APNS seeks meeting with Prime Minister to discuss press freedom
KARACHI: The Executive Committee of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society has requested Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to meet their representatives at the earliest in order to discuss the problems relating to freedom of press and remove the impression, which is unnecessarily tarnishing the image of the country.
Arshad Zuberi, Secretary General of APNS stated that the Executive Committee met under the APNS President, Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman, in Islamabad on Monday wherein, the members were briefed about the meeting held by the APNS representatives with the Federal Minister of Information, Mushahid Hussain, earlier in the day, where among other issues, the executive action against ‘Friday Times’ and ‘Frontier Post’ were deliberated upon.
The emergency meeting was called in the wake of seizure of issues of ‘Friday Times’ by administration in Lahore, thereby forcing the magazine to reprint the same. Hacking of the internet edition was also undertaken. The APNS reiterated the demand that their fellow members, Najam Sethi of ‘Friday Times’ and Rehmat Shah Afridi of ‘Frontier Post’ be released forthwith pending trial in courts and be provided full opportunity to defend themselves as permitted in law. It was resolved that APNS members would appear before the Supreme Court on June 01, 1999 to express their solidarity with the detained publisher / editor-in-chief of ‘Friday Times’.
The meeting was attended by Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman, President,. Jamil Athar, Sr. Vice President, Zia Shahid, Vice President, Arshad Zuberi Secretary General, Mohammad Aslam Kazi Finance Secretary, Mumtaz A Tahir (Aftab), Syed Fasih Iqbal (Baluchistan Times) Najamuddin Sheikh (Deyanat), Arif Nizami (Family), Sharif Farooq (Jehad), Hassan Pooya (Muslim), S. M. Munir Jillani (Paigham), Mujib-ur-Rehman Shami (Pakistan), Ilyas Shakir (Qaumi Akhbar), Pir Sufaid Shah Hamdard (Wahdat) and Mustafa Sadiq (Wifaq) Ms Jugnoo Mohsin of ‘Friday Times’, Mukhtar Aaqil of Jurat and Mahmudullah Afridi of ‘Frontier Post’ attended the meeting as special invitees.
Source: Business Recorder
Date:5/25/1999
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