What seemed to be an ephemeral wordy duel between the government and the Jang group has developed into a full scale war. One is amazed to see how a docile group of papers, whose policy has been to have no policy and by and large to toe the government line, has been driven to open defiance. After going through the various version of both the parties, the government and the Jang group one comes to the conclusion that it is not a class of personalities or inflated egos. It is a very disturbing rather frightening phenomenon. Those of us in the profession since the 1950s have been witness to the miserable plight of a lame duck parliament a judiciary with an eroded authority and a chained press. All these factors together played havoc with the destiny of the nation.

It all started with the day light murder of the English language daily Civil and Military Gazette on April 1949 with the connivance of editors of 16 newspapers. Another big assault on the press was made by the Muslim League government of Mian Mumtaz Daultana, the then chief minister of Punjab. The victim was none other but the late Mr Hamid Nizami himself. To settle old scores with Nawa-i-Waqt, Daultana ordered April 1952) the revocation of its declaration and had its press sealed. This was not the end. The government had the cheek to grant the declaration of Nawa-i-Waqt to one of its  minions. It was in March 1952 that the paper resumed publication in its original name.

In Nizami Sahib's Sahib hours of trial and tribulation, except his arch rivals the Pakistan Times and Imroze, the rest of the press remained silent some talking vicarious pleasure. The working journalists firmly stood by him and launched a sustained struggle for the restoration of Nawa i Waqt declaration. Finally, with the promulgation of the press and publication ordinance in 1963 up to 1988 the servility and hypocrisy of the chained press produced or promoted political parasites, sanctimonious humus and self-advertising charlatans. The next result was the dismemberment of Pakistan in 1971.

Once again the same set of ruthless and unscrupulous rulers rule the roost. Now it is no more a Saif-Shakil duel: an open war has been declared by the government against the press. Sharif and Saif's statements are enough of a testimony.

Let us not forget that it took a generation's (1963-88) hard and sustained struggles and sacrifices to get black press law repealed. Let us all join hands together the people and the press, If we value our right to know, right to be informed fully and faithfully we all have to stand up today. Perhaps it will be our last chance to do so.

Perhaps tomorrow it will be too late . Perhaps tomorrow will be never come.

(The Nation - 8.2.1999)

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