Detention, thrashing of Karachi journalists condemned
PESHAWAR, Nov 21: The Khyber Union of Journalists on Wednesday condemned the ‘police attack’ on the Karachi Press Club, detention of journalists and their implication in bogus cases.
Expressing solidarity with Karachi journalists, KhUJ members took out a procession from the Peshawar Press Club and after marching on the Sher Shah Suri Road, staged a sit-in outside the Governor’s House to register their protest against what they called the state-sponsored attack on a symbol of freedom of the press — KPC.
Police had tried to stop them near the Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum Road, but they had broken through the barricades and reached the Governor’s House.
Chanting slogans against the military rulers and their ‘foreign masters’, they condemned the thrashing of their colleagues by police outside the KPC on Tuesday. They lauded the courage and commitment of journalists beaten and arrested in Karachi.
Speaking on the occasion, KhUJ president Jan Afzal alleged that the rulers had become slaves of foreign powers and those who could not secure their freedom could not ensure freedom to others.
He said the rulers’ days were numbered and they could not stick to power by resorting to violence against journalists and other democratic forces.
He said it was the duty of patriotic forces to come forward and defend their rights. Journalists, lawyers, judges and political activists were fighting for the very existence and integrity of the country, which had been put at stake through the imposition of emergency, he added.
He said the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists had been fighting for freedom of the press, restoration of democracy, self-reliance of the country and rule of the law.
He said hardships the journalists faced were not new for them because they had rendered numerous sacrifices in the past for freedom of the press and their rights.
KhUJ general secretary Nasir Hussain demanded unconditional and early removal of the ban on private TV channels and withdrawal of ‘black media laws’.
He appealed to human rights organisations and the civil society to join hands with democratic forces fighting for the integrity of Pakistan, restoration of constitutional rule and freedom of the press.
Source: Dawn
Date:11/22/2007
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