disapprovement of government actions.

“The government does not seem to be serious in its efforts to bring down expenditure,” Maseeh said. “Some ministers just make bold statements without even considering the budget. These statements lead to fancy headlines. This needs to be stopped.”

Interference in parliamentary duties

Meanwhile President’s Office Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza, himself a member of Jumhoree Party, denied the allegations. He is reported in local media as saying Jabir was disappointed regarding ongoing issues with the government concerning the lease of his personal restaurant business, West Park. Riza claimed this is the reason why Jabir was critical of the government.

“We are seeing members of the government coalition criticising the government because some personal interests cannot be gained. This itself shows that the government will not be involved in any unconstitutional actions,” Riza has been quoted as saying.

“Jabir has expressed disappointment over the West Park issue many times, but this government will not make any decisions which are not aligned with the values of equality and justice,” he said.

In response to the government’s statement, Jabir spoke to Minivan News today.

“Of course I am disappointed over the West Park issue. It is part of my personal business. But I am questioning the state and its ministers in my capacity as a member of parliament, in the best interests of the country. My personal disappointment does not cloud my seeing Waheed constantly making trips to islands and making pledges. Even the Finance Minister has said he has seen these on media,” he said.

“I am saddened that such an incompetent man is using the resources of the President’s Office to make such unfounded claims,” Jabir said. “I am not sure that man was in his right senses when he said that.”

Jabir stated that according to the regulations of the parliament, no one could raise questions or take action against statements made by a member through the work of the legislative as long as it conformed to constitutional and islamic principles.

“The three powers of the state are separated. The president’s spokesperson seems unaware of even this. By making such a statement, he is interfering with another branch of the state, and is breaching democratic norms,” he further said.

Jabir said that it was his duty as a member of parliament to make the government and the president accountable. He pledged to continue with the work and condemned what he said was the government’s attempts to inhibit it.

However, Jumhooree Party’s Chief Spokesperson Moosa Rameez told Minivan News today that the party did not share Jabir’s opinion of the government.

“This party is part of Waheed’s government. We have not noticed any instance where Waheed has spent money he does not have for campaigning,” Rameez said.

“We are very concerned about Jabir having made such a statement. He did not discuss this in the party’s council. Our concern is that this might create problems within the unity government.”

President’s Office Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza was not responding to calls at the time of press.

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Adhaalath Party called on government not to negotiate with GMR, disrupt “national jihad” of airport nationalisation

The religious Adhaalath Party called on President Mohamed Waheed Hassan and other coalition parties to not conduct any communication with Indian infrastructure giant GMR which might disrupt the government’s push for airport nationalisation.

This call comes in connection with the visit of GMR’s Chairman, G M Rao, and board members on Thursday.

Local newspaper reported that Rao and the delegation arrived on a private jet on Thursday morning at 9:00am, and had departed by 2:50pm in the afternoon.

CEO of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), Andrew Harrison, told Minivan News that the visit was part of a regular bimonthly business review and unrelated to the current rhetoric.

“They was never any intention [for the delegation] to meet anyone from the government. Media got hold of the manifest and drew conclusions,” he said.

A statement released by Adhaalath Party on Thursday stated that it did not accept that the GMR board being in the Maldives was a “coincidence”. The party called on the political and civil members of the coalition, which it described as being on a “national jihad” to nationalise the airport, to be cautious about the visit and to “fear Allah” in the interest of the nation and its people.

President of the Adhaalath Party, Sheikh Imran Abdulla, on Wednesday rejected an invitation to meet with Indian High Commissioner D M Mulay. Imran is quoted in local media as saying that he did not accept the invitation because of “the current situation” regarding the GMR issue and because the High Commissioner had not explained the reasons behind the invitation.

Imran also said that his rejection was not based on animosity towards India, as the GMR issue was “only a disagreement between the Maldivian government and a private company”. He expressed his hope that the Indian government would not get involved in the matter.

A letter allegedly sent by GMR to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, requesting intervention by the Indian government, was reported to have been leaked in August.

The Indian Minister of Civil Aviation Ajit Singh has also spoken with the Maldivian government about settling the disputes regarding the GMR contract.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Azima Shakoor has asked the Supreme Court to rule on whether the laws of the Maldives could be applied to the agreement with GMR concerning the development of INIA.

Airport CEO Harrison stated that the company saw no need to responding to nationalisation rhetoric aired in the media: “We’re waiting for the government to tell us what it wants. Otherwise its business as usual,” he said.

Adhaalath Party President Sheikh Imran Abdulla was not responding to calls at the time of press.

Indian High Commissioner D M Mulay was also not responding to calls.

GMR won a 25 year concession agreement to develop and manage the airport during the Nasheed administration. The opposition at the time challenged the government’s privatisation and threatened to renationalise the airport should it come to power.

Following the controversial transfer of power on February 7, the unity government under President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has swung between issuing reassurances within diplomatic circles that Indian investments in the country would be protected, while locally stepping up nationalisation rhetoric.

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Maldives likely to leave Commonwealth if not taken off CMAG agenda: Dunya

State Minister of Foreign Affairs and daughter of former President of 30 years Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Dunya Maumoon, has said the Maldives would likely leave the Commonwealth if not removed from the formal agenda of the Commonwealth’s human rights and democracy arm.

Speaking at a press conference held in the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, Dunya said, “We call on all the member countries of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) to remove us from the agenda at the earliest possible opportunity. We do not altogether deserve to have been put on this agenda”.

Dunya stated that following the release of the report by the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI), many foreign countries had complimented the commission’s work. While she expressed concerns that “reactions from two countries are somewhat worrying”, she declined to name either country.

President Mohamed Waheed’s government reformed the CNI at the Commonwealth’s request, to include a representative from Nasheed and a foreign legal authority as co-chair. The government requested a retired Singaporean judge, and G P Selvam was duly appointed.

The final report, published at the end of last month, concluded that the transfer of power on Feburary 7 was constitutional, that President Mohamed Nasheed’s resignation was not made under duress, and that there had not been a police or military mutiny. It also noted that there were “acts of police brutality on 6, 7 and 8 February 2012 that must be investigated and pursued further by the relevant authorities.”

Nasheed’s representative Ahmed Saeed resigned from the CNI the evening prior to its publication, denouncing its credibility and alleging that the final report excluded testimony from key witnesses as well as crucial photo, audio and video evidence.

While subsequently accepting the report, Nasheed observed that it had effectively set a legal precedent under Maldivian law for the overthrow of an elected government through police or mob action.

This, he said, left the Maldives “in a very awkward, and in many ways, very comical” situation, “where toppling the government by brute force is taken to be a reasonable course of action. All you have to do find is a narrative for that course of action.”

CMAG ministers are due to consider the report in a teleconference on September 11.

Dunya said that should Maldives remain on the CMAG agenda following the teleconference, there were reservations within the government over whether the Maldives would choose to remain as a Commonwealth member.

She said there were a “huge number” of people who felt the Maldives should leave the intergovernmental organisation.

“Should the Maldives continue to be kept on the CMAG agenda, I have to say that there are a lot of citizens and very senior members of the government who have many serious concerns regarding whether the Maldives will stay on as a member of the Commonwealth,” Dunya said.

“There may not yet be an official decision by the President himself, or by any other high-level government official. We do not want to highlight this just yet. But from what I have heard, and the information I have received, there are a lot of people who no longer want [the Maldives]  to remain a Commonwealth members.”

Dunya’s comments were echoed by President Waheed’s Political Advisor, Dr Hassan Saeed.

“CMAG seems in no hurry to remove the country from its agenda. This is a continuing infringement on our sovereignty and is tantamount to holding us hostage,” Saeed wrote, in an article for local newspaper Haveeru.

“Since the publication of the CoNI report there has been absolutely no justification for keeping the Maldives on CMAG agenda –not even for a single day,” he claimed.

“In view of this I would now argue that if CMAG does not remove the Maldives from its agenda in its next teleconference on 11th of this month, we should end our relationship with the Commonwealth and look to other relationships that reflect modern realities of the world,” Saeed said.

The CMAG had placed Maldives on its formal agenda in February, at the time citing ‘the questions that remain about the precise circumstances of the change of the government, as well as the fragility of the situation in Maldives’ as reasons.

The government has maintained that the CMAG ‘lacked mandate’ to place Maldives on the agenda. Following this there has been multiple instances where the government had expressed disapproval in what it termed ‘interference’ by the Commonwealth.

Members from the coalition government has submitted bills in the parliament in late April to withdraw Maldives from the Commonwealth.

The government itself has said in March that it “may reconsider” membership in the Commonwealth.

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RaajjeTV files case against President’s Office over media boycott

Local private news channel RaajjeTV has filed a case against the President’s Office in the Civil Court, complaining that the station had been boycotted from official events.

Deputy CEO of RaajjeTV, Yamin Rasheed, told Minivan News “This whole issue began with the government’s Media Secretary Masood Imad excluding RaajjeTV in all invitations to media to cover their press events.”

“Initially, Abbas Adil Riza (President’s Office Spokesperson) held a different opinion. But then it became a norm for the government to block us from events, even refusing access and turning us away when we took the initiative to find out about events and attempt to cover them with or without invitation.”

Yamin said that the channel had repeatedly been denied entry to press events in the President’s Office and were not sent any of the government press statements. He said that they had observed this treatment was particular only to their channel.

“What is most worrying to us is that this behaviour is setting a precedent where state bodies are infringing upon media’s right to information. We are being deprived of constitutional rights. This goes against principles of maintaining equitability among media organisations,” Yamin detailed their concerns.

Vice President of the Maldives Broadcasting Commission, Mohamed Shaheeb told Minivan News today that the commission had not discussed this issue yet.

“We haven’t even received any complaints regarding the President’s Office denying access to a particular media outlet,” Shaheeb said.

Although MBC denies having received complaints, Chairperson of RaajjeTV Akram Kamaluddeen has confirmed that complaints have been lodged.

“We have officially written to MBC about all of these issues, including the President’s Office blocking access to events. We haven’t received a response yet.”

President of the Maldives Journalists’ Association Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir has commended the efforts by Raajje TV to protect their rights.

“I support the channel’s actions to protect their constitutional rights. Even if the government has complaints about the channel’s broadcasting conduct, there is a procedure through which this can be professionally settled. I feel that this could have been settled through dialogue, otherwise the government could have lodged complaints with relevant commissions,” Zahir said to Minivan News today.

MJA has last month released a statement stating that it would neither encourage nor accept the boycotting of any media institution by either state bodies or political parties.

Minister of Home Affairs Mohamed Jameel Ahmed has previously named Raajje TV as ‘enemies of state’ in a press conference held in July, the same day on which the Maldives Police Services publicly stated its refusal to provide cooperation or protection to the channel.

Raajje TV has also filed a case against the Maldives Police Services earlier this month over their decision to deny cooperation or protection to the channel.

Rasheed told Minivan that they had also lodged complaints with the Anti-Corruption Commission.

“With regard to this issue, we have lodged a complaint against President’s Office Media Officer Nihla Abdul Sattar with the ACC. We’ve previously filed two other cases at the commission. One of this was against the MPS as an institution. The other was against the Media Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef. We believe he is abusing the powers entrusted to him for his role as media spokesperson to benefit certain media outlets, while deliberately blocking or sidelining others,” Yamin told Minivan News today.

RaajjeTV has been the subject of continuous verbal attacks by the state following the transfer of power in February. In early August, Raajje TV’s control room had been sabotaged by intruders.

Press freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders at the time condemned this attack, stating “This targeted and well-prepared operation was the foreseeable culmination of the new government’s escalating verbal attacks on Raajje TV. How the authorities respond will be seen as a test of their commitment to media pluralism.”

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad was not responding to calls at the time of press.

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