Journalists hold protest rally
ISLAMABAD, July 4: Journalists on Wednesday held a demonstration in front of the Press Information Department (PID) to protest the government’s inability to provide protection to mediapersons during the coverage of the Lal Masjid stand-off in which two journalists have been killed and another critically injured.
The journalists started the protests after observing Fateha Khwani for the souls of the two journalists and prayed for the recovery of Wahab Saleem of Daily the Post, who has been critically injured on Tuesday.
They offered their full support to the bereaved families and demanded of the government to conduct an inquiry into the incident and arrest the culprits and bring them to book.
They said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had done nothing to provide any group insurance cover to journalists who are turning out to be the most vulnerable segment during conflict situations.
They said it was not known as to who was responsible for the death of Maulana Masud Mehmood, a reporter of Daily Islam, who was killed on Wednesday and Javed Khan, a photo journalist of Daily Markaz killed on Tuesday.
They said that unlike North American and Western European nations where health insurance was provided to journalists through either their employers or national plans, there was no such concept of a collective life insurance package for journalists in Pakistan.
Fauzia Shahid, vice president of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) said that it seemed that the government had no care for the journalists.
She said that journalists had become more vulnerable in hostile environments and conflict situations in Pakistan after the expansion of the private television channels. She said that journalists had to report live crisis. She said the government should meet its obligations and take some steps for the safety of journalists.
She said body armours like bullet proof vests, combat helmets and other gears should be provided.
Source: Dawn
Date:7/5/2007
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