Journalists protest against police high-handedness
KARACHI, March 07, 2006: The journalists and crew of the electronic media covering the Senate election have lodged strong protest and staged a sit-in at the Sindh Assembly building against the police high-handedness.
The protesters also marched from Karachi Press Club to the Chief Minister’s House and staged a sit-in at the main gate of the CM’s house. They also raised slogans against the present regime and demanded action against the culprits.
Addressing the protest rally, the leaders of the PFUJ and KUJ declared that coverage of the Chief Minister and government functions and Sindh Assembly proceedings would be boycotted till an apology from the chief minister and action against those responsible for Monday’s ugly incidents.
The protest was lodged when the plainclothes policemen manhandled the journalists and crew of the electronic media and stopped them from the coverage of the senate election. Police officials told the journalists that Chaudhry Muhammad Ali Arian, the Special Secretary to the Chief Minister, had ordered them to stop the journalists.
However, the provincial election commissioner Chaudhry Qamaruzzaman ordered the police officials to allow the media for the coverage but the police defying orders, did not allow them and finally the journalists boycotted the event when the police officials manhandled some of the journalists. They also jostled the journalists and tried to snatch their cellular phones while the ministers and ruling party members were allowed to use cellular phones within the polling station.
The leaders of the MMA, Maulana Umer Sadiq, PPP leader Makhdoom Jamil, PML leader Imtiaz Sheikh, and Sindh Minister Pappoo Shah, also joined the protest by the journalists and condemned the police action. They also supported the journalists’ demand for the removal of the special secretary to the CM.
Source: The News
Date:3/7/2006
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