Senior journalist Hamid Mir is set to appear on the popular show Hard Talk on BBC. The show will be aired on 9th August Monday night.
He will be the third Pakistani to appear in the show since December 2020 following a sensational interview of former finance minister Ishaq Dar. The senior journalist is expected to talk about his stance on press censorship in Pakistan. Mir will also discuss the role of the state in press censorship and media freedom in Pakistan.
Hamid Mir has been recently taken off air following his fiery speech allegedly defaming Pakistan Army. Back in July, Hamid Mir, a senior Pakistani journalist, had offered an apology over his speech at a protest against attacks on journalists and said he had no intention to defame Pakistan Army.
Senior journalist @HamidMirPAK to appear in @BBCWorld’s flagship show @BBCHARDtalk at 10pm on coming Monday 9th August 2021.. A must must watch show https://t.co/hNPQ8f4W15
— Asad Ali Toor (@AsadAToor) August 8, 2021
In his fiery speech, Mr. Mir had made some controversial statements that seem to have forced him to apologize. After Mr. Mir’s speech, the Geo TV management had decided to take him off the air.
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Before him, Minister for Information and Broadcast Fawad Chaudhry had appeared on the show in which he had given his utmost to negate the impression that journalists are at any more risk in Pakistan than anywhere else in the world.
When asked by Sackur if he agrees that the cornerstone of any democracy is the protection of freedom of expression and independent journalism, Chaudhry quoted Article 19 of the Constitution that guarantees such protection.
When further pressed to respond to incidences occurring “day after day, month after month” that stand in stark contrast to such freedoms, and that the government is not protecting journalists and freedom of speech, the information minister said he will “obviously contest the claim”.
“Pakistan is probably one of the freest state[s] as far as media is concerned. We have about 43 international media channels, including BBC, here in Pakistan, we have 112 private channels, 258 FM channels, and 1,569 print publications.
“So you can imagine the kind of media we have. The size of the media itself defies your claim,” Chaudhry responded by saying.
Read more: Fawad Chaudhry slams Taliban’s hanging of two child abductors
While talking about the role of security agencies of Pakistan, the minister made it clear that they do not target any journalists.