Wanted -- a better spin doctor for Pak

Wanted -- a better spin doctor for Pak
EXPRESS NEWS SSRVICE

KARACHI, October 9: After the media debacle of General Musharraf's visit to the UN and the United States in September, Islamabad is rife with rumours of a change in the information ministry with strong suggestions that Information Minister Javed Jabbar may finally have to pack his bags and make way for another spin doctor this month.

Jabbar, who has served as a minister in the governments of Benazir Bhutto,Farooq Leghari, and more recently, General Musharraf, is a former senatorand owns an advertising agency in Karachi.

He has been in charge of ``information and media development,'' a nomenclature invented by his predecessor Mushahid Hussain who now lives under house arrest in Islamabad.

Insiders say that the regime's information machine is witnessing a power-struggle with the military is trying to wrest control from Jabbar and his team.

Waiting in the wings is Major General Rashid Qureshi, whoheads the military's public relations department and is a key Musharrafally on information.

The regime completes its first year on October 12 amid strong criticism from the international community which includes a searing indictment by the New York-based Human Rights Watch. Its report, set to be released tomorrow, accuses Pak's military rulers of ``committing widespread abuses'' in the name of political reform and calls on Musharraf to ``immediately return the country to constitutional rule.''

The media has also been critical of the regime for not releasing the Hamood-ur Rehman Commission Report, which discusses in detail the role of the Pakistan military and political establishment in the dismemberment of the country.

Musharraf has retorted by suggesting that Nawaz Sharif's family was behind the leak of the report to an Indian magazine since what was published only shows the military's role and glosses over the section dealing with politicians.

However, at an awards ceremony of the All Pakistan Newspaper Society thisweek in Karachi, Musharraf said he would allow for the publishing ofpart of the report.