Sir — Cyril Almeida, a columnist and reporter for the Dawn, has been facing the wrath of the Pakistani Government for his report on a rift between the military and the civilian Government over the military’s covert support to militant groups like the Haqqani network, the Taliban and the lashkar-e-Tayyeba.
Another Pakistan leading daily, The Nation, has in a hard-hitting editorial, questioned the Government on why any action against Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar and Jamaat-ud-Dawa’h chief Hafiz Saeed would endanger Pakistan’s security.
It is the duty of the media to reach out to the people with correct news. If the rift between the military and the civilian Government exists, the Army should mend its ways. If the Government has asked the military not to support the militant outfits, it should do so in the interest of the nation. On the other hand, a ban on Almeida from leaving the country amounts to infringement on the freedom of the Press. The US has rightly taken note of it.