Pak journos claim to be stronger than Indian scribes

Chennai, Nov 27 (UNI) Notwithstanding the clampdown on the media and the judiciary by the military regime of General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistani media person today said they were stronger than their Indian counterparts.

Talking to reporters here, a group of six visiting journalists from Pakistan said they were emboldened by their united resistance against Musharraf's regime and the media had become stronger by standing up to the recent emergency imposed by him.

However, they regretted that they did not have leaders like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru for democracy to take roots.

On a visit under the Indo-Pak Exchange Programme, they said ''we are very critical of our government even during emergencies. But the Indian media is either pro or anti-government, as some papers have their own editorial policies and corporate interests.'' Accusing the Indian media of not properly highlighting the alleged human rights violations by the security forces in Kashmir, they were however, all praise for Indian democracy.

''Pandit Nehru laid the foundation for democracy in India, but in Pakistan there was no strong leader after the death of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, resulting in a vacuum,'' they said.

MORE UNI