Saturday, July 26, 2008

Nayyar Zaidi behind bars in USA!

A few days back, wife of renowned Washington-based Pakistani journalist, Mr. Nayyar Zaidi, called me up and informed me that her spouse was in detention in Ohio since March 2008 and that she would like to send me some documents for review and publication on DesPardes.com. I therefore gave her my address and my Ferderal Express account number. The next day, I received a package which contained copies of correspondents Mr Zaidi had to the Depertment of Justice, FBI, etc., along with copies of his handwritten notes, observations and latest rejoinder to the Federal court judge.

Mr Zaidi has been living in Virginia, USA, for the last twenty odd years. He is a well renowned columnist of JANG Urdu and a political analyst/commentator for GEO TV, CNN, BBC Urdu and several other world media.

Mr. Zaidi called me up today from the Northeast Correctional Center in Youngstown, Ohio. Since our conversation was basically relevant to his detention and the papers he had arranged to send me through his wife Shaheen, I did not bother that our phone talk was being "recorded and monitored". It was a no-holds-barred-conversation but he took pain not to break rules.

Our conversation was obviously intense. This was the third time in my life that I had received a phone call from a person I knew who was behind bars and who wanted to reach out to someone outside for help. And, of all the people, when a respected Pakistani journalist-cum-columnist with a vast readership in Pakistan and elsewhere happened to be on the other end of the phone, things became different. Naturally, I offered my moral support and promised to break the news to the public on his behalf.

Without discussing with him the merits of the case and his detention, I showed my concern and promised to review the papers he had sent me.

Mr Zaidi said he had gone to Ohio to pursue his journalistic "obstruction of justice" research against those individuals who are being detained there from "all over the world". Unfortunately, he ended up being detained himself in the same facility, he said. He is awaiting trial now in which he is the defendent.

Mr Zaidi has claimed that he has been "targeted" by the FBI/DOJ and the "story" goes back to 1995 when he worked for the Pakistan Television. He was approcahed to work for the U.S. government, he said.

According to Mr Zaidi, he was visited by the Feds (FBI) sometime in 2003, and was asked, he claims, to "become an informant". But he refused.

He says he has a case against FBI/DOJ for "obstruction of justice" and wants only "due process of law" to happen.

I have asked him to writeup a synopsis of the events leading to his arrest. He promised he will send.

I then called the Press Attache of the Pakistan embassy in Washington. Mr Kiani, who happens to be the press attache, told me that he found out about Mr Zaidi's detention today only from the ambasaddor Mr. Hussain Haqaani who found out from Pakistan, he claimed.

According to Kiani, Mr. Haqqani is "concerned" about Mr. Zaidi's welfare.

Both, according to Kiani, were unaware that Mr Zaidi was in detention since the last three months.

Mr Kiani said he had been calling Mr Zaidi's residence but his wife would say that he was either overseas on an assignment or would give him "some kind of answer". Interesting!

Meanwhile, Mr Zaidi remains in detention on "national security matters", he said.

13 comments:

  1. Nayyar's weekly column is being published regularly in Jang Group's magazine, "Akhbar-i-Jahan." How come he could not inform the magazine about his arrest while sending his columns? Jang Group would have raised hell to get him released, especially when the Group has always been very close to the U.S. Much seems to lie below the surface and deserves deep digging.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for breaking this news about Nayyar Zaidi,a senior and seasoned Pakistani jouranalist. We,in Pakistan, remain seriously concerned about the whole episode. All my fellow journalists hope that he will be released immediately and those responsible for this stupid act will be taken to task.
    Akhlaq Ahmed
    Ex-Editor
    Weekly Akhbar-e-Jehan

    ReplyDelete
  3. That hasn't always been the case. In February 2003, a U.S.-based Iraqi journalist, Mohammed Hussan Allawi, was ordered to leave the country following State Department charges that he had engaged in activities considered harmful to national security. Allawi, the United Nations reporter for the Iraqi News Agency, was not formally charged and authorities were unclear on what exactly his "harmful activities" were. In response, the Iraq government ordered Fox News correspondent Greg Palkot to leave Baghdad.

    Also in February 2003, FBI agents questioned journalist Nayyar Zaidi for allegedly dialing from his home a handful of phone numbers linked to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Zaidi, who has been a U.S. citizen for 27 years, is the Washington bureau chief of the newspaper Urdu Daily Jang, the flagship publication of Pakistan's largest media company.

    Zaidi claimed the information the FBI alleged it had about him is fabricated and that the agency wanted to get to his sources. The FBI reportedly asked Zaidi to provide them with his personal work-related phone book, but he refused. The investigation has since been dropped, according to the Pakistani Embassy.
    Domestic coverage

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well i found mr. zaidi's column always well researched and when specially he highlighted thats how pakistan can persue his case for getting reimbose the 658 million dollar of F-16s thats were blocked by Pressler amedment.

    Now mr . zaidi is under detention since March 2008 and my all anger goes to Hussain huqqnani who is not only our ambassoder to US but american spoke man too at the same time.

    well i feel the BUSH administratn has played very ugly in this case , they have thier own lexicon. they can call terrorist , jihadi , pro jihadi , what ever they want.

    Mr. Nelson mandella was just removed from terrorist list 02 months back , and they held some months back Molana abdul sattar eidhi too. well done BUSH siete bravi..

    Till Mr. Huqqani is in Washigton , the cases like this ( of nayyar zaidi) may be happened to any one.

    well i could not find mr zaidi's name in offenders list of Ohio offcial web site . i read his real name is Syed Haider kar Zaidi)??

    any way ... mourning. mouning

    Intrestingly today America has promised soem ammount for grain i hope it will be deducted( as they done while reimborsing our f16's ammount) next time when pakistan agin will ask to reimborse thier money a they did in cerca 2001.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Well i found mr. zaidi's column always well researched and when specially he highlighted thats how pakistan can persue his case for getting reimbose the 658 million dollar of F-16s thats were blocked by Pressler amedment.

    Very well said Mr. Jabbar

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nayyar Zaidi is a journalist but, but most don't know he was expelled from Voice of America Urdu service for sexual harassment in the 1990s. It's a fact, so I know what I am talking about. He has had questionable encounters w/ the law before, but that does not justify his being behind bars. I am curious to know why a public civilan all of a sudden gets put behind bars. Either

    a. the govt began to investigate him and found doing questionable activities

    b. he did obstruct justice somehow or some fashion.

    --
    Hopefully he can gather a good legal team and fight any illegal charge and prove his innocence..

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mr. Anonymous,
    "Nayyar Zaidi is a journalist but, but most don't know he was expelled from Voice of America Urdu service for sexual harassment in the 1990s."

    Who are you and in what capacity you are claiming these facts!!!

    Are you just another misinformant...

    If you have something that can solve the mystery than put them on the table.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Mr. Anonymous,
    Iam agree with Nabsha , you dont have courage even to show your name, how can you misinform others about a man of International repute who has been higly vocal againts a merican prejudice about Pakistan.

    Shamfully yesterday , M. Sadiq of Foreign ofice was saying on ARY that actually i dont know about the charges againts Zaidi and His family did not yet ask for help.What a joke....

    What about Huqqani our ambassador and US employ at the same time. What his team is doing ..??

    Intrestingly Irshad salim was saying "Besides, Pakistani-Americans automatically enjoy dual nationality status. So what's the harm in reaching out for all available help if one is innocent? "

    What help you have offered him??

    some times if you have to distinguish between two persons having or claiming same profession .

    Iqbal helped alot to Distinguish by saying " Parwaz hai donon ki isi ek jahan mein, Shaheen ka jahan aur hai kargis ka jahan aur. "

    ReplyDelete
  9. well,Mr.Anyomous---separate your facts from fiction----I also worked for VOA but to this day--I have not heard that zaidi was removed becuz of sexual harrassment! Zaidi is a very straightforward journalist who doesn't beat around the bush--his columns are unbiased and based on his reasearch and evidence that prioves his point---I think you are in that handful who just envies a journalist who puts down any system(pakistani or american) that is corrupt---Zaidi is innocent until proven with evidence that he is guilty!God help Zaidi and others like him!Amen!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I think we should appeal to muslim community everywhere to get a good and fair lawyer for Zaidi who will bring forth the evidence that the FBI are withholding and want Zaidi to compromise---That idiot who wrote that Zaidi was kicked out of VOA becuz of sexually harrassed needs to make sure "was it not the "son of mr.aleemi?" haha--why was this not brought out before --well it shows Zaidi is the best journalist who"tells it like it is!" Sadly enough, there are many pakistanis like anonymous who envy the popularity that Zaidi has achieved internationally!!!I also work for VOA and have never heard anything of this nature----So, I think Mr. Anonymous is great for knowing to instigate something that is not there...check your facts, sonny!God is great and He will help Zaidi who will not compromise on any deals!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nayyar's column has been appearing regularly in Akhbar-i-Jahan. There is never a hint that he is in jail. Nor has any story appeared in Jang, which he also represents in the U.S. What are we talking about?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Mr. Abd al-hameed,
    Nayyar Zaidi's columns are being published becuz the feds are letting me write from his dentention cell---his case has become a US federal case and Jang group does not possess power to influence the US.--Jang group knows!!! Zaidi was first allowed to talk when he contacted Despardes to reveal what happened to him---Remember in this country,you abide by the rules otherwise the harsh treatment is given to people behind bars...I ask why our community is not taking a stand, and where is our ambassador who is more vital than the employer of Zaidi??? Our government can't think beyond the borders since their problems never are finished---but Zaidi being a staunch supporter and voice for the Pakistan community and Muslims everywhere has no one to speak up for him?? Now that is really very very sad....Charges have been made but when asked for evidence --there are none and they want him to plea bargain to which Zaidi won't...Let us pray that "a guardian angel" watches over him and Inshallah someone can help him out of this situation.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hamid Sahib, thanks for clarifying the situation. Still, I do not understand why Jang Group cannot protest at least within the country and use its huge influence with our government to campaign for Nayyar's release. If the media, including Jang Group, can campaign so effectively for Dr Afia, why it can't for Nayyar?

    ReplyDelete