ARY In Disarray?

The following information has been posted by one Mekaal Hassan on the journalists' mailing group PressPakistan. We cannot verify it but it does seem to have more credible citations than the numerous allegations usually found on the list. Can anyone authenticate or rebut this information?

(On a side note, does anyone actually watch ARY these days?)

"The private Pakistani satellite television channel, ARY Digital is in deep financial trouble. The company behind the brand recently slid into administration, leaving employees (journalists and technical staff) helpless and aghast.

ARY Digital TV, broadcasts 3 Asian satellite television channels using Sky television platform in England, ARY News, QTV, and ARY Digital. The company (ARY Digital UK Limited) commenced trading on 9th April 1999 (company registered number 03749889). By July 2011, it owed over 3,500,000.00 (GBP) to various creditors including some well known industry names.

What appears really odd is that the company, now in administration, terminated arrangements with its employees, but later (unbeknown to them) those same employees were hired by a similarly sounding company: ARY Network Limited.

This new company was incorporated on 1st December 2010 (company registered no. 07456134). Administrators were appointed to deal with the affairs of ARY Digital UK Limited due to the disastrous financial situation the company found itself in. Matters were dealt with at the High Court of Justice, Chancery Division, London and the company was placed into administration on the 19th May 2011, (case number No 4172 of 2011).

It is surprising that the assets of ARY Digital UK Limited were sold by private treaty to ARY Network Limited on the 31st May 2011. It is noteworthy that two of the directors of the two companies are brothers.

One of the directors of ARY Network Limited, Mr Muhammed Yaqoob Iqbal is the father of Salman Iqbal, a director of ARY Digital UK Limited. It appears that company assets have simply been passed between family members whilst countless creditors and employees are unaware of this private arrangement.

The employees at ARY s media station are completely outraged as they feel they have been cheated and denied basic employment rights as they did not even know of the changes being made by management. Some salaries have not been paid for almost a year.

The dire financial mismanagement came to light a few months ago when the ARY engaged in a costly advertising campaign to launch a weekly newspaper called The Bridge . Despite the allegedly huge costs incurred, no publication was ever released and it appears that the newspaper s editorial team have now been forced from office. No explanation has ever been given.

The company had promised to launch the newspaper in Pakistan and the UK but failed on both attempts. It is unclear what strategy was at work and why one company was forced to incur exorbitant marketing/advertising costs given there has not been a single publication to date.

Reliable sources within the channel have cited unrest and anger among the employees who find themselves now being employed by the new company. According to a senior insider, professional trade unions are now set to step in and a legal battle will ensue by those wanting to protect themselves from the adventures of the owners.

It seems however if the old ARY has been put in to administration and the employees have suddenly found that the label has been changed and a new ARY has taken over (albeit under the control of the brother) the staff may have to ask the authorities to investigate matters further.

When the company was set up, the first directors were Jawaid Pasha, Yasir Pasha and Zain Pasha who (for reasons unknown) all resigned abruptly on 13th October 2000. It was on that date, Mr Muhammed Yaqoob Iqbal and Salman Iqbal were appointed as directors. Even Mr Asif Iqbal (the former cricketer) was a director at one point as was Barbara Kahan although their positions have since been terminated.

Records at Companies House (the government agency for all companies in England and Wales) makes it clear that the principal activity of the company to June 2006 was to produce and broadcast television programmes for the Asian community in the UK and Europe. It cites, the company having suffered material losses whilst carrying out this activity .

Those losses were financed and underwritten by its shareholders as well as loans from sponsors. It goes on to state: Due to heavy trading losses 5 years ago, the company entered into an agreement with one of its (family) associated company s . Therefore, its current activity is that of sales and marketing for 3 satellite television stations for the Asian market in the UK and Europe. " The Company suffered bad debts on a regular basis which created cash flow problems

The papers submitted by the ARY owners, state the company directors felt the company may not be able to trade through the difficult financial period. Rather than risk whatever little assets the company owned and further expose itself to trade creditors they felt the company should be placed in to administration to protect its position and therein its assets."

Loco in Motion, Again?

So, Dr S&M sent us an email this morning asking us to place his statement on our website. At first we weren't quite sure whether it was the real McCoy or someone just putting us on though it did sound like him. But since the same statement is also to be found on his own official website (as well as featured on the pkpolitics website and on the presspakistan email group), and since there has been no denial all day from him or from ARY, we assume that it is. Most of you have probably read the statement by now but in case you haven't, and to honour his request, we are reproducing it here, typos, banalities and all. It's a bit long-winded and self-promoting but hey, that's Dr S&M for you, what do you expect?

Dr S&M in his latest avatar

We do have a couple or four observations about it, but will come to them after the statement itself:

"December 24, 2010



A Decade of Distinction



Dear fellows, colleagues, well-wishers,

This year is important to me as a personal milestone- a turning point in both my career, my life as well as the fact that I shall also be commemorating a decade of my association with television broadcast this coming 9/11.

I must admit how it has been a tedious but a momentous journey- testing, trying and rewarding as I learned the ropes and gained rich and eventful experience of more than 13000 hours of being in front of the camera, controversies and commotion. Needless to say, this is my distinction over a decade of self-discovery in my quest for seeking the truth.

My story began on a day that shook the world. September 11, 2000. The airplanes that crashed in to the Trade Towers had set about to redefine the world's geopolitical and socio-religious texture and in so many ways, perhaps the true beginning of private News television industry in Pakistan as I started my show on then ARY - Pakistan’s first private TV channel.

The repercussions for the world, the consequences of that eventful day aside, I was also overwhelmed by the experience, the fact that I was to go on-air and comment, present facts that are unbiased and based of factual but fast changing reality. I still get goose bumps when I remember those long hours and a young beginning wrapped with all the excitement and the freedom with responsibility that came with it. It was a moment of actualization for me, giving me the much needed confidence to reach out to all of you through my shows.

Jets flew off docked aircraft carriers, bombs formed the clouds of death, chaos and decent set the order of despair, hope it seemed had admitted defeat. It was all happening so fast that often I was not talking but speaking to you- I found myself connecting on a human level, an unmistakable feeling of empathy and helplessness, fears of future that formed the dark clouds hovering over our part of the world. I was engaged much passionately, as a cause, a belief with my friends, adversaries, critics and importantly my viewers who allowed me to touch upon these subjects.

The journey to a never-ending future awaited my presence.

I began to bring to you news reports from war fronts and forums alike. I travelled to where the news took me, no matter at what odds. I retraced the footsteps of the human story, misgivings, injustice and oppression. From the war in Afghanistan to the Civil war in Lebanon, from the infamous Referendum to Elections of 2002 and the tragic unfolding in the aftermath of the 2002 Earthquake in Pakistan.

I must admit how Views on News was more than a show for me. It was a personification of my conviction, that it was time that Pakistan's media liberated the ‘information-control’ and the ‘mind-control’ of ignorance. Time, I felt, had come when the viewers became in control of what they wanted to see and hear.

As I look back gently now, I can not thank ARY Television Network enough for all the opportunities and trust they had put in my abilities; or the lack of it- but there encouragement had certainly propelled, Dr. Shahid Masood in the making. I was being observed. I was being noticed. I was being watched. Heard. In between criticized too. But unlike many who would seem to fume at a single mention of them in the negative, I maintain that Criticism is very important to me as I feel that it is always true for anything that attempts to redefines the norms and cause a stir in status quo of perceptions.

I may have not realized what I was to champion in times to come back then, but it sure was a slow but definite sinking reality that my viewers had come to expect me to redefine the reality for them, I was to shake the myths and mysteries that had so conveniently enshrouded our past and our present.

All hindrances, set backs and shocks aside, I was resolved in wake of challenges despite the fatigue and exhaustion in my Pursuit to seek knowledge for myself first and then for my viewers. It is nothing less than a sacred trust. Something that I have cherished to this day and shall always, for times to come.

With an urge to experience a new idea, a new setting and to allow more people come in the industry, rather than to have blocked them from a opportunity by being at ARY, I parted ways amicably with my media alma mater, my first home to find myself at Pakistan's number 1 network, 'Geo'.

Change is never easy, change is both a challenge and a chance. I took both in the same stride as I embraced my leap of faith and as many of you would recall, I was to be on-air with a more 'opinionated' Dr. Shahid Masood. It was the world according to me, called, ‘Meray Mutabiq’, I can safely say that it was my catharsis televised- It was a true depiction of the world around us as people, as a country. I took great pains just as much as the management did as well in leaving no stone unturned to make it a huge success.

But success in fluidity can cause commotion. Meray Mutabiq was to soon set history in another dimension. Closed done by a ban for three long months, the show was unceremoniously pulled off-air! But I have no regrets, because I know that when one forebears the standard, the march is always uphill.

I had witnessed also the closure of Geo, the lawyers movement, the days of batons and long march all embroiled with political temperatures had consumed me to be involved to a level of dedication to the cause. The barricades mimicking sign board saying ‘Constitution Avenue’. Time is a great historian, and I shall let it record history, but for now, it brings me to put on record that I am thankful to Geo Television Network to have had stood beside my program in recognition of my contribution as a anchor. Thank you Geo for your trust, it has and will always mean a lot to me.

I remember reading some where, that 'life is what happens to us while we are busy making other plans'. My life too, was to experience a great honor in this prolific media industry- when for the first time in the history of State run, Pakistan Television, I was to be given the responsibility and charge to galvanize the organization’s spirit as both its M.D and Chairman.

On one hand, the accolade of holding the dual titles at PTV along with doing a TV show as well, were a humbling experience, since I were to be the first since 1960’s, and yet on the other hand were my audience, my viewers who were choking my inbox with their emails. They were resentful of this move. They wanted Dr. Shahid Masood to let go of the honor, the ‘firsts’ that he was making. They wanted him to be on the other side of the media divide. This experience made me let go of all the titles, honors and state recognition. And I do not regret any of it, as I was to choose to stand side by side with my real strength, my audience.

It is in this state of mind that I to be mindful of people's expectation poising a question in my mind. Truth beckons courage, and hence, in the end, I find no reason is stronger than belief- unless belief itself is the reason.

Soon after relinquishing my responsibilities from PTV, I was to serve as the adviser to the Prime Minister. Something that I thought I will not be good at, and my doubts proved just about right. Pakistan’s flag full-mast on my car was a great honor and yet, the voices of people called me back, to be ad mist them. In hope, in faith and in belief that there shall be a better tomorrow.

I stepped out of that car, and drove down the streets of Islamabad in a car not much different to yours.

The car I drove that day, got parked again at the Geo News Studios.

‘Meray Mutabiq’ was to begin again. Much to my delight, I was again amongst family. But times had not changed. If at all, it went more hostile towards our newly earned freedom of speech- or the expectation of 180 million people seeking both, the truth and the answers.

My show was to be shut on instructions of the powers to be.

Meray Mutabiq, its team and I, we were to experience the next 12 weeks like wandering gypsies. A show here, another there, motivated but tired. Courageous but in face of great opposition, threats looming large... friendly advises perverting the will... nevertheless the show continued for weeks like this.

With all resources marginalized, stepped up pressures and antics, never was there a moment of lull, despair or destitute. Each program seemed like a edifice of resolve.

Each episode a reason to believe- to be, to do more and not look back.


Your emails, your messages, your texts allowed me to brave the consequences against all odds. I may have made many adversaries, I admit. But in this profession, the choices one makes are founded on principles and not rumor mills. I have shied from public statements, I have by nature, withstood the propaganda, the laments and at a odd few times slurs hurled at me by my opponents.


Allow me to say, 'opponents in perception', as unfortunately, those who have, have done so without meeting me or knowing me. But, I smile at each of their assumptions, and feel there is never a need for a rebuttal! I find it not consummate to my vision or stature. I am sure, you'd all agree that restraint is the strength of a humble man.

In between these times, I felt obligated on a personal level and voluntarily opt out of Geo again in my sincere attempt to allow them the space to continue their broadcast without let or hinder.

Soon enough, I was the President of ARY Television Network and back on the screen with the new version of Views on News. I am certain, some of you have been privy to, or receiving a lot of emails and needless speculations, ranging from controversies on hiring, firings and resignations all the way to some using their time and energy to discuss me.

I am pleased to announce that I will be a colleague and a co-worker with some of you very soon in my capacity of 'CEO and President' for an upcoming Media Group.

This Group, is a Media House that will bring out quality TV channels, Dailies and Periodicals besides establishing of Media University of international standard. But honestly none of this would really have been possible, if there was not a Group behind my dream.

In the forefront of this initiative is the man leading this Global consortium, whom I must thank for his having agreed to venture in this media enterprise. Mr. Sadruddin Hashwani a name you are all familiar with. Someone we have all come to respect as a man whose patriotism makes us proud, whose resolve makes us believe more in our own selves. A role model to have risen above the rest as a self made man who now wishes to set a precedence in media, reinventing, reinvigorating and reviving our industry bogged down by lethargy.


Mr. Hashwani leads this consortium of giants from the Middle East and Europe. A unique and impressive list of notable personalities and business conglomerates who have both put their resources and trust behind Mr. Hashwani and of course through him- in me, and through me- in and on all the working media professionals of Pakistan.

I must admit that this introduction to Mr. Hashwani or the international consortium is no justice. And I fail in introducing them to the hilt that they deserve an introduction, but I do intend on introducing them in more details that I shall share with all of you soon.

It is history in the making, it is a hard task. And I know. But let me admit, let me confess....here perhaps, I am in need for your support and well-wishes, more than any other event in my 10 years of being associated with the media industry.


I am embarking upon a journey to redefine Media History in Pakistan as we know it. Never before, had a working professional in Media could dream of being a stake holder in equity in a big Media Group before, I am to set the precedence.


This precedence is not to boast the achievement, but share that dreams can be dreamt and turned true. This is not my achievement, but a victory to all of you, my fellow colleagues, anchors, that intent and perseverance against animosity can find its own ways to collective benefit of the media industry.

I thank you once again, for all your support, your prayers and well wishes. I know I could not have been able to do any of this without the blessings of Allah, and all the people who have helped me in my eventful journey including Mir Shakilur Rahman, Mir Ibrahim Rahman and Salman Iqbal.

I look forward to your continued feedback and suggestions.

Sincerely.


Dr. Shahid Masood
President & CEO
Pearl Communications (PVT) Ltd
Shalimar 5 Agha Khan Road Islamabad
www.drshahidmasood.com"

Now, if genuine, this letter / statement raises some rather interesting questions:

1. During that entire episode with ARY only a couple of days ago, when DrS&M was denying rumours he had been sacked and even that he had resigned, and reposing his trust in ARY CEO and MD Salman Iqbal, obviously the good doc had already been in negotiations with Sadruddin Hashwani for this new media venture. And wasn't he made President of ARY only a few months ago? What does that say about him and his professional integrity?

2. In fact, one of the commenters on the PressPk email list had hinted that the chaos at ARY had something to do with TWO new media ventures about to be launched in Pakistan and the recruitment drive being carried out by these ventures. Since we had no information to confirm the veracity of this, we had decided to not include this in our earlier post. The two powerful and monied men mentioned as behind these upcoming ventures were cited as Sadruddin Hashwani and Mian Mohammad Mansha. If this letter is genuine, at least one of those hints has turned out to be true. We wait with bated breath for the second to come true.

3. It seems not a little bit odd to us that this new venture should be announced in this way. Shouldn't it actually have been Mr Hashwani to announce his venture?

4. Finally, we have to say that money obviously does not buy anyone any sense. If Mr Hashwani is actually venturing into the media in a big way, surely picking up an opinionated blowhard with so much baggage as the face of it can't be a good omen. I mean, really, what exactly are Dr S&M's qualifications or achievements? That he put out loco shows that fewer and fewer people watched as time went on, because there's just so much lunacy people can take (the last few episodes of his Views on News programme featured that master-wanker Zaid Hamid again!)? That he failed miserably at PTV and managed to turn everyone against him? That he can hold forth about End of Days? But it someone wants to crash and burn with their money, hey, who are we to stop them.

We do have one final question for Dr S&M himself though: What is going on with your hair, dude? Are we to take it that you are going the route of the Sharifs? And if so, is this presaging a mid-life crisis?

Storm in ARY's Teacup (Updated)

The journo bulletin boards are abuzz about confusing goings-on within ARY.

According to the reports (among them, this one from JournalismPakistan), the ARY's longtime Lahore Bureau Chief Nasrullah Malik has either resigned or been sacked, along with at least four other staffers. An email letter circulated among staff by CEO ARY Network Salman Iqbal warns them about Mr Malik calling up staffers in other bureaus to urge them to resign in his support and says Mr Malik's claims that he had resigned over delays in salary payments and other work-related issues are not true. The letter calls upon the staff to pay no heed to the attempts to tarnish ARY's reputation. There are unconfirmed reports also of ARY's Director News Mohsin Raza having also submitted his resignation. Earlier rumours of Dr S&M having similarly turned in his papers seem to have been, unfortunately, untrue.

According to unverified sources, Mr Malik was either forced to resign or sacked for allegedly misappropriating funds meant for the needy, particularly the flood-affected, under the umbrella of the ARY-set up Khwaja Ghareeb Nawaz Trust. Mr. Malik apparently denies the (whispered) allegations and has threatened to take ARY management to court. There are also rumours of other staff demanding their pending dues to be cleared immediately and that the current problems are associated with certain recently announced administrative appointments. Whatever the truth of the matter, there seems to be plenty of storm raging in the ARY teacup at the moment.

Anyone know what's really going on?


: : : UPDATES AND CORRECTIONS  : : :

It seems we got some of our information - culled from the bulletin boards - incorrect. Salman Iqbal did, in fact, accuse Nasrullah Malik in writing of embezzlement. We now have access to the actual letters written to and fro, which we are reproducing below without any editing whatsoever. Readers may judge their worth themselves.


From ARY Network CEO and MD Salman Iqbal:

From: Salman Iqbal

Date: Sun, 19 Dec 2010 17:45:40 +0000

Subject: Nasrullah

Dear All

With a very heavy heart I am writting this email to all of you. I would have never writted this email, and this issue would have gone to the grave with me. But after what all has happened I have no choice but to write this email to all off you.

As you all know that nasrullah malik has resigned, and with him he made 4 other reporters resign. Not only that but he has been calling all the reporters in all the bureaus to resign to show his strength, not only that but he has also made phone calls to Dr shahid and many others saying that I salman Iqbal has fired Dr shahid. Let me reiterate with the strongest heart that this is not true. I have neither fired dr shahid not intend to, and nor have I made any list to fire any other reporter or people on the desk. These are all rumors spread by one person to make our organization week.

I am really proud of the boys who did not listen to nasrullah and worked with all there spirit and good heartdness as always.I thank them once again The actual fact why nasrullah resigned is because he was asked to do so. Nasrullah has worked for over 8 years in our organization and was an integral part of it. Nasrullah was actually a face of ARY news in punjab. Half of the province actually thought he was the owner or a shareholder of ary. You all would thinking why was he asked to resign. I with a very heavy heart now have to disclose the truth.

He was asked to resign cause he had stolen money in the name of charity of KhwAja ghareeb nawaz trust. He was confronted by me personally on the phone and he accepted it. Thru ammad I had asked him to come to karachi last to last friday when I was there. And he said he would come. When I spoke to him on the phone he accepted his crime and promised it will never happen again. To which I didn\'t agree. I told him to quietly resign and leave and nothing will happen to him nor will this ever come out.

Resign he did, which I accepted with a big heart. This story would have never come , but what he did after his resignation is not accpetable and neither is professional. He is telling everybody that he resigned due to non payment of salaries and other issues. Which is not true. He was aksed to leave cause even previously I use to get many calls from people that he use to take bribes for his work. Although his brother was convicted for a murder in punjab I tried my level best to get him released from jail, and we got successful in doing that. When I use to hear such things I never believed it and always use to write it off. But when I actually got proof os him stealing money in the name of charity and using it for his personal gain, that was it.

The sad part here is that I had forgiven him for his sins, but he instead of departing quietly started creating panic in our organization, in every level possible. From top level status of dr shahid, to even sweepers in ARY lahore. Which was very heart breaking and that\'s why I had no option but to tell the whole organization of his sins.

I really sorry that I had to disclose the truth to all of you, cause I had no other option. Today is a sad day at ARY, and it is very sad for me in 3 counts. One I had to let go of my very close person nasrullah, and the second cause he stole from us and third he tried to break us in two.

I am grateful that I have a strong team that\'s why nasrullah failed to break us in to 2. People who have left under nasrullah\'s influence are week and dependent on him, and they have no standing of there own. And they were scared that without nasrullah there weakness would have been seen by everyone. I love my team and I know all of you are loyal people. And all of you tried really hard to get nasrullah back into ARY. You all should now know that\'s the reason why nasrullah shut his phone for 5 days and even though being in dxb did not have the courage to meet me or even call me when a lot of his colleagues asked him too. You all must have gotten your answer, cause he had confronted to me for his theft, and he had no words to talk to me.

Let\'s put our head down, and work really hard to bring this organization back to no 1. Let\'s stand together and fight these rumors off. And I am really grate to dr shahid for his strength that he has shown in this whole turmoil, by standing besides me and helping me thru all this.

Thank you all

Yours

Salman iqbal

CEO and managing director.

ARY Network.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

 Reply from Nasrullah Malik, former Lahore Bureau Chief ARY News:

From: Nasrullah Malik

Date: Mon 20 Dec 2010

Mr. Salman Iqbal

Keeping in view our long relation and personal association I wanted to quit my job in a dignified manner so I resigned on December 14, 2010. You Know it well how you and your cronies beg me to withdrew my resign and return to my job. Everyone Knows inside and outside ARY the way my team and I served the organization even with our blood wherever required. Being owner of a channel network it is your prerogative to hire and fire people. But in the same way it is a right of an employee to decide if he wants to continue or quit his Job. Obviously you can not own people. It is always mutual trust that works both ways. With salaries delayed and working environment deteriorating it was impossible for an honest journalist to continue job in such a channel.

However, it was beyond my imagination that you could slip down so much to come up with such a pack of lies against me. Unfortunately my approach about you was wrong because the family in which I groomed I am taught to trust friends and reciprocally individual like you having love for money alone and no regards for any moral value or manners have shown your true face.

By the grace of Allah Almighty, I am confident that people who know both of us having courage to give honest opinion will stand by my side on all your false accusations against me. I challenge you and anybody else who is of your opinion to prove even the smallest of false charge you leveled against me in my whole professional career. Further, I am ready to declare all my assets at any forum and I challenge you to come forward and do the same.

After reading those lines you wrote about me, I have doubts about your mental health. For instance, you blamed me of embezzling money from Kh. Ghareeb Nawaz Trust which is solely owned and operated by your family. Those who know your family can be witness to what I have said. I suppose after earth quake of 2005 and recent flood it is high time that you and your family made accountable to give the details of single penny that was donated by people from allover the world.

As for as the matter of my taking bribe or favors is concerned, it is not in my blood. Further, I belong to that group of thought who earn and take to their homes all what is Halal. I do not come from your family and I do not have NAB References against me. I have not committed any fraud with individuals, banks and companies in UAE. It is not my nature to stab friends in the back the way you did. People know that I am in Lahore where I have been living for over two decades but your family has absconded from Dubai after embezzling money and dishonoring of cheques. Allah knows well who is honest and who cheated even his family.

Those four journalists you try to label as vermin, actually served ARY over the years with their utmost dedication and best of abilities. Most experienced and reputed among them is Mr. Suhail Shahryar son of a noble family. In his over twenty years of journalistic experience before joining ARY he also served as Bureau Chief of Online Int. News Network in Lahore for seven years.

Similarly, Mian Mohammad Aslam is also a seasoned journalist known for his accurate and exclusive reporting among the journalist community in Lahore. He served in three major national dailies before joining ARY. He has remained a major contributor of exclusive stories to the channel. Two young stars of journalist community in Lahore are Asad Sohaib and Zulqarnain Sheikh whom you blamed for being parasites.

I am really ashamed that you wrote that you supported me in false murder case against my brothers. The fact is that you haven’t done any thing for me in that case and the government of that time witnessed me fighting it all alone without any favor from any body. I believe on merit and it was my conviction that Allah helps those who are on the right path. People know how you are trying to settle your nab and fraud cases with the help of media and official support.

I will now show your true face to whole of Pakistan, especially people in the media. On the false allegations you leveled against me Allah will make you answerable. At the same time I am approaching independent judiciary in the country to make you accountable for baseless charges against me and I am going to file a liable suit against you in the court.

Nasrullah Malik

20th of December 2010

Lahore.

As a superfluous aside, please note the following two missives from Dr S&M sent immediately after Salman Iqbal's letter to the staff:

First email from Dr S&M, President ARY Network:

From: Dr Shahid Masood

Date: Sun, 19 Dec 2010 16:42:28 +0000

Subject: My status/position

Dear All,

We in organisation are all aware of a situation which emerged after some of our colleagues resigned from lahore. It was followed by another unpleasant incident in islamabad office.

During last one hour I received calls from media industry including one very important one (about which I informed salman sb immediately). I was involving my own status. Although salman sb categorically denied and we both are on same page in all decisions taken during last few days/months. Even then I" offer" my resignation if it can be helpful in resolving the issues.

I request all the team members to avoid creating/listening to rumours.

Best wishes.

Dr Shahid Masood

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Second email from Dr S&M, President ARY Network:
 

From: Dr Shahid Masood

Date: Sun, 19 Dec 2010 17:16:59 +0000

Subject: Re: My status/position

Dear All,

Just to clarify the resignation word in my previous email. Its just an"offer",as I haven\'t resigned. The purpose was to convey a message that no one is above the organisation,including myself. As Winston Churchill said"let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning".

Regards.

Dr Shahid Masood.

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The Shaam Coup

The media thunderbolt out of the blue came late in the evening even as most people were tuned in to the one-day cricket match between England and Pakistan. Mahmood Shaam, the editor of Pakistan's largest Urdu daily Jang since 1994 and associated with the Jang Group on and off for almost 45 years, had jumped ship and joined the ARY Media Group. Even more intriguingly, he had signed up to become the Chief Editor of a new Urdu newspaper, set to be launched by the ARY Group from three cities.

The banner of www.mahmoodshaam.com

Now, those who follow Pakistani media in general and Urdu publications specifically, will realize how big a coup (at least in perceptual terms) this is for ARY and how big a blow it is for the Jang Group, whose CEO Mir Shakilur Rahman (MSR) and Group Managing Director, Shahrukh Hassan, are both currently out of the country. Shaam has been in journalism for almost 50 years and is known as an author and poet and in certain circles as a progressive intellectual as well. He was considered close at one time to Pakistan Peoples Party leaders, including Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto, and was also jailed briefly during the martial law of General Ziaul Haq and saw his own weekly Mayaar (Standard) banned for some time under martial law regulations.

Adding to the feeling of the coup is the fact that most in the Jang Group had no inkling about what was about to happen and only learnt about it once ARY began to crow about signing up Shaam, first as breaking news on its television news channel and subsequently as a detailed report during its news bulletins. ARY actually ran footage of its management bigwigs sitting with Shaam as he signed (apparently) his new employment contract and continued to run tickers of congratulatory messages from its CEO Salman Iqbal - the nephew of owner Haji Abdul Razzaq of ARY Gold fame - and other management figures to Shaam. It almost seemed as if ARY were desperate to ensure that Shaam had no second thoughts and to ward off any possibility of MSR attempting to persuade him against going through with this change of loyalties.

Pouring salt into Jang's wounds, however, ARY has also nabbed the Resident Editor of Jang Rawalpindi, Rana Tahir Mehmood, who will be the Group Editor of the about-to-be-launched newspaper. It is expected that a number of other Shaam loyalists may also depart. Keep in mind that Jang will have to contend not only with the departure of some of its biggest names, but also eventual competition from the announced newspaper. (Incidentally, the announcement also shows that ARY - currently languishing near the bottom of the media market - felt it needed a print presence to combat the Jang / Geo media juggernaut and even the daily Express / Express TV combine. Jang had earlier lost a number of its most well known columnists to Express which had thrown oodles of money to wean them away.)

Shaam: change of ships

But was Mahmood Shaam's departure as out-of-the-blue as most believe?

Those who know Shaam had been saying for a while that he seemed deeply unhappy at Jang of late. Part of the reason had been the synergy promoted by MSR between Jang and sister concerns such as The News and Geo. In the last one year, The News' exclusive investigative reports and some op-ed writers had been made an automatic staple of Jang as well and some of Geo's anchors were given their own columns in Jang. Obviously, regardless of the business and editorial sense of this sharing, it had led to Shaam losing a lot of control over his own paper. But he had also been resentful of what he often saw as an agenda-driven hard line taken by the Jang Group against the government, and imposed as a fait accompli on the staid Jang. He was also said to be not particularly happy about the suddenly increased interference from MSR in the day-to-day workings of the paper.

A final nail in the coffin may have been his quiet demotion from Group Editor (overall editor of all Jang editions) to Editor of the Karachi edition at some point over the last year, which went by almost unremarked. When this actually happened, I am not entirely sure, but the print-line that used to run his designation as 'Group Editor' was quietly reworked to name him simply as the 'Editor' (one source claims he was initially designated 'Executive Editor' after the 'demotion' as well). It should be pointed out that this may reflect simply a change of nomenclature at Jang, but certainly a change that was never explained.

But it wasn't as if Mahmood Shaam himself had been simply a passive observer in the drama unfolding around him. We have it from unimpeachable sources that as far back as 2007, he and Rana Tahir Mehmood (the resident editor of Jang 'Pindi who has now left for ARY with Shaam) had attempted to purchase controlling stakes in a floundering television channel. The then owner of the channel initially believed them to be working as front-men for MSR but alleges that investigations revealed that they were actually fronting for former Punjab chief minister and PML(Q) leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi. Whether the allegations of who was behind the buying attempt are true or not, keep in mind that this happened while both gentlemen were working for the Jang Group.

Insiders at the Jang Group, in fact, even though they claim they were unaware of the ARY developments before they became public, say they knew that trouble was brewing on the Shaam front, but believed he was in negotiations with Dunya TV. According to them, they were caught unawares by the ARY news simply because their focus was on Dunya. Dunya, as you may recall, is owned by Mian Aamir Mahmood, a PML(Q) politico considered close to Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi.

There were other unproven rumours that swirled around Shaam, which centred on the contracts his son's media consultancy company bagged from the military, as well as some wealthy Jang op-ed writers whose columns were alleged to be ghost-written by him.

Whatever the rumours may have been, however, obviously the Jang Group did not consider them to have merit enough to have problems with Shaam. But his high profile defection, and its yet-to-come fallout, has certainly left Jang on the back foot. It will be interesting to see how MSR reacts and whether ARY can ever pose a serious challenge to the current leaders of the media market.

Watch this space for updates.