EDITORIAL: ... Since the attainment of independence the meaning of freedom has not been properly understood by many, but no member of the Fourth Estate should have fallen into that grievous error. ... When a further downward step is taken and descent is made to mean personal insinuations against the highest in the land, not only is the good name of the Press dragged into the mud and cause is given for the curtailment of its privileges, but a great disservice is also done to the State.

A recent ... instance was the slander of ...

the Prime Minister ... in the columns of two Urdu dailies in Lahore. They published certain insinuations against Mr Liaquat Ali Khan in the course of an `open letter` to Mr Mumtaz Daultana purported to have been addressed to the latter by an ex-MLA... .

These newspapers cannot evade their own responsibility on the plea that they did no more than publish somebody else`s contribution. The Prime Minister has been compelled to take note of the insinuations and has publicly given the lie to them. ... This rot in the Fourth Estate must be arrested if the prestige of the Pakistan`s Press is to be maintained... .