NAB references against Sharifs: Media persons being stopped from covering hearing

By Usman Manzoor

ISLAMABAD: The security personnel deputed inside and outside the accountability court, where NAB references Nawaz Sharif, his children and Ishaq Dar are being heard, remain vigilant but only towards journalists as the media workers are stopped from covering by not being allowed them to enter the court while a coterie of ministers, advisers and political workers are specially allowed to enter the court upon special orders of SSP Security.

  All the ministers, advisers and political workers who are sent to the court room by the police officers incharge of the security are neither checked nor are they stopped from taking mobile phones into the court room and none of them is even stopped from using the cell phones in the court and all of them remain busy inside the courtroom using their cell phones.

The only strictness and efficiency of police and guards is upon media workers. On numerous occasions media workers are seen arguing with the security staff as to why they are being stopped from covering the proceedings, and the security staff replies them that the accountability court judge has ordered them to do so.

It is worth mentioning here that the judge of the accountability court has never stopped any media worker from covering the proceedings and in fact the judge has facilitated the media to cover the case. In a latest incident, a reporter of Geo TV was stopped from entering the court making the excuse that the judge has ordered so, and later he was threatened by the security officials that they would settle scores with him some other day.

Till Mian Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz remain present in the accountability court, the courtroom depicts a leisure place for the political workers, minister, advisers and MNAs as loud chats are witnessed inside the court while more than half of the media workers remain outside the court waiting for the accused persons to leave so that they might get an entry into the courtroom.