Hashmi refuses to sit in armoured car: Journalists manhandled
LAHORE,February 11,2005:Jailed PML-N leader Javed Hashmi refused to sit in the armoured car when he was flown to Lahore from Islamabad on Thursday morning for his production in a NAB court here.
“I’m a public representative and shall not use this (safe) vehicle,” he told the police officials deputed to escort him from the airport to the court premises at the Circuit House. “Pick and throw me into it if you can,” he said in a rush of blood.
Puzzled officials immediately contacted their high-ups and brought a double-cabin police jeep to take Mr Hashmi to court. He has already been sentenced to 23 years jail in a treason case.
The police manhandled journalists present there to cover the event. A reporter of a private TV channel suffered bruises when three policemen pounced upon him with fists.
Talking to reporters, Mr Hashmi opposed any reconciliation at the cost of democracy or “giving relief to Gen Musharraf in any way.”
All political forces must be unanimous on the point that there would be no compromise on democracy, he stressed, adding no one should offer shoulders to bail out the army dictator this time.
Answering a question about the Balochistan crisis, he said dialogue and not army operation was the solution to it. But he regretted that parliament and the masses were being kept in the dark about the situation there.
He demanded that the rapists of a doctor must be arrested and taken to task regardless of their influence.Meanwhile, opposition leader Maulana Fazlur Rahman has condemned the police action against journalists, calling it state terrorism.
The Punjab Union of Journalists also took exception to the incident at the airport and demanded immediate action against the officials responsible for the ugly act.
Source: Dawn
Date:2/11/2005
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