Case against 200 journalists withdrawn on Prime Minister’s orders
ISLAMABAD: The district administration on Wednesday withdrew a case filed against more than 200 journalists for holding a protest outside the Prime Minister’s Secretariat on Monday.
The case was withdrawn on the orders of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz who asked Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah to supervise the procedure of withdrawal of the first information report (FIR).
Secretariat police had filed the case against the journalists and sealed the FIR. The journalists were protesting against the government for suspending transmissions of private television channels and introducing amendments in the PEMRA Ordinance to gag press freedom. Three politicians – Ahsan Iqbal, J Salik, and Jahangir Akhter — were also named in the FIR.
Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Chaudhry Muhammad Ali told Daily Times that he had directed the Secretariat police SHO to withdraw the case since the SHO was the complainant. Ali has also directed the investigating officer to stop the inquiry and submit the report to the authorities concerned.
Ali said the police were asked not to take action against the three politicians named in the FIR and return J Salik’s vehicle, which had been seized during the protest.
Daily Times learnt that the government is asking journalists not to involve politicians in their protests. More than 1,500 political activists have reportedly been arrested under Section 16 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) in connection with protests for media freedom.
Meanwhile, journalists in Rawalpindi and Islamabad welcomed Aziz’s directives for the withdrawal of cases against their colleagues, NNI reported.
Rawalpindi and Islamabad Press Club Secretary Afzal Butt said the journalists would observe a ‘black day’ against the amended PEMRA Ordinance on Thursday and vowed that they would continue their struggle for press freedom.
Source: Daily Times
Date:6/7/2007
” 
” 
” 
” 
” 
