The Cyril Almeida affair became the top story in our media; the reason there for was that by filing a disputed report about a close-door meeting between the government and Army top-brass, his name was placed on the ECL. Indeed threatening journalistic freedom in any way amounts to throttling the solemn effort to expose the truth.
Now that Almeida's name has been removed from the ECL on assurances by the CPNE and APNS about his cooperation with the inquiry into this affair, fulfilling the requirements of fairness by establishing whether truth was actually throttled by this "arbitrary, draconian, and arguably illegal step" of the state, is imperative - an effort that was imperative even otherwise.
The key issue that the journalistic community must investigate is whether the report in question was based on the facts and information Almeida "obtained" through his own efforts (leaks) or did he report what he was "asked" (ie fed) to report, and by who, because reporting facts that suit vested interests is anything but honest journalism.
Asking questions such as "Has Cyril Almeida committed a heinous crime? There is a long list of people who have committed these crimes, and are still operating with immunity in Pakistan, free to travel as and when they wish, within and outside Pakistan" isn't the stance that senior journalists should adopt; it tarnishes the image of journalism.
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