Students, newsman held at cyber cafe
PESHAWAR – Local police on June 8 arrested some students, including girls, and a local journalist from a cyber cafe on the Peshawar University campus. The campus police arrested the students and the newsman, Mujeeb Khan, when they were busy in their routine work.
Later, they were released on the intervention of senior police officers. NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani has suspended the officials involved in the arrests – an ASI Mehr Ali and Head Constable Alamzaib. He was informed about the incident during his visit to the Peshawar Press Club on June 8 evening.
Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said an inquiry would be conducted into the incident and those found involved in the misuse of power would be seriously dealt with.
He said the police force was supposed to safeguard the rights of people and not to create problems for them. Recently, the local police have initiated a crackdown against Internet cafes on the pretext of controlling misuse of the facility.
They have been arresting cafe owners and visitors irrespective of whether they are using the facility or misusing it. It has been noticed that cyber cafe owners who allow illegal activities on their premises usually provide users privacy by setting up separate cabins.
But none of the cafes at the campus have cabins. A cyber cafe owner, who runs the business at the campus, claimed that there was no question of misusing the Internet facility as all computer monitors were visible to other users.
Often students visited these cafes for preparing thesis and notes, he added. The police had allegedly tied Mr. Mujeeb when he introduced himself and informed them that they had no right to detain innocent students.
And when some newsmen visited the police station, they also were manhandled and pushed out of the station. The Khyber Union of Journalists has condemned the incident and through a resolution asked the chief minister to take action against the officials concerned.
Source: Dawn
Date:6/9/2004
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