Manhandling of journalists: PFUJ stages protest against police

Representatives of various political parties, civil society also show solidarity

LAHORE: Pakistan Federation of Unions of Journalists (PFUJ) on Saturday held a demonstration in Lahore against delay in the arrests of police officials responsible for torturing journalists – injuring cameramen and reporters of various TV channels covering sit-ins in Islamabad– and damaging DSNGs.

Leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and members of civil society joined the protests in a show of solidarity with the journalists’ community.

Addressing the protesters, the PFUJ president Rana Mohammad Azeem said policemen involved in the attack on media persons were neither arrested to date and nor any departmental action was taken against them.

“The three journalists, who became victims of terrorism in Quetta, also await justice,” he said, adding that the rulers mentioned only one TV channel during the joint session of parliament.

He warned that if the policemen, who tortured the journalists, and the government functionaries who ordered them, were not booked and arrested within 72 hours, hunger strike camps would be set up across the country.

PFUJ Secretary General Amir Sohail said the ploy of the government to promote TV channels of its choice will fail.

“If the government loves a pro-India channel so much, it should shut down the PTV and make its favourite channel the state media,” another PFUJ official Raja Riaz said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 21^st, 2014.