Leading journalists call for defence of press freedom
LAHORE: More than a 100 leading columnists, editors and senior journalists have expressed their concern over the intimidation of the press and harassment and arrests of the journalists.
In a statement, issued by Convener Committee for Free Press, Imtiaz Alam, they have called upon the journalist community, democratic forces and all those who support freedom of expression to join hands in defending a systematic assault on human rights and freedom of speech.
The statement says: “The press in Pakistan is being increasingly subjected to different kinds of intimidation and strong-arm tactics with an objective to silence the voices of dissent. Recent acts of terrorism, threatening calls, illegal detentions and excessive use of state leverages against the journalists and the press have now assumed a systematic pattern of harassment and victimization of some of those who cannot otherwise be tamed or bribed by the authorities. After failing to get certain journalists sacked from one group of publications, the authorities have now taken a course of individual-persecution.
“In just a week’s time, a senior reporter was abducted, a columnist, Hussain Haqqani, was arrested by the agencies, the car of a senior journalist, Imtiaz Alam was burnt in an act of terrorism, Editor of The Friday Times, Najam Sethi has been charged with ‘treason’ on flimsy grounds, senior columnist of the Jang Irshad Haqqani, Editor The News Islamabad, Dr. Maleeha Lodhi, News Editor of TFT, Ejaz Haider, beside others, have been threatened to fall in line. These journalists are well known for their independent and critical views. Earlier, Chief Executive of The Frontier Post, Rehmat Shah Afridi was arrested. It is widely apprehended that much more is in stock to eliminate the critics.”
These journalists have observed “a clear strategy is now discernable: The rulers are desperately trying to use the national press against the foreign media, one local publication against the other and a journalist against his or her colleague. A vilification campaign has been launched on the official media against both local and foreign media and media-persons. Both state agencies and private gangs are being used to intimidate the journalist community and suppress the universally recognized right of speech and expression. In fact, the rise of authoritarianism and fanaticism is undermining democracy, democratic values, fundamental human rights and institutions of civil society.”
The signatories to the statement have called upon their “colleagues in the media in the country and the whole world to raise their voice in unison against the wave of repression against the Pakistani journalists and in support of the cause for a free press, and the right of speech and expression. We also appeal to human rights groups, democratic minded people, bar associations and concerned citizens to join the struggle for a free press and in defence of fundamental rights and the voices of dissent in Pakistan.”
The statement, issued by Imtiaz Alam, Convenor Free Press Committee, is signed among others by the following:
Zamir Niazi, I. A. Rehman, Aziz Siddiqui, Irhsad Ahmed Haqqani, Dr. Khalid Ahmed, M. Ziauddin, Imtiaz Alam, Maleeha Lodhi, Shireen Mazari, Kamila Hyat, Imran Aslam, Ejaz Bokhari, Jugnoo Mohsin, Beena Sarwar, Rashid Rehman, Asad Rehman, Prof. Azizuddin, Gul Hameed Bhatti, Anjum Rashid, Masood Hassan, Shaheen Sehbai, Sheikh Asad Rehman, Tahir Mirza, Zaffar Iqbal Mirza (ZIM), Shafqat Tanvir Mirza, Masudullah Khan, Aamir Ahmed Khan, Mehmood Ahmed Sham, M. H. Askri, Javed Bashir, Ashtar Payami, Shakil Sheikh, Anjum Niaz, Abbas Rashid, Kamran Shafi, Anwar Iqbal, Ghayurul Islam, Zubeida Mustafa, M. A. Majeed, Sami Ahmed, S.G.M. Budruddin, Mehmood Ali Hamdani, M. Aslam, Hassan Musanna, Jalat, Chanel Khan, Romman Ihsan, Zubair Rana, Athar Nadeem, Hameed Akhter, Zaffar Abbas, Hussain Naqi, Abdul Hameed Chapra.
Source: Dawn
Date:5/20/1999
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