STOP THE PRESSES!
KARACHI: ‘Aur Mango Azaadi,’ taunted a policeman in riot gear while using a four-foot long bamboo stick to lash reporters, sub-editors, photographers and media supporters who had gathered outside the Karachi Press Club to protest media curbs Tuesday.
The rally concluded only after more than 200 journalists, belonging to different newspapers and TV channels, voluntarily offered their arrests when the police refused to release about 15 others who were first arrested.
Over 100 policemen, in an effort to prevent the participants from staging a demonstration, cordoned off both ends of the Press Club Road with police mobile units and other vehicles so that the protestors could not advance to Sarwar Shaheed Road or Deen Muhammad Wafai Road. However, when the rally managed to reach Deen Muhammad Wafai Road, heading towards Governor House, the policemen started thrashing senior journalists who were leading the rally.
The every-ready police fiercely lath-charged the journalists, including sub-edtiors, and several prominent media men were badly injured. The president of the Association of TV Journalists Jawed Sabha, columnist Zubair Rehman and ARY reporter Ajiz Jamali were hit and beaten.
The baton charge left dozens of journalists, both men and women, injured. The police brutality aggravated those who sought refuge inside the press club but were calmed down by seniors into offering their collective arrests. The journalists also chanted slogans against the State of Emergency and staged a sit-in outside the press club.
Some of the journalists turned to run back to the press club for shelter leaving a handful stalwarts back to face the lathi-charge. But police were at the gates to prevent them from going in.
The police arrested about a dozen senior journalists, including Karachi press club president Sabihiuddin Ghausi, Karachi Union of Journalists president Shamim-ur-Rehman, former president Hafiz Rehman, Zarar Khan and Idrees Bakhtiar. The police tried to enter the club but they managed to lock the gates.
After the arrest of the senior journalists, the remaining ones demanded their release and following the police’s refusal offered themselves up for arrest as well. In the end over 150 of them were carted away, including four Daily Times reporters.
Prominent journalists who offered their voluntary arrest included Chaudhary Jawed, Mujib-ur-Rehman, Khursheed Abassi, Faisal Aziz, AH Khanzada, Kashif Hussain, Abdul Jabbar Nasir, Arbab Chandio, Imtiaz Chandio, Asghar Azad, Dodo Chandio, Shakeel Salawat, Husna, Moosa Kaleem, Ulfat Mughal.
They were taken to Darakhshan, Docks, Clifton, Frere, Gizri, Artillery Maidan and Boat basin police stations. Police snatched their cell phones at the Darakhshan police station where the main leaders were kept.
In the evening the police said the women journalists could leave, but they refused to go until all of their colleagues were released.
The administration of Geo TV and Pakistan People Party sent water bottles, biscuits and tea.
Source: Daily Times
Date:11/21/2007
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