Model Town incident could have been pre-empted if Geo
LAHORE: Protest against attack on senior anchorperson Hamid Mir and illegal suspension of Geo News by Pemra is continued in Lahore in which hundreds of people from all walks of life participated.
Demanding of the government to restore Geo immediately, the protesters said had Geo been there, it would have been standing with the Pak Army fighting with militants in North Waziristan these days. They also said had Geo New not been off-air, the incident like Model Town could have not occurred, as it would report the truth. They demanded of the government to immediately restore Geo. The protesters made it clear that if Geo was not restored after 15-day suspension, they would be on roads against the federal government.
Carrying banners and placards inscribed with anti-Pemra and anti-government slogans, the protesters gathered here outside Jang/Geo offices at Davis Road Wednesday. They also expressed solidarity with workers and journalists of Jang/Geo and injured Hamid Mir and bereaved families of Model Town incident.
Among the participants included Punjab Parliamentary Secretary Rana Arshad, Chairman PPP’s Lawyer Forum Iftikhar Shahid, senior journalists including Khawar Naeem Hashmi, Wasif Nagi, Maqsood Butt, general secretary of Jang Workers Union Waseem Babar, Anjum Rasheed, leader of Jamaat-e-Islami Farooq Chuhan, Abdullah Malik, president Civil Society Network Pakistan, president Jang Workers Union Rukhsana Nazli, Bedar Bakhat Butt, Waheed Butt, Khalid Farooqi, Senior Vice President PFUJ Ijaz Mirza, Hanif Goraiya of Tehreek-e-Istaqlal, Akbar Jatoi, Gohar Butt, Asim Hussain, Rauf Sheikh, Farhat Abbas Shah, Ameen Hafeez, Rasheed Ali, Ijaz Manzoor, Jawwad Malik, Nadeem Zia, Zahid Ahmed, Fakhira Tehreem, Shahzada Irfan. Zahid Rafique Bhatti, Waqar Gillani, Shehryar Warraich, Muneer Khokhar, Sharafat Ali, Rana Shahid, Raja Arsalan Khan, Ali Zafar, Awais Qarni, Muhammad Shafique, Arshad Shafique, Tariq Jamal, Mirza Naseer Baig, Azhar Maqbool, Muhammad Babar, Sabir Awan, Shahida Parveen, Huma Mir Hassan, Talha Anwar Zaidi, Siraj Qadri, Muhammad Hussain, Muhammad Obaid of Muslim Youth Wing, Salman Rasool, Saeed Aziz, Tahir Saleem, Sohail Butt, Imdad Qureshi, SM Aqeel, Awais Malik, Usman Saleem, Zainulabedin, Naeem Sarfraz, Muhammad Naeem, Muhammad Kashif, Waris Ali, Ejaz Rasool, Imran Rafique, Adnan Shabbir, Amer Riaz, Hammad Waheed, Abdul Qavi, Gohar Ayub, Usman Raza and Awais.
Rana Arshad speaking on the occasion said Geo would be restored soon and continue playing its effective role of informing people about all the happenings around the country and the world. Paying rich tributes to workers and journalists of Jang/Geo, Rana said they played their vital role for strengthening democracy, rule of law and justice in the country.
Iftikhar said Geo always played a vital role in strengthening democracy and democratic values. He said president of Pakistan had announced that no channel including Geo would be banned but his government did the same and banned Geo for 15 days.
He said they are standing with the Army and are against the terrorists which had been killing innocent Pakistanis on daily basis. Malik Manzoor said Geo was tested many times in the past through such malicious campaigns but it succeeded every time and proved that it had only promoted the rule of law, equality and justice in the country. He said no society can be developed without independent media and media freedoms.
Fareed Awan said all the workers of the country are standing with Jang/Geo at this time. He said to ban Jang/Geo is the agenda of India and the USA. He vowed that they will not allow anyone to deprive thousands of employees of their jobs who are working in the largest media house of the country.
Khalid Farooqi, terming Geo as voice of the people, said they (people) are missing Geo News for authentic and true reporting at this time, adding government should restore the most favourite channel of the country immediately.
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