Political, religious leaders condemn attack on Dawn reporter
HYDERABAD: Condemnation messages by leaders of different political and religious parties continue to pour in against brutal attack on Mohammad Hussain Khan, staff correspondent of the daily Dawn Hyderabad.
JUI-F senator Khalid Mehmood Soomro, former Sindh governor and PML-N leader Mamnoon Hussain, Imdad Chandio and Saleem Zia (PML-N), JUI-F leader Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, opposition leader in the Sindh Assembly Jam Madad Ali and others condemned the attack in their telephonic messages for Mr Khan and offered him full support.
Sindh Home Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza sent a bouquet and sweets to Mr Khan and said that he would meet soon him to get details of the attack.
Jam Madad Ali said he would raise the issue on the floor of the Sindh Assembly.
PPP senator Moula Bux Chandio visited Mr Khan in the hospital and said attacks on journalists could never be tolerated.
Secretary information of the Sindh chapter of Jamaat-i-Islami, Mujahid Channa, termed attack on Mr Khan an attack on the freedom of press. Those who claimed to be champions of democracy should take notice of the incident and order immediate arrest of the assailants, he said.
Meanwhile, journalists continued protest against the attack on their colleague on the third consecutive day on Saturday.
In Hyderabad, a large number of journalists staged hunger strike outside the press club and demanded arrest of the culprits.
The president of the press club Mahesh Kumar, general secretary Hameedur Rehman, senior journalists Aziz Malik, Ali Hassan and Iqbal Mallah said that instead of paying lip service to the freedom of press and protection of journalists, the government should take practical steps in this regard.
They regretted that even after a lapse of three days, the assailants had not been arrested.
In Tandojam, journalists held a meeting at the press club to condemn the attack and adopted a unanimous resolution demanding immediate arrest of the culprits.
In Dadu, a meeting of journalists condemned the attack by SNF activists and demanded early arrest of the culprits.
Investigation: A special team of police officers with SPO of cantonment police station Nawaz Arain as its head has been formed to investigate the attack and arrest the culprits.
A source in police disclosed that the general secretary of Sindh National Front Ayoub Shar would be put under arrest on charges of masterminding the attack according to statement of the injured journalist.
Mr Khan stated that he was informed by a friend that Ayoub Shar had told him on phone that Mumtaz Bhutto was not satisfied with a story about him.
Shar later phoned Mr Khan and rejected the story as incorrect and part of a conspiracy against the party. He made the call from phone No.0333-7561342, he said.
A clarification was published on Dec 26 and a murderous attack was made on Mr Khan on Dec 31 by two unidentified assailants.
Mohammad Hussain Khan believed that since Ayoub Shar had expressed annoyance over the story, he suspected that SNF activists made the murderous attack on him at the instigation of Ayoub Shar and party leadership.
Source: Dawn
Date:1/3/2010
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