Journalists protest agencies’ highhandedness
ISLAMABAD, June 01 2006: Journalists from Rawalpindi and Islamabad on May 31 staged a demonstration in front of the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Press Club camp office to protest against the harassment of senior journalists by the officials of intelligence agencies.
They warned the government of boycotting the next sessions of the National Assembly and the Senate if the issue was not resolved and the responsible officials were not taken to task. The protesting journalists carried placards and chanted slogans against the ‘unlawful’ behaviour of the officials of the intelligence agencies and demanded a high-level investigation.
The officials of intelligence agencies had harassed a number of senior journalists including Daily Times Bureau Chief Rana Qaisar, Tariq Chaudhry of Aaj TV, Aroosa Alam and Mustanser Javed while they were coming out of the Indian press councillorÂ’s residence after attending a reception on Monday evening.
CR Shamsi, central leader of the Federal Union of Journalists, said that the government was involved in the harassment of journalists. He said the culprits should be prosecuted, adding that the journalists would wear black strips while covering the proceedings of the National Assembly’s budget session if the matter was not settled within two days. Mushtaq Minhas, president of the Rawalpindi Press Club, said that this incident was an insult to the press, adding that it had damaged the country’s image. He also condemned the murder of Munir Solangi, a Sindhi TV channel’s cameraman, and demanded the arrest of his killers.
The road was blocked during the protest and senior officials of the district administration and the police were present there. After the demonstration, the intelligence officials allegedly threatened Mushtaq Minhas of dire consequences for highlighting the issue.
Source: Daily Times
Date:6/1/2006
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