‘Emergency targeted judges, journalists’
DIR: Journalist and lawyer communities Monday strongly condemned the government for muzÂzling media in the country following the imposition of emergency and urged it to lift the ban on media at once and restore all television channels.
Both the communities castigated the government for asking United Arab Emirates government to stop the telecast of Geo and ARY One channels.
Members of Dir Bar Association marched from bar room up to the press club to express their solidarity with the journalists against the government decision to shut the television channels.
The journalists welcomed the members of the legal fraternity and thanked them for expressing solidarity with them. On this occasion, representatives of lawyers, and journalists addressed members of both the communities and deplored the government for imposition of “martial law” and introducing draconian laws for throttling media.
President Bar Association Ziarat Gul advocate, President Press Club Dir Syed Zahid Jan, President Dir Union of Journalists Latif Khan advocate, General Secretary Bar Jehangir Jan, Muhammad Rashid advocate, Ahmad All advocate and Hanifullah advocate said that emergency was targeted at the judiciary and media.
“The judges were removed and stifled after the emergency while he (Musharraf) did not dissolve his puppet National Assembly, the Senate and Provincial Assemblies. Nothing changed except removing judges and gagging the media,” they remarked.
Condemning United States for supporting Musharraf despite his ‘illegal and undemocratic’ measures, they said the US was not sincere in opposing ‘dictatorship’ in Pakistan but rather strengthening it by lending it unending support. They asked the government to build pressure on Musharraf to end emergency, restore preÂNovember 3 judiciary, lift ban on media and step down as army chief.
They urged the civil society, journalists, lawyers and students to join hands against the government, hoping that the president’s removal was about to come to pass if the ongoing struggle was accelerated further.
Meanwhile, activists of Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) staged a protest demonstration against the imposition of emergency in the country and vowed to give impetus to the movement for Musharraf‘s removal along with lawyers, journalists and civil society.
Source: The News
Date:11/20/2007
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