APNS slams abduction, torture of Umar Cheema
KARACHI: The All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) strongly condemns the abduction and torture of senior journalist Umar Cheema as an attempt to brutally intimidate and subjugate the free media, said a press release issued here on Monday.
Sarmad Ali, Secretary General APNS, in a statement stated that the deplorable act against the journalist was a part of the growing trend of violence against the dissenting press and it was in the interest of the civil society to check this trend with combined efforts.
The APNS considered such acts as a clear attack on the freedom of press and expression. This suggests that the society is becoming increasingly anarchic where the law and order and tolerance do not prevail. The APNS believes that it was the professional duty of the journalists to write investigative stories and act as a watchdog to the interest of the people of the country.
The stability and strength of the democratic dispensation requires that a critical investigative report is not only tolerated but encouraged by the authorities concerned. It further requires that the extremist and fascist tendencies, which tend to curb the press freedom, are completely weeded out.
The APNS expressed its sympathies with the victim of such vandalism and urged upon the prime minister to bring the culprits of the incident to the book without any further delay.
Source: The News
Date:9/7/2010
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