If you receive a hoax / offending email: Step by step guide

Dear members of the Pakistan Press network,

The attackers are using email masks to impersonate our esteemed members to send offending and hate messages to various members of the Pakistan Press group.

We need your help in tracking the attackers / hackers.


If you receive a hoax/ fake / offending email, please follow these steps:

Step 1. Open the fake / offending mail

Step 2: Get its header (http://support.appriver.com/KB/a38/how-to-retrieve-an-e-mail-message-header-various-email.aspx)

Step 3: Copy the whole message along with its header and send it to pakistanteam@gmail.com

This will help us in determining the IP address and identity of the spammer and we then might be able to identify him.

Each one of us should contact relevant cyber crime agencies and website hosting service providers in Pakistan (FIA) and abroad to track and prosecute the culprits, as sending such abusive, sexist and racist messages is illegal and criminal offence in Pakistan, US, UK and other countries.

File a complaint in the FIA if you are in Pakistan or to local cyber crime authority if living overseas.

Pakistan: National Response Centre for Cyber Crimes: http://www.fia.gov.pk/casehistory/site/hlp_complaints.php

Global Links: http://www.fia.gov.pk/prj_glob_nr3c.htm

Contact Google and file a complaint: http://www.google.com/intl/en/contact/

Also, please file a complaint immediately to spam@uce.gov

Other useful links:

http://www.irongeek.com/i.php?page=security/fakemailhttp://ezinearticles.com/?Trace-Any-Email-Address-and-Avoid-Online-Harassment-Using-Email-Reverse-Search&id=3302596

http://www.mailsbroadcast.com/email.bolts&nuts/deciphering.fake.email.htm

We are sure that the culprit(s) has committed at least 3 offences.

1. Impersonating as different user to send the mail (which falls under hacking)
2. Misusing the computer system to threaten/abuse other people
3. Abusing/Threatening another citizen.

We understand that the person is using a web hosting service provider mail server (for which he probably has purchased the hosting account), to send the fake messages. Technically this is not a big deal however it is easily trackable and most of the hosting service provider will immediately co-operate to provide the info about the user or suspend the service of that user.

A copy of this email can be read at the following link. Please save this email and bookmark this page as you might need it in the near future.

http://pakistanpress.blogspot.com/2011/04/if-you-receive-hoax-offending-email.html

Thanks for your cooperation.

Group Moderator
Pakistan Press


————-


Note by pejamistri:

Please note that you can verify the message authenticity by checking the message header (please refer to the link below to check how to view the headers)

http://support.appriver.com/KB/a38/how-to-retrieve-an-e-mail-message-header-various-email.aspx

The hacker is using the free mail/web hosting service to send the fake messages, the fake messages are sent via 000webhost.com if you notice this in the header of the message , it confirms that the message is fake. Please do report this abuse at http://www.000webhost.com/contact

thanks 

Here is the sample header of the fake message showing 000webhost.com as the sender.

Received: by 10.42.218.193 with SMTP id hr1cs204381icb;
        Thu, 2 Jun 2011 05:10:20 -0700 (PDT)
Received: by 10.223.61.134 with SMTP id t6mr733375fah.28.1307016608013;
        Thu, 02 Jun 2011 05:10:08 -0700 (PDT)
Return-Path: <pakistanpress@googlegroups.com>
Received: from srv27.000webhost.com (srv27.000webhost.com [31.170.160.91])
        by mx.google.com with ESMTP id y13si586158fah.99.2011.06.02.05.09.39;
        Thu, 02 Jun 2011 05:10:08 -0700 (PDT)

Pakistani media and its independence: shaheen numa cheel – by Wusatullah Khan

شاہین نما چیل

وسعت اللہ خان

بی بی سی اردو ڈاٹ کام، کراچی

آج میں اعتراف کرنا چاہتا ہوں کہ اب تک میں نے میڈیا کی آزادی کے حق میں جو کچھ لکھا وہ میرے دل کی آواز نہیں۔ حقیقتاً مجھے آج کا آزاد میڈیا نہیں بلکہ کل کا پابند میڈیا دوبارہ چاہئیے!

وہ ایوب خانی زمانہ چاہئیے جب پاکستان پر پریس اینڈ پبلیکشنز آرڈیننس کی تلوار لٹکتی تھی اور جس رسالے یا اخبار پر اس تلوار کا وار ہوتا اسے گویا عوام الناس کی جانب سے حق گوئی کا سرٹیفکیٹ مل جاتا۔ اس آرڈیننس کے تحت جو صحافی گرفتار ہوتا وہ کرگسوں کے مجمع میں باز کی طرح نمایاں ہوجاتا۔ چاہے میاں افتخار الدین ہوں کہ مظہر علی خاں کہ نثار عثمانی کہ شورش کاشمیری یا ان جیسے بہت سے محترم نام ۔۔ یہ سب صحافت کے اًسی دورِ جبریہ کی دین ہیں۔

مجھے بھٹو کا زمانہ بھی آزادیِ صحافت کے اعتبار سے قابلِ رشک لگتا ہے۔ کم از کم حکومتِ وقت منافقت سے کام نہیں لیتی تھی۔ کھلم کھلا ناپسندیدہ رسالوں اور اخبارات کے ڈیکلریشن منسوخ کئے جاتے تھے اور ایڈیٹرز جیل میں ڈال دیے جاتے۔ نہ حکومت انہیں خریدنے میں خاص دلچسپی لیتی اور نہ ہی وہ فروخت ہونے کی پیش کش کرتے تھے۔

مجھے تو آج کے مقابلے میں جنرل ضیا الحق کا دور بھی آزادیِ ابلاغ کے اعتبار سے زیادہ بہتر نظر آ رہا ہے۔ کم ازکم یہ تو معلوم تھا کہ حق گوئی پر کوڑے پڑ سکتے ہیں۔ لوگ یہ تو جانتے تھے کہ آج کے اخبار میں کتنی جگہیں سنسر کے سبب خالی چھوٹ گئیں۔ محمد علی جناح کے کون کون سے اقوال اور اقبال کے کون سے اشعار حکومت کو پسند یا ناپسند ہیں۔ یہ بات کہیں بھی شائع ہوئے بغیر اکثر لوگ جانتے تھے کہ جنرل ضیا اپنے خطاب میں اعوذ باللہِ من الشیطن الرجیم کیوں نہیں پڑھتے۔ صرف بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم پر کیوں اکتفا کرتے ہیں؟

آج نہ کسی چینل اور اخبار کے پاؤں میں زنجیر ہے نہ کسی صحافی کے قلم اور زبان پر تالا۔ پھر بھی بلوچستان ، سوات اور اچھے جہادیوں وغیرہ پر کھل کے گفتگو اور ادارتی کرپشن کی بلا امتیاز تحقیق کی کوشش کو زیادہ اچھا نہیں سمجھا جاتا۔ ایسے موضوعات کے اردگرد خاردار خاموشی کی باڑھ ہے اور گیٹ پر ایک چھوٹا سا بورڈ بھی۔

’ باڑھ اپنی ذمہ داری پر پھلانگئیے ‘

کتنا پرسکون ابلاغی زمانہ تھا۔ صرف ایک ہی ٹی وی چینل تھا اور وہ بھی سرکاری۔ ہر محمود و ایاز کے لیے ایک ہی چینل۔۔ آج چالیس سے زائد آزاد چینل ہیں لیکن صرف شہری مڈل کلاس اور ان کی دلچسپی کے موضوعات کے لیے۔ اور کوئی نہیں جانتا کہ ان میں سے کتنے چینل سرکاری، درباری یا عسکری نہیں ہیں؟ جو ادارے اور مالکان آزادیِ صحافت کی بڑھ بڑھ کے دہا ئی دیتے ہیں ان کے کارکنوں پر ہی سب سے زیادہ پیشہ ورانہ، اشتہاری اور کارپوریٹ دباؤ بھی ہے۔ انفوٹینمنٹ نے ٹیلی ویژن کو ٹنل ویژن کر ڈالا ہے۔

کبھی صحافی کنگال تھا اور قلم زرخیز۔ آج صحافی ہرا بھرا ہے تو قلم بانجھ ۔۔۔ پہلے صحافی محض پابندِ سلاسل ہوتا تھا۔ آج کے آزاد دور میں غائب ہوجاتا ہے۔

پہلے حکومت اور حساس و غیر حساس ادارے بتاتے تھے کہ فلاں فلاں علاقے اور موضوعات ناقابلِ دست اندازیِ صحافت ہیں۔ آج کوئی کسی کو خبردار نہیں کرتا۔ پلاٹ، دورے، عمرے، سپانسرڈ حج، ایکسکلوسیو سچ اور آنکھ کا اشارہ ہی کافی ہے۔

آج نہ کسی چینل اور اخبار کے پاؤں میں زنجیر ہے نہ کسی صحافی کے قلم اور زبان پر تالا۔ پھر بھی بلوچستان ، سوات اور اچھے جہادیوں وغیرہ پر کھل کے گفتگو اور ادارتی کرپشن کی بلا امتیاز تحقیق کی کوشش کو زیادہ اچھا نہیں سمجھا جاتا۔ ایسے موضوعات کے اردگرد خاردار خاموشی کی باڑھ ہے اور گیٹ پر ایک چھوٹا سا بورڈ بھی۔

’ باڑھ اپنی ذمہ داری پر پھلانگئیے ‘

چنانچہ ابلاغی بھیڑیں ادھر اًدھر کے موضوعات پر منہ مار کر آگے بڑھ جاتی ہیں۔

جب پاکستان میں پہلے پچاس برس کے دوران صحافت اور قلم پابہ زنجیر تھے تو پچاس سے کم صحافی اور ابلاغی کارکن ریاستی، ادارتی یا گروہی تشدد کے سبب ہلاک ہوئے۔ مگر پچھلے چودہ برس کے آزاد میڈیائی دور میں ڈیڑھ سو سے زائد میڈیا پرسنز کو جان سے ہاتھ دھونا پڑے۔

تو کیا وہ دور اچھا تھا جب کوے الگ اور باز الگ سے جانے جاتے تھے یا یہ دور اچھا ہے جب چیلوں کی ایک کثیر تعداد کو شاہین کے میک اپ میں فضا میں اچھال دیا گیا ہے ۔۔۔۔۔

Source: BBC Urdu

Code of Conduct and Moderation Guidelines at Pakistan Press

Dear colleagues,

We hope that valued members will kindly take note of these guidelines and will be able to self-regulate their conduct. Thank you.

1.      Only send an email to this forum if you have something meaningful to offer or if you would like an issue to be debated at full length. 

2.     Do not send one word or one sentence emails (e.g.,  I agree /disagree etc). To second somebody’s opinion, simply oppose or say something in the passing, better say it to the person concerned. Avoid one-liners.

3.     Refrain from personal attacks and ad hominem.

4.   Refrain from sending racist, chauvinist, sexist, commercial, hate and insulting material.

5.      Refrain from personal conversations. Instead write to each other directly if you think the issue is not relevant to the entire forum. In many cases, the list members want to greet, question, congratulate a certain member. You are requested to mail directly to the person concerned.

6.   You are requested to avoid cross-postings. Of course, in order to build campaigns, cross postings may be acceptable.

7.    Members should mention source when they post news, essays etc.

8.    Please do not post what already has appeared in mainstream press.

9.    We encourage our members to send messages more sparingly, e.g., not sending more than two or maximum three messages in a day particularly when you are involved in a debate. Also, when you are engaged in a certain debate, please answer all the contributions in one go.

10. Don’t respond to a spam or forward it to the Pakistan Press group.  Do read this resource: Who is afraid of the Pakistan Press group?: A useful resource on hackers’ tactics and how to respond: http://pakistanpress.blogspot.com/2011/03/who-is-afraid-of-pakistan-press-group.html

11.     To best suit your personal preferences, edit your membership settings at the Pakistan Press google website: http://groups.google.com/group/pakistanpress/subscribe?hl=en-GB_GB 

Here you have a number of options, e.g. (a) No Email: I will read this group on the web; (b) Abridged Email (Daily or for every 100 messages) Get a summary of new activity each day; (c) Digest Email (Approximately 1 email per day) Get up to 25 full new messages bundled into a single email; (d) Email (Approximately 10-20 emails per day) Send each message to me as it arrives. Please CHOOSE the option which best suits you and don’t forget to SAVE your settings. You can try it for a couple of days and amend as appropriate.

In order to better manage the email traffic, we may decide to release messages slowly. We may also suspend those members who are not contributing much to the discourse and just taking up space and crowding the email boxes.

We reserve the right to remove any one who attacks the Pakistan Press group or its members with malice and ill intent. 

However, we won’t remove any one from the list only because of difference of opinion. We encourage diversity of opinion as long as the discourse is within the confines of civility.

A copy of these guidelines may be read at this link:

http://pakistanpress.blogspot.com/2011/04/brainstorming-managing-email-traffic-at.html

Regards,

Group Moderator

Who is afraid of the Pakistan Press group?: A useful resource on hackers’ tactics and how to respond

http://groups.google.com/group/pakistanpress

Moderator’s message

Dear members of the Pakistan Press group,

In view of the ongoing attacks on the Pakistan Press group, we are archiving useful information and correspondence in this post which may help you understand and respond to the
tactics of those who want to disrupt this group.

The aim of this archive is to inform and guide the members of the Pakistan Press group about the tactics of those who are attacking our individual members and the Group in general.

The attackers are using email masks (faking as the Pakistan Press group, Google, or individual members) to send filthy or misleading messages to individual members. Since such messages are not being sent via the group, we are unable to control them.

Please note that in responding to a hoax message you might unknowingly respond to the following address: pakistanpress+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com Never reply to a message which has pakistanpress+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com in the To column as this will help the hackers in getting your unsubscribed from the Pakistan Press group.

Please feel free to share this resource with your colleagues by directing them to this post:

http://pakistanpress.blogspot.com/2011/03/who-is-afraid-of-pakistan-press-group.html

In case the hackers manage to somehow get your individual email unsubscribed from the Pakistan Press group, feel free to write to the moderator at: pakistanteam@gmail.com or contact any other colleague to inform us to restore your subscription to the Pakistan Press group.

Thanks for your patience and understanding. We refuse to be subdued and harassed!

Group Moderator

…….

Moderator’s message

Dear colleagues,

We are thankful to Mr. Mir for the following very useful suggestions. We encourage all members to use all of their resources, IT assistants, police contacts etc to legally prosecute the offender(s) within or outside Pakistan.

Do not hesitate to directly contact the moderators at pakistanteam@gmail.com for further assistance.

Regards,
Group Moderator

Member’s message: Important Tips

Dear moderators and members of Pakistan Press group,

I have the following suggestions:

1. Seek help from an IT expert to track the IP address /origin /identity of the person/s sending the offending and fake messages.

2. File a complaint in the FIA if you are in Pakistan or to local cyber crime authority if living overseas.

Pakistan:

National Response Centre for Cyber Crimes: http://www.nr3c.gov.pk/

http://www.fia.gov.pk/prj_nr3c.htm

http://www.fia.gov.pk/casehistory/site/hlp_complaints.php

Global Links:

http://www.fia.gov.pk/prj_glob_nr3c.htm

4.Contact Google and file a complaint: http://groups.google.com/support/

http://www.google.com/intl/en/contact/

5. Some useful links:

http://www.irongeek.com/i.php?page=security/fakemail

http://ezinearticles.com/?Trace-Any-Email-Address-and-Avoid-Online-Harassment-Using-Email-Reverse-Search&id=3302596

http://www.mailsbroadcast.com/email.bolts&nuts/deciphering.fake.email.htm

If you receive a fake or offending email, please file a complaint immediately to spam@uce.gov

Let’s hunt the harassers down!

Best wishes,
Wamid

…….

Member’s message

Thank you, moderator.

The attackers are using pakistan.team@gmail.com (which is an email address similar to the moderator’s email address, i.e. pakistanteam@gmail.com , note the extra dot) to send defaming and misleading messages to individual members.

The attackers have no regard for journalists, male or female, and have very poor moral standards. I agree with you that such fake / offending emails must be immediately reported to the FIA. http://www.nr3c.gov.pk/

Naseem Khan

Moderator’s message

pakistan.team@gmail.com (note the extra dot) and paksitanPpress@googlemail.com (note the extra P) are fake email accounts used by hackers.

Also an offensive message by sarahkhan101@yahoo.com was a spam email which was not sent via the Pakistan Press group. The said message was an attempt to defame a fellow member Sarah Khan and the Pakistan Press group. Also, abdulnishapuri@hotmail.com is A FAKE EMAIL ADDRESS

Previously hackers have masked their spam messages to make them appear to originate from Mr Kamran Shafi, Mr Abdul Nishapuri and others, which was of course a misattribution.

They have also written extremely offending and harassing emails to some female journalists which show their moral bankruptcy.

Please do not respond to fake messages and don’t forward them to the Pakistan Press group. Any email in response to a spam email will not be released. Thanks for your understanding.

Group Moderator

Members’ messages

I have recieved email which has shown request from my side to unsubscribe from this group whereas I never made such requests.Who is the culprit? Plz find and punish for misleading and corrupting.

RIZWAN ZAMIR

…..

I also have received a mail that i want to unsubscribe the group. This is not correct.
Some one used my mailing address and sent a mail to Group moderator.

With Best Regards,

GILANI

…..

This is a fake email being sent by the ‘attackers’ to individual recipients to disrupt the Pakistan Press group. I suggest do not click on the unsubscribe link.

The question is: why are the attackers afraid of an independent discourse amongst the journalists and media persons?

Naseem Khan

…..

Member’s message

Why no such attacks on any other media mailing lists? Why have they singled out Pakistan Press for their vicious campaign? Why are the proxies of the dark lords so much afraid of an independent forum of journalists, bloggers and media persons?

By the way, I just checked with another colleague, a fellow member of the Pakistan Press group, who did not receive this email. So clearly, this is based not on hacking but on a lurker within the group who is sending emails to those who have posted on this group.

The members may note that hackers / haters are only sending these emails to selective individuals who have posted so it is not hacking. Tell them that the one sending it is using masking techniques and is getting frustrated because it is not having the desired effect.

MBT

………

Members’ messages

I have today received another fake email (about the renaming of the Pakistan Press group) which seems to be yet another attack on the group.

Some people are obviously quite worried and want to disrupt this independent group.

The attacker/s are sending hoax emails to individual recipients, pretending as official emails from the group. The best place to check the validity of a message when in doubt is to visit the on line discussion archive, by visiting the following link:

https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en-GB_GB#!forum/pakistanpress

The group moderators can be contacted at: pakistanteam@gmail.com

I want to assure the moderators and members of the Pakistan Press of my full support. We will not be harassed nor subdued.

Regards,
Wamid

………

Members’ messages

I received a mail to suggest new names for the group and I suggested a few. You get so many mails and it is not easy to varify all for correctness or otherwise.
All mails must be routed through the Moderator.

Recently my mails started bouncing for no reason. The Editors must use IT specialists to keep their channals safe for the emails traffic.

Rgds
Syed Haroon Wasti

………

Dear Haroon and others,

I have been on some other email discussion groups and such cyber attacks, while unfortunate, occur whenever there is free discussion and debate.

Even on this forum, I see people with different views posting their opinions and this exchange is very important in developing ideas further.

I would request both the participants and moderators to not get discouraged. The moderators have remained alert to these attacks and have informed us, the participants, about these attacks.

The participants are debating their ideas openly, and it is this healthy exchange, that is causing envy to those who cannot tolerate open debates.

We should continue exchanging articles, views and our individual reactions to articles posted here. The last 3 days have seen some excellent posts by distinguished and published authors and journalists and we must support such exchanges.

Best

M.B. Thadani

…..

Apparently, the attackers are using fake email masks to send hoax messages to individual recipients; moderators can’t do much about this unfortunately.

The essence is to ignore such fake emails (about unusubscribing or renaming of the group, or foul language) and patiently continue with the routine discourse.

Wamid

….

Moderator’s message

Dear all,

Each email in the Pakistan Press group is released after careful moderation.

We have no intention to rename, disband or relocate this group.

We don’t release any email containing indecent or offending language.

Please ignore all such emails, as the attackers are using email mask to send (various types of) hoax messages directly to individual recipients, something which is beyond our control.

I agree with Wamid sahab that the key is to frustrate such attacks by continuing with the discourse. We say NO to intimidation and dirty tactics.

Regards,
Group Moderator

….

Moderator’s message

This is with reference to your individual messages in response to an offensive email.

The aim of this email is to explain the position of the Pakistan Press group.

The offensive email sent to a lady was not sent through this group.

The message was directly sent by someone using an email mask pretending it to have originated from or via the Pakistan Press group.
You can verify this fact by reviewing the on line archive of our messages available at Google Groups.

The same attackers have in the recent past used an email mask of a senior colleague’s email to send fake emails in his name.

Given that the offensive email was not sent to all members of the Group (Some have been sent this email, while others have been left out), it was counter-productive to release any response to the offensive message to the entire group. That would serve their purpose.
It is now confirmed that several member of the group did not receive the offensive message.

We too are deeply sad and frustrated by such offensive emails but, unfortunately, are unable to do anything since attackers’ direct emails to individual recipients are beyond our control. We have consulted with some website/IT specialists, however, no solution has been offered yet.

One important question which is worth considering is: why no such attacks on other media related groups? Why have “they” chosen the Pakistan Press group for such dirty tactics?

Regards,
Group Moderator

……

Members’ messages

Dear Mr. ….

you are much too appreciated and this was a horrible disruption to a good conversation thread that was initiated by your timely and very relevant article. This can happen to anyone but I think THEY chose your account knowing your standing. We all immediately knew that your account was hacked. I almost unsubscribed.

Dear Pakistan Press Moderator:

Please get to the bottom of this. Who hates Mr. Kamran and LUBP so much so as to post such horrid and tasteless messages on this group?

Please, lets all keep the discourse civil and we can all have open discussions.

Best.

Maula Bux Thadani

……

Dear moderators of Pakistan Press group,

I have not sent any request for unsubscribing from the Pakistan Press group. If you receive any such request from my email, please ignore it.

I understand that you too have not initiated to unsubscribe anyone from the group. In other words, there are some people out there who are afraid because of an independent, professional network of media workers that has been provided by Pakistan Press.

Do NOT bow down to dirty tactics of those who are afraid of independent media and independent minds. May God always be with media workers of Pakistan and elsewhere.

Best wihes,
Wamid

……..

Me too have not sent any request to unsubscribe from this group. Don know who is doing this.
Tariq ch

……

Dear,
I my e-mail address has been removed from Press Pakistan. I don’t know why? will the moderator would reply?

regards
Mateen Haider

…..

Dear Members,

this is quite shocking to see how some elements who believe in freedom of speech use such measures to subvert this healthy group’s activities. We request you to ignore any unsubscribe requests that you receive and please forward them to us. With this our resolve grows further to add new members and expand our network.

Regards

Ahmed

….

Moderator’s message

Friends,

It is now evident that deliberate efforts are being made to disrupt the Pakistan Press group and fake emails are being sent to members to ask them to confirm unsubscription requests that they had not sent. This is not the first instance.

A couple of weeks back, the account of one of our valued members (a senior columnist) was hacked and misused for sending obscene and disruptive messages. A likely motive for such acts is that this forum seeks an exchange of ideas on topics that make some people very uncomfortable. This is truly a sad development as the free exchange of ideas and a healthy debate are the cornerstones of a functional societies that value democracy.

We value the suggestions of our group members on how to tackle this issue and seek your help in exposing these culprits and stopping them from such counterproductive tactics.

We advise our members to not click on the link (in any fake ‘confirm unsubscribe’ request); unfortunately we are unable block such emails since “they” are sending it to the individual members’ email address.

Regards,
Group Moderator

….

Members’ messages

I am really short of words to express my sheer disappointment upon receiving the same message. I do not wish to unsubscribe from Pakistan Press and hope that such messages are being sent inadvertently.
Vidya Rana

….

Thanks for bringing this up. I am getting also unsubscribe message after posting although I never requested that.
M Akram

…………

Specimen of Hackers’ Attack

24 March 2011

Hello pakistanpress member,

We have found following group is being used for serving malware, adding people with out their consent and sending unsolicited emails. We have put all members, including your email address, under observation and we’ll get back to you shortly if we require additional details or have more information to share.

Here are the essentials:

* Suspected Group name: pakistanpress

* Group members: 600 (six hundred only)

* Group marked as: immature and risky

* Group home page: http://groups.google.com/group/pakistanpress

* Group email address: pakistanpress@googlegroups.com

* Group unsubscription: pakistanpress+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com

* Group Description: pakistanpress, being run by editorial team of the Let Us Build Pakistan (LUBP) Blog, is an email discussion forum. The forum offers original articles as well as a selection of editorials and op-eds from the Pakistani and international press. LUBP and pakistanpress are proud projects of Critical PPP.

Google takes abuse of its services very seriously. Using above suspected Google group for sending unwanted email can result in your account deactivation.

To take your email off from the infected list, please reply to this email and follow the instructions.

If you have questions related to ending your relationship with us or any other Google service, please visit http://www.google.com/accounts/TOS

Thanks,

Google Groups

…………

Please note that in responding to a hoax message you might unknowingly respond to the following address: pakistanpress+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com Never reply to a message which has pakistanpress+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com in the To column as this will help the hackers in getting your unsubscribed from the Pakistan Press group.

Specimen of Fake Message on 31 March 2011

From: Abdul Nishapuri (Email Sent by Hackers Faking as Originating from Mr. Nishapuri)
To: pakistanpress@googlegroups.com
Sent: Thu, 31 March, 2011 9:18:19
Subject: [pakistanpress] LUBP Blog won the Best Media Watch Award 2010

Dear readers,

We are pleased to share a good news that Let Us Build Pakistan (LUBP) Blog won the Best Media Watch Award 2010 by Good Governance Forum.

Good Governance Forum is Pakistan’s Largest, Most Diversified, Top-Ranking interactive Think Tank on governance in the world. Its 3000+ network members include educationists, scholars, social workers, judges, civil servants, military officers, parliamentarians, journalists, diplomats and so on. It is recognized by the United Nations as a civil society organization.

Mr. Kamran Shafi, Senior Columnist will receive the award on behalf of LUBP Blog. Ceremony details will be announced shortly.

Thanks a lot for your continuous support,
abdulnishapuri@hotmail.com THIS IS A FAKE EMAIL ADDRESS
……

…..

Moderator’s Message

4 April 2011

Dear members of the Pakistan Press network,

Just a quick note to let you know that:

1. The hackers have recently sent an email masking email address of Abdul Nishapuri. Mr. Nishapuri has sent no such email to the Pakistan Press group. (Previously the hackers have masked email identities of some of our valued members including Sarah Khan, Kamran Shafi to send
fake and misleading email messages. The attackers have also sent offending email messages to some female participants which shows THEIR moral bankruptcy.)

2. The Pakistan Press network has no affiliation with any political party. It is an INDEPENDENT network of Pakistani and overseas journalists and media workers belonging to print, electronic and online media. Our INDEPENDENCE is something which is evidently worrying to certain quarters!

3. Despite such attacks, perhaps because of such attacks, our membership is continuously increasing, and the members are freely exchanging emails. For this, we thank not only our members but also those who are attacking hence promoting us!

4. Important Resource: Who is afraid of the Pakistan Press group?: A useful resource on hackers’ tactics and how to respond: http://pakistanpress.blogspot.com/2011/03/who-is-afraid-of-pakistan-press-group.html

Please write your email to: PakistanPress@googlegroups.com
To contact moderators: PakistanTeam@gmail.com
Website: http://pakistanpress.blogspot.com

Regards,
Group Moderator

……….

Another Fake Message 4 April 2011

Dear moderator,

Here is another fake message by hackers using your email mask! I have checked it
at the Pakistan Press google group website, it is not there!

This email was sent by hackers directly to individual recipients not via the
Pakistan Press group. The hackers / attackers seem to be quite resourceful,
vicious and “institutionally trained or supported”!!

I suggest all members report this and future fake messages and hoaxes to the
cyber crime agency in their respective country and also to the Google.

Naseem Khan

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Pakistan Team
Date: Mon, Apr 4, 2011 at 3:18 PM
Subject: [pakistanpress] Google warning and our response!
To: pakistanpress@googlegroups.com

Dear members,
We really can’t understand why our Pakistan Press Group has been warned again.
We have not copied Press Pakistan at least in one dimension, i.e., a unilateral
pro-right wing slant, censorship and blocking of dissenting voices.

There is also another significant difference. Unlike “Press Pakistan” google
group, “Pakistan Press” group is not owned and moderated by Ansar Abbasi and his
affiliates in the Aabara Empire (ISI).
One important question which is worth considering is: why no such warnings on
other media related groups? Why have “they” chosen the Pakistan Press group?
Just because we are supporters of Pakistan Peoples Party and oppose judicial
dictatorship in the country?
Anyone who don’t like to be added here without his consent, he is free to
unsubscribe anytime by sending email
to: pakistanpress+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
Regards,
Group Moderator (Pakistan Press)

……..

Another hoax message 6 April 2011

Colleagues,

Here is another attack at the Pakistan Press group. Please ignore the following message. We are NOT hiring any moderators NOR are we warned by Google NOR will we surrender our INDEPENDENCE to the attackers.

Thanks to our members for ignoring the spam messages and for continuing the discourse.

Regards,
Group Moderator

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Pakistan Team
Date: Wed, Apr 6, 2011 at 10:10 PM
Subject: [pakistanpress] Moderators needed @ Rs 1,000 per hour
To: pakistanpress@googlegroups.com

Dear members,

Pakistan Press Group, an INDEPENDENT network of Pakistani and overseas journalists, is looking suitable professionals to moderate the group.

If you have free time to earn handsome money, please reply us with following information.

Name:
Email:
How many hours in a day you can work for us:

Please note we will pay you on hourly bases (Rs. 1,000 per hour) depending on your work assignments.
We will prefer fund transaction through Easy Paisa or Mobile Easy load.

We need 10 moderators and selection will be on “first come, first served” bases.

Good luck!

Regards,
Group Moderator (Pakistan Press)

……

Another hoax 7 April 2011
From: sharjeel <mediatribepk@gmail.com>
To: service@linode.com
Cc: pakistanpress@googlegroups.com; abuse@linode.com; abuse@google.com
Sent: Wed, 6 April, 2011 23:26:58
Subject: Website Abuse Complaint
Dear Concerns at Linode,
Greetings!

Reference to Article 3. Prohibited Usage of LINODE Terms of Services found at http://www.linode.com/tos.cfm which says:

“Spam and Unsolicited Bulk Email (UBE): Linode.com has a zero tolerance policy on spam, Junk E-mail or UBE. Spam, Junk-mail and UBE are defined as: the sending of the same, or substantially similar, unsolicited electronic mail messages, whether commercial or not, to more than one recipient. A message is considered unsolicited if it is posted in violation of a newsgroup charter or if it is sent to a recipient who has not requested the message. UBE also includes e-mail with forged headers, compromised mail server relays, and false contact information. This prohibition extends to the sending of unsolicited mass mailings from another service, which in any way implicates the use of Linode.com whether or not the message actually originated from our network.”

I would like to draw your attention to a website hosted on your servers and involves in sending SPAM and UNSOLICITED BULK EMAILS which is serious violation of your TOS.

WWW.CRITICALPPP.COM, a website with IP: 173.230.133.186 is currently hosted on LINODE servers.

The website has established a Google Group to spread hate propaganda against the media persons, security agencies of Pakistan and honorable Supreme Court Judges.
http://criticalppp.com/archives/12829
Your TOS clearly defines “An acceptable mailing list will be focused at a targeted audience that has voluntarily signed up for your e-mail information” but CRITICALPPP Website Mailing List is stealing email addresses from other well-reputed groups and adding them without their consent.  (For reference, please see below). To further terrorize the email users, they are spreading fake Hoax email alerts etc.

Moreover, due to hate material presented on CRITICALPPP.COM, many people have also sent Legal Notices.

http://pakteahouse.net/2010/12/20/wow-i-am-on-lubps-newest-list-of-isi-paid-operatives/
Latest hate material found on CRITICALPPP is:
Punjabi Islamofascist judicial mafia strikes Z.A. Bhutto again!
http://criticalppp.com/archives/45586

You are requested to kindly look into the content and activities of above-mentioned website.
Best wishes,

Sharjeel

—–Original Message—–
From: noreply@googlegroups.com
Sent: Fri, Mar 19, 2011 2:38 am
Subject: Google Groups: You’ve been added to PakistanPress

Pakistan Team pakistanteam@gmail.com has added you to the PakistanPress group
with this message:

Welcome to the Pakistan Press network.

Here is the group’s description:

PakistanPress is an email discussion forum, a transparent and independent
network of Pakistani and international journalists, bloggers and media workers.
Membership is open to all journalists, bloggers and media staff.

———————– Google Groups Information ———————-

The owner of the group has set your subscription type as “Email”, meaning that
you’ll receive a copy of every message posted to the group as they are posted.

Visit this group on the web by using this URL:

http://groups.google.co.uk/group/pakistanpress?hl=en-GB

You can unsubscribe from this group using the following URL:

http://groups.google.co.uk/group/pakistanpress/unsub?u=UmTw_QwAAABqjeJD54re2KbPA5uqaPFX&hl=en-GB

——————– Information About This Message ——————–

If you feel that this message is abuse, please inform the Google Groups staff
by using the URL below.
http://groups.google.co.uk/groups/abuse?direct=YQAAABV3lyH8AAAA7QEHIucAAABYSc4aF8MrUhN0fBEiyVfDISimyQY&hl=en-GB
 

…..

Another Hoax 7 April 2011

> —–Original message—–
> From: sharjeel
> Sent: 07/04/2011, 3:05 am
> To: service@linode.com
> Cc: spam@uce.gov; pakistanpress@googlegroups.com; abuse@linode.com;
> abuse@google.com
> Subject: SPAM Website Complaint
>
>
> Dear Linode,
>
> It seems that CRITICALPPP.COM has removed the web page
> (http://criticalppp.com/archives/12829) in
> which SPAM mailing list was promoted.
>
> But we can still access through Google Cache to know what kind of hate
> material was there.
> http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:KKR7K8TO1kIJ:criticalppp.com/archives/12829+site:criticalppp.com+pakistanpress&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=pk&source=www.google.com.pk
> (http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:KKR7K8TO1kIJ:criticalppp.com/archives/12829+site:criticalppp.com+pakistanpress&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=pk&source=www.google.com.pk)
>
> You can also get the introduction of their SPAM Mailing List from another
> blog.
> http://pakistanmediawatch.com/2010/06/17/new-pakistan-press-group-founded/
> Thank you,
>
> Sharjeel
>
>

………..

Editor’s Response to Hoax Message Sent to Linode

to: mediatribepk@gmail.com,
service@linode.com
cc spam@uce.gov,abuse@linode.com,abuse@google.com

date Thu, Apr 7, 2011 at 7:53 AM
subject Re: FW: SPAM Website Complaint
mailed-by gmail.com

Dear Linode and Sharjeel,

Criticalppp.com is an independent website formed by the supporters of
the Pakistan Peoples Party. The difference between us and other
websites is that we openly say who we are and are proud of it. We are
unlike other websites and blogs which claim to be unbiased and
apolitical but promote hate messages and incite vigilante justice. Of
course we are opposed to those who are promoting Talibanism,
USA-phobia and violence in Pakistan.

As far as the blame of attacking the judiciary is concerned, most of
the articles at criticalpppp.com are in response to publically
available judgments and newspaper reports. One can be called biased if
they are showing bias. You can have a title of an “honorable judge”
but that doesn’t make a person honorable.

Pakistan Press is an INDEPENDENT network of media persons and bloggers
that has been promoted by criticalppp.com as it has been found to be
less biased and more intellectually invigorating discussions. The
group comprises more than 900 members whose free debates and
discourses are archived at the group’s google home page:

http://groups.google.com/group/pakistanpress

In fact, Pakistan Press group has been subject to a vicious campaign
by haters and spammers, who are continuously attacking us to disrupt
the independent discourse at the group. In the last one month,
Pakistan Press has been attacked through spam and hacking attempts
which has caused us to make it 100% moderated to avoid any issues to
our subscribers. Our subscribers are allowed to unsubscribe at any
time and we have at times honored requests made by individual members
too.

The attackers / hackers have used fake email masks to send highly
misleading and offending messages to members of the Pakistan Press
group, including offending and harassing messages to female members
and senior columnists of Pakistan. All of this data is archived at the
following website of the Pakistan Press group.

http://pakistanpress.blogspot.com/2011/03/who-is-afraid-of-pakistan-press-group.html

On the other hand, can we please know the credentials of “Media Tribe”
group? You want to keep media as a tribe in Pakistan or you want to
make it more and more open?

Regards

Editor, Criticalppp.com

………..

……….

Help us in tracing the attacker. Step by step guide

If you receive a hoax/ fake email, follow these steps:

Step 0. Open the fake mail
Step 1: Retrieve its header (http://support.appriver.com/KB/a38/how-to-retrieve-an-e-mail-message-header-various-email.aspx)
Step 1.1. Click on the “More Options”
Step 1.2: Click on “Show original”, this will open the message in a new window with full details.
Step 2: Copy the whole message and send it to pakistanteam@gmail.com

This will help in determining the IP and identity of the spammer and we then might be able to identify him.

……..

Complaint reported at the following link:

http://www.000webhost.com/contact

Dear Sir/Madam,

I would like to report a constant abuse from the one of the users of your mail server/services. Please refer to the following spam/abusive message below, such messages are being sent using the mail server (64.120.179.178). These messages are sent by impersonating as different user which probably falls under the hacking category. I would request you to please track the person sending these messages as we would like to report the person to authorities as sending such abusive and racist messages are illegal and criminal offence in Pakistan and probably United States.

—————————————————————

Website’s Response:

On Sat, Apr 9, 2011 at 12:33 PM, 000webhost.com wrote:
DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL! USE THIS LINK TO ADD REPLY:
http://members.000webhost.com/tickets.php?ticket_hash=8T9iKKTkxMAPSb5z
——————————————————————————

************************
REPLY HAS BEEN ADDED:
************************

Hello,

Reported website has been removed from our server. We would like to thank you for reporting abuse.

Regards,
Thorsten | http://www.free-installations.info

Volunteer Staff
www.000webhost.com

********************
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
********************

Dear Sir/Madam,
I would like to report a constant abuse from the one of the users of your mail server/services. Please refer to the following spam/abusive message below, such messages are being sent using the mail server (64.120.179.178). These messages are sent by impersonating as different user which probably falls under the hacking category. I would request you to please track the person sending these messages as we would like to report the person to authorities as sending such abusive and racist messages are illegal and criminal offence in Pakistan and probably United States.

————–

We are also contacting FIA and other relevant authorities to pursue this case. As we are sure that the person(s) has committed at least 3 offences.

1. Impersonating as different user to send the mail (which falls under hacking)
2. Misusing the computer system to threaten/abuse other people
3. Abusing/Threatening another citizen.

We understand that the person is using a web hosting service provider mail server (for which he probably have purchased the hosting account), to send the fake messages. Technically this is not a big deal however it is easily trackable and most of the hosting service provider will immediately co-operate to provide the info about the user or suspend the service of that user.

……

Pakistan Press Google Group – an INDEPENDENT network of journalists, bloggers and media workers

http://groups.google.com/group/pakistanpress

Are you a journalist, columnist, reporter, blogger, media worker or activist working in print, electronic or social media in or related to Pakistan?

Would you like to be connected to a vibrant group of media workers and activists where you have complete freedom to network with other media workers, where you can freely exchange your ideas and opinions without any fear of censorship or retribution?

If you are already a member of any such group, are you tired of the biased and manipulative attitude of the group moderator/s?

We are pleased to announce that we have created a new google group “Pakistan Press” with an aim to provide an interactive and impartial email discussion forum to Pakistani and international journalists and media workers. The group currently includes more than 900 leading media workers, journalists, columnists, reporters, bloggers etc as its members.

The Pakistan Press has its own website: http://pakistanpress.blogspot.com/

In addition to our colleagues in the traditional print and electronic media, we also encourage media activists in the cyberspace (blog, facebook, twitter etc) to join Pakistan Press.

One thing we can assure you of, you will have complete freedom (except hate speech and foul language) to express and exchange your ideas and opinions. We will hear your voice and let it be heard.

Dialogue, mutual respect and tolerance are three guiding principles we hold dear.

In order to join this group, send an email to: pakistanteam@gmail.com

You will need to provide your name, current position, organization, and what makes your interested in the group.

You can visit the group at the following link:

http://groups.google.com/group/pakistanpress

The group’s email address is: pakistanpress@googlegroups.com

————

Readers’ Comments:

ex-PFUJ office bearer says:
June 12, 2010 at 2:20 am

Excellent step!

I am myself a senior journalist based in Islamabad. To my knowledge there is currently one such list (Press Pakistan), which is unfortunately owned and moderated by those who have visible double standards and a blatant right wing slant.

What I have personally experienced on the Press Pakistan google group is that my messages criticizing certain media giants / lobby are “liberally” censored and blocked by the group moderators. I must clarify that I never used foul language against any person in my emails.

Further, I am not the only one affected by the moderators of the group.

From a most recent thread in the group (“Dr Shahid Masood joins ARY Network?”), here are two complaints formally registered:

Mateen:

Why does accountability apply to everyone else except ourselves? Or are you trying to tell me that media, especially anchorpersons, is a mafia now that cannot be questioned without invoking the wrath of the ‘journalistic’ community? You remind me of another occurrence not too long ago when another powerful community that is the lawyers refused to extend accountability to their own doorsteps. They wouldn’t allow any one to represent a Christian family whose 12 years old daughter was murdered by her employer and its family because the gent was a lawyer. My apologies, I thought this site was meant for discussion and reflection.
It will be a batter idea to also post under all messages at this site that “not open for discussion”.

ayesha siddiqa

————————-

Dr. Siddiqa,

Welcome to the club. Accountability stops when it comes to self-accountability. Only if I count the number of messages the list moderator(s) blocked when I raised few questions about H Mir. They didn’t even had the common courtesy to respond when I inquired why my messages are blocked.

Come to think of it, its time for me to move on then depending on moderators mood.

Adnan Gill

————————

I have therefore decided to move on from “Press Pakistan” to “Pakistan Press”. At least I know that Pakistan Press is not being operated by die-hard affiliates of a dubious lobby of journalists (including Dr. Shahid Masood, to say the least).

Akhtar says:
June 12, 2010 at 2:41 am

@ex-PFUJ office bearer The group you mentioned (Press Pakistan) is owned by our usual friends based in Aabpara. I too used to subscribe to that list until I started reading their topics, e.g. Democracy’s Revenge from IT and Telecom Sector, Please sign petition to end discrimination on dalit students in [Indian] universities etc.

Akhtar says:
June 12, 2010 at 2:57 am

Chief Martial Law Administrators at “Press Pakistan” enforce their selective authority:

Membership of Mr. Ali Naqvi Temporarily Terminated

http://news.jonzu.com/z_asia_membership-of-mr-ali-naqvi-temporarily-terminated.html

Membership of Mr. Akram Khan Faridi Terminated to Protect Privacy of Members
http://news.jonzu.com/z_asia_membership-of-mr-akram-khan-faridi-terminated-to-protect-privacy-of-members.html

Membership of Mr. Rohail Dar Terminated due to Cross-posting
http://news.jonzu.com/z_asia_membership-of-mr-rohail-dar-terminated-due-to-cross-posting.html

Indeed, such rules and regulations did not apply to the Ansar Abbasi lobby of (yellow) journalists.

Javed Afrid says:
June 13, 2010 at 6:20 am

And you have copy cat Press Pakistan group. Very unfortunate. if you want to do some original work then why dont you come up with some independent name instead of copy catting their name. This shows you do not have original ideas.

Sarah Khan says:
June 13, 2010 at 6:43 am

@Javed Afrid We have not copied Press Pakistan at least in one dimension, i.e., a unilateral pro-right wing slant, censorship and blocking of dissenting voices.

There is also another significant difference. Unlike “Press Pakistan” google group, “Pakistan Presss” group is not owned and moderated by Ansar Abbasi and his affiliates in the Aabara Empire (ISI).

Enough, or should I spill some more beans?

Sarah Khan says:
June 13, 2010 at 7:15 am

@Javed Afrid Are you the same gentleman who wrote the following email (on 17 May 2010) in defence of Hamid Mir’s notorious telephone conversation with a Punjabi Taliban terrorist:

“”"Monday, May 17, 2010, 12:31 AM
I am confused if it is indeed the voice of Hamid Mir, but still i would like to draw your attention towards the difficulties faced by a journalist in establishing contacts with these people and the tune one needs to adopt, to extract information from them. It might sound weird but this is the truth that you need to present yourself as one of their sympathizer, if you want to work on issues involving them but this does not necessarily mean that you should also report the way they want you to report.

At the end of the day, its a very complicated and dangerous duty to perform and you must give journalists, some relaxations in thier behaviours to interact with them.
As far as Hamid Mir’s accusations against KK are concerned, I think they were more inspired by his personal relations with KK rather than him being working on someone’s behalf. I am convinced that Hamid Mir would have never anticipated this fate for KK.”"”

———-

Ironically the above email was circulated in the Press Pakistan group while numerous emails critcizing Hamid Mir’s contacts with the terrorists and his hatred for Ahmadis etc were blocked by the Press Pakistan administrators.

Please do not hesitate to correct me if I am wrong.

Should I spill a few more beans?

……………

AHMED BALOCH says:
January 15, 2011 at 5:09 am

@Sarah Khan……very nice …I think this would be enough for this ISI employee and JAMAT memeber Javed Afrid….

anonymous says:
January 15, 2011 at 6:11 am

I am a a senior media worker (more than 30 years experience). My emails to another group (Press Pakistan) were blocked because I revealed the real face of a fellow (in fact yellow) journalist.

I am pleased to join the new group, and congratulate you for taking this much needed step.

haji peer muhammad kakar says:
March 25, 2011 at 3:36 am

i am working with gang group since 1980 and i want to work as reporter in electronic media
contact information 03333938363

……………….

From Pakistan Media Watch

New ‘Pakistan Press’ Group Founded

One item I came to learn very quickly when I started this blog is that if you start writing about the media, you will suddenly find your email filled with emails from various sources, many of which claim to be representative of ‘Press.’ It can be hard to sift through all of this information to find what is truly informative among all of the propaganda.

To help solve this problem, a new initiative has been taken to cut through the nonsense and make a place where journalists and media workers both in Pakistan and abroad can share information.

“” Are you a journalist, columnist, reporter, blogger, media worker, media activist working in print, electronic or social media in or related to Pakistan?

Would you like to be connected to a vibrant group of media workers and activists where you have complete freedom to network with other media workers, where you can freely exchange your ideas and opinions in a reasonable manner without any fear of censorship or retribution?

If you are already a member of any such group, are you sick and tired of the biased and manipulative attitude of the group moderator/s?

We are pleased to announce that we have created a new google group “Pakistan Press” with an aim to provide an interactive and impartial email discussion forum to Pakistani and international journalists and media workers.

The Pakistan Press has its own website: http://pakistanpress.blogspot.com/

In addition to our colleagues in the traditional print and electronic media, we also encourage media activists in the cyberspace (blog, facebook, twitter etc) to join Pakistan Press.

One thing we can assure you of, you will have complete freedom (except hate speech and foul language) to express and exchange your ideas and opinions. We will hear your voice and let it be heard.

Dialogue, mutual respect and tolerance are three guiding principles we hold dear.

In order to join this group, send an email to: pakistanteam@gmail.com

You can visit the group at the following link:

http://groups.google.com/group/pakistanpress

The group’s address is: pakistanpress@googlegroups.com “”"

This is a great project and one that could do a lot of good. One of the key goals of this blog is to point out misinformation and problems with media reports not to attack any one person, but because we want journalists to recognize problems so they can fix them.

The West has had ‘free press’ for hundreds of years. Ours is very young, and in many ways I think we are still learning how to balance independence with objectivity. We have suddenly been given this great ability to criticise those in power – which we should absolutely exercise. But we should exercise this ability responsibly. Otherwise, how are we any different from those we criticise?

Jang, for example, we focus on quite a bit and there are certainly some employees of that company that we believe practise very irresponsible and unethical behaviours. But there are may more journalists with Jang who are hard working and do a good job. It is these journalists who could most benefit from a group like this one because by organizing as responsible and ethical journalists who are more interested in reporting than making a famous name for themselves, they will be the ones to make our media as good as it can be.

http://pakistanmediawatch.com/2010/06/17/new-pakistan-press-group-founded/

Reply
PFUJ Official says:
June 17, 2010 at 10:42 am

And you have copy cat Press Pakistan group. Very unfortunate. if you want to do some original work then why dont you come up with some independent name instead of copy catting their name. This shows you do not have original ideas.

http://groups.google.com/group/PressPakistan is the most authentic and unbiased group where PFUJ, Hamid Mir, Ansar Abbasi, Najam Sethi, Ayesha Siddiqa, Rauf Klasra and other journalists participate.

Why we need to go to your 2-number group when real one already exists and performing well????

admin says:
June 17, 2010 at 10:59 am

Is there only one newspaper or TV station also? So why there has to be only one Press group? If these people want to set up a separate group, don’t they have the rights to do so? Why are you so threatened by this? I think we should be encouraged when people want to do something of their own. We should be glad that people are being productive and creative. If your group is number-1, you have nothing to worry about, so please don’t criticise people and put them down for doing something on their own.

maria says:
June 17, 2010 at 11:24 am

dear admin,

how you will feel if I registered Pakistani Media Watch.com and start copying your articles on my website?

After reading Mr. PFUJ comments, I checked both group websites and found the new-one is really fake one.

Check PFUJ Secretary General’s Statement originally posted by himself at PressPakistan:
http://groups.google.com/group/PressPakistan/browse_thread/thread/7409e9d6d1d2d1bb#

Latter this new 2-number group copied that statement and forward to its number whose email ids has also been stolen from PressPakistan group.

http://groups.google.com/group/pakistanpress/browse_thread/thread/39a7998162d2aa75

SHAME SHAME !!!!!!

Saba Imtiaz says:
June 17, 2010 at 11:51 am

Making a replica of already known application is not a big deal, that too by stealing the idea and content.

I would say its rather a fashion in Pakistan to follow the trends and those who have succeeded, but we never think that the success comes at a cost, after hard work. Trying to undermine the work of those who have spent years is lil kiddish…!

I hope i am wrong

BA says:
June 17, 2010 at 11:55 am

Dear @PFUJ Official

The ‘big’ names you mentioned in your number-1 group, have somehow made their way up. They are not necessarily be brilliant, creative and authentic. Our group works for without any monitory considerations, the zeal is the only motive.

We have read enough of lies in our school text books and through our ‘grand’ journalists. This is the very reason behind Pakistan descent to the new lows. Lies, cheating, false information, non-sense sense of aggrandizement, self-righteous attitude and contempt for creativity has remained the hallmark of our establishment-run media houses. On the other side we have the courage to speak the truth and face the truth. We are seekers of knowledge, hungry for rational discourse and harbingers of showing the bright side of the picture.

So please if you think you are the best, be it. But we have every right to steer our way to bring the best and true picture of the events and their undercurrents rattling the present day Pakistan.

Reply

admin says:
June 17, 2010 at 1:08 pm

@maria I think you must consider that when the new group re-posted the PFUJ Secretary General’s Statement to their group they gave full attribution to it. They did not pretend that it was from themselves. Doesn’t this actually show some respect to PFUJ Secretary General? This new group is simply making sure more people see his statement. Why would he not want more people to see his statement?

Abdul Aziz Mohmand says:
December 29, 2010 at 9:13 am
V GOOD SITE

http://pakistanmediawatch.com/2010/06/17/new-pakistan-press-group-founded/

Responsibility of Media in Crisis Situations

Dawn Editorial: Media coverage

IT is the electronic media’s job to report on events as they unfold and relay news to viewers as quickly as possible. A spirit of competition — and there is a lot of it these days given the number of television channels vying for ratings and advertising revenues — also prompts organisations to stay one step ahead of their rivals. To be the first to deliver breaking news is to stage a coup. It demonstrates a channel’s ability to get to the bottom of the story more quickly than others and helps generate audience interest and draw the attention of advertising agencies. But in this race against time in the ephemeral world of television, sometimes the core values of good journalism come to be overlooked. No one of liberal bent can ever advocate state censorship. That way lies the squelching of dissent and freedom of expression. But at the same time there is clearly room for debate on the fast-fading distinction between conscientious journalism and the kind of reporting that is rooted more in sensationalism than a desire to convey what is known beyond question.

These troubling thoughts were fed fresh fodder on Monday as the media covered the siege of the police training centre in Manawan in the outskirts of Lahore. With one-upmanship calling the shots in some quarters, the death toll was exaggerated even though there were no solid grounds for such reports. Yet they were filed, and aired repeatedly. There is a big difference between seven and 70 dead. The anxiety felt by those whose relatives and friends may be caught in the crossfire grows ten-fold on the basis of such reckless speculation. And speculation is precisely what it is. It is not news. Such inventive reporting serves no purpose whatsoever other than heightening fear in an already traumatised nation. And yes, pulling in viewers and advertisers. In crisis situations, the cause of journalism would be better served if reporters and anchors were to err on the side of caution until rumours are confirmed beyond doubt. There was no need to show what looked like bodies — though in Monday’s incident some of those so pictured may have been policemen pretending to be dead. On the plus side, the decision by some channels not to show live footage on security grounds is to be welcomed. But that said, there is huge scope for raising awareness within the media of how it should go about its business without abandoning ethics.

Source: Daily Dawn, 1 April 2009

Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad ALi Jinnah’s speech to Pakistan’s Constituent Assembly on 11 August 1947

Presidential Address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan at Karachi

August 11, 1947

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen!

I cordially thank you, with the utmost sincerity, for the honor you have conferred upon me – the greatest honor that is possible for this Sovereign Assembly to confer – by electing me as your first President. I also thank those leaders who have spoken in appreciation of my services and their personal references to me. I sincerely hope that with your support and your co-operation we shall make this Constituent Assembly an example to the world. The Constituent Assembly has got two main functions to perform. The first is the very onerous and responsible task of framing our future constitution of Pakistan and the second or functioning as a full and complete sovereign body as the Federal Legislature of Pakistan. We have to do the best we can in adopting a provisional constitution for the Federal Legislature of Pakistan. You know really that not only we ourselves are wondering but, I think, the whole world is wondering at this unprecedented cyclonic revolution which has brought about the plan of creating and establishing two independent sovereign Dominions in this sub-continent. As it is, it has been unprecedented; there is no parallel in the history of the world. This mighty sub-continent with all kinds of inhabitants has been brought under a plan which is titanic, unknown, unparalleled. And what is very important with regard to it is that we have achieved it peacefully and by means of an evolution of the greatest possible character.
Dealing with our first function in this Assembly, I cannot make any well-considered pronouncement at this moment, but I shall say a few things as they occur to me. The first and the foremost thing that I would like to emphasize is this – remember that you are now a sovereign legislative body and you have got all the powers. It, therefore, places on you the gravest responsibility as to how you should take your decisions. The first observation that I would like to make is this: You will no doubt agree with me that the first duty of a government is to maintain law and order, so that the life, property and religious beliefs of its subjects are fully protected by the State.
The second thing that occurs to me is this: One of the biggest curses from which India is suffering – I do not say that other countries are free from it, but, I think, our condition is much worse – is bribery and corruption. That really is a poison. We must put that down with an iron hand and I hope that you will take adequate measures as soon as it is possible for this Assembly to do so.
Black-marketing is another curse. Well, I know that black-marketeers are frequently caught and punished. Judicial sentences are passed or sometimes fines only are imposed. Now you have to tackle this monster which today is a colossal crime against society, in our distressed conditions, when we constantly face shortage of food and other essential commodities of life. A citizen who does black-marketing commits, I think, a greater crime than the biggest and most grievous of crimes. These black-marketeers are really knowing, intelligent and ordinarily responsible people, and when they indulge in black-marketing, I think they ought to be very severely punished, because they undermine the entire system of control and regulation of foodstuffs and essential commodities, and cause wholesale starvation and want and even death.
The next thing that strikes me is this: Here again it is a legacy which has been passed on to us. Alongwith many other things, good and bad, has arrived this great evil – the evil of nepotism and jobbery. This evil must be crushed relentlessly. I want to make it quite clear that I shall never tolerate any kind of jobbery, nepotism or any influence directly or indirectly brought to bear upon me. Whenever I will find that such a practice is in vogue or is continuing anywhere, low or high, I shall certainly not countenance it.
I know there are people who do not quite agree with the division of India and the partition of the Punjab and Bengal. Much has been said against it, but now that it has been accepted, it is the duty of everyone of us to loyally abide by it and honorably act according to the agreement which is now final and binding on all. But you must remember, as I have said, that this mighty revolution that has taken place is unprecedented. One can quite understand the feeling that exists between the two communities wherever one community is in majority and the other is in minority. But the question is, whether it was possible or practicable to act otherwise than what has been done. A division had to take place. On both sides, in Hindustan and Pakistan, there are sections of people who may not agree with it, who may not like it, but in my judgment there was no other solution and I am sure future history will record its verdict in favor of it. And what is more it will be proved by actual experience as we go on that was the only solution of India’s constitutional problem. Any idea of a united India could never have worked and in my judgment it would have led us to terrific disaster. May be that view is correct; may be it is not; that remains to be seen. All the same, in this division it was impossible to avoid the question of minorities being in one Dominion or the other. Now that was unavoidable. There is no other solution. Now what shall we do? Now, if we want to make this great State of Pakistan happy and prosperous we should wholly and solely concentrate on the well being of the people, and especially of the masses and the poor. If you will work in co-operation, forgetting the past, burying the hatchet, you are bound to succeed. If you change your past and work together in a spirit that everyone of you, no matter to what community he belongs, no matter what relations he had with you in the past, no matter what is his color, caste or creed, is first, second and last a citizen of this State with equal rights, privileges and obligations, there will be no end to the progress you will make.
I cannot emphasize it too much. We should begin to work in that spirit and in course of time all these angularities of the majority and minority communities, the Hindu community and the Muslim community – because even as regards Muslims you have Pathans, Punjabis, Shias, Sunnis and so on and among the Hindus you have Brahmins, Vashnavas, Khatris, also Bengalees, Madrasis, and so on – will vanish. Indeed if you ask me this has been the biggest hindrance in the way of India to attain the freedom and independence and but for this we would have been free peoples long long ago. No power can hold another nation, and specially a nation of 400 million souls in subjection; nobody could have conquered you, and even if it had happened, nobody could have continued its hold on you for any length of time but for this. Therefore, we must learn a lesson from this. You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed – that has nothing to do with the business of the State. As you know, history shows that in England conditions, some time ago, were much worse than those prevailing in India today. The Roman Catholics and the Protestants persecuted each other. Even now there are some State in existence where there are discriminations made and bars imposed against a particular class. Thank God, we are not starting in those days. We are starting in the days when there is no discrimination, no distinction between one community and another, no discrimination between one caste or creed and another. We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State. The people of England in course of time had to face the realities of the situation and had to discharge the responsibilities and burdens placed upon them by the government of their country and they went through that fire step by step. Today, you might say with justice that Roman Catholics and Protestants do no exist; what exists now is that every man is a citizen, an equal citizen of Great Britain and they are all members of the Nation.
Now, I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State.
Well, gentlemen, I do not wish to take up any more of your time and thank you again for the honor you have done to me. I shall always be guided by the principles of justice and fairplay without any, as is put in the political language, prejudice or ill-will, in other words, partiality or favoritism. My guiding principle will be justice and complete impartiality, and I am sure that with your support and co-operation, I can look forward to Pakistan becoming one of the greatest nations of the world.
I have received a message from the United States of America addressed to me. It reads:
I have the honor to communicate to you, in Your Excellency’s capacity as President of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, the following message which I have just received from the Secretary of State of the United States:
On the occasion of the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly for Pakistan, I extend to you and to the members of the Assembly, the best wishes of the Government and the people of the United States for the successful conclusion of the great work you are about to undertake.

Soucre: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Speeches and Statements as Governor General of Pakistan 1947 – 48.

Published (1989) by Government of Pakistan, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Directorate of Films & Publications, Islamabad