KUJ concerned at pressure tactics by govt
KARACHI – Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) has expressed its deep concern over what it says the “pressure tactics” by the government and political groups on electronic media journalists, according to a KUJ press release.
KUJ president Mazhar Abbas and general secretary Fazil Jamili in a joint statement said the tone and tenor exhibited by federal information minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed over the coverage of PML(N) chief Shahbaz Sharif on May 11 was found to be highly objectionable and it was “even insulting to the female newscasters.”
They said the KUJ believed that the tall claims of the government to give people “right to know” were exposed last week with the “detention” of journalists and “confiscation” of their equipment during Sharif’s episode at the Lahore airport.
The said they believed that the “detention” of BBC correspondent Zafar Abbas, cameraman Faisal Zaidi, CNN correspondent Mohsin Naqvi, the governemnt move to “prevent” a TV channel from telecasting a live interview with Shahbaz Sharif before his departure and the “threatening” tone of information minister were direct attacks on freedom of the press. The KUJ demanded that the government should return the “tapes” used by the BBC team which accompanied Sharif from UAE.
Similarly, the “mysterious” disappearance of the Newsweek’s Sami Yusufzai was a matter of concern for journalists. If the government has any case against him then the newsman should be produced in a court of law, they added.
They said the KUJ had also noted with concern that some of the reporters working for electronic media had received threats on the telephone during the recently held by-election in Karachi.
Source: Daily Times
Date:5/17/2004
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