In an unprecedented move the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday imposed a three month ban on TV anchor Shahid Masood’s programme on a private news channel for airing a baseless report wherein the anchor had claimed that Imran Ali was a member of international child pornography gang having connections with a senior Punjab politician. The senior TV anchor has miserably failed to substantiate his claims with proof as a result the three-member apex court bench, which was hearing the case, barred him from hosting the TV show for three months besides asking him to tender a written apology to the court.
It is worth to mention here that Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr. Saqib Nisar, had taken suo motu notice following Dr. Masood’s highly sensational claims, which triggered a massive debate and uproar in media and socio political circles. He had claimed that the killer Imran Ali had 37 foreign accounts. However, his claims about the bank accounts were instantaneously rejected by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in its report to the JIT that was formed earlier by the Punjab government to probe the rape and murder of Zainab. Later, the SC-appointed investigation team also declared that the anchor’s claims are false.
Unfortunately, there is no proper system of checks and balances in media, which is considered as the fourth pillar of State. The lack of media accountability has become a cause serious concern all over the world and Pakistan is no exception to this. The booming media is no doubt playing a vital role in reformation of society but if the media as the fourth pillar of the state really wants to play its due role then it must submit its own behavior to rigorous scrutiny wherein there is no place left for yellow journalism and bias reporting that breeds nothing but chaos and confusion.
Journalism, indeed, is a sacred profession and those associated with this profession are morally bound to discharge their duties and responsibilities with honesty, due professional care as professional integrity happens to be the corner stone of journalist’s credibility. In the light of apex court’s verdict regarding Shahid Masood case one hopes that the electronic media owners will come forward with a positive state of mind and evolve a specific code of conduct to curb sensationalism and stop spreading of fake news and disinformation in public domain without adequate research and confirmation.
