Violence against media: Union not seeking action against assailants

PFUJ president says PEMRA directives curtailed media freedom

LAHORE:

Members of Lahore Press Club and the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) on Saturday staged a demonstration against attacks on journalists by those protesting the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri on Friday.

The protest was also organised to demonstrate against Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) directives proscribing coverage of Qadri’s last rites, something deemed to have curtailed media freedom. Recalling Friday’s events, PFUJ president Rana Azeem—who was also attacked—said he had come to know that some journalists were being held hostage by protestors at Alfalah Building. Azeem said he had rushed there to save them. He said he had been beaten up by protestors there. He said they had also targeted satellite vans of various television channels and attacked the office of a media outlet.

Azeem said the protesters had a right to be covered by the media [which they were denied] therefore, he said it had been decided to not register an FIR against the protestors. Azeem said instead, an FIR would be lodged against the Pemra and others for curtailing media freedom. “We have called an emergency meeting of the PFUJ. We will decide what course of action to adopt on the occasion,” he said. Azeem said newsmen who often got caught up in such situations were merely doing their job. He said protestors should understand this.

Lahore Press Club president Muhammad Shahbaz said violence against journalists demonstrated the growth of intolerance and extremism nationwide.

He said the decision to not cover protests against Qadri’s hanging had been taken by the government and the Pemra. Shahbaz said this had been done with the acquiescence of media moguls. “I would like to ask media outlets...why send newsmen to such events when a decision has already been taken to not cover them,” he said. Shahbaz also rapped the decision, saying it curtailed media freedom.

Shehzad Hussain of the PFUJ said those who had attacked satellite vans and cameramen needed to understand that such individuals could in no way influence coverage of the protests. “They had (just) been sent there to cover proceedings which is what they were (merely) doing,” Hussain said. He said there was no way they could air the proceedings without the approval of their superiors.

Electronic Media Reporters’ Association (EMRA) president Abid Khan said the attacks marked a time where the state apparatus had to come into operation to ensure journalists did not bear the brunt for the association’s decisions. He said this was not the first time journalists had been attacked or media freedom had been curtailed.

Professional perils: Attacks on media leave HRCP rattled

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed grave alarm over Friday’s attacks on media outlets and journalists by those protesting the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri. In a statement issued on Saturday, the commission demanded all those who had instigated and carried out the violence be brought to justice. The HRCP said that while it welcomed condemnation of these attacks by the prime minister, the Punjab and the Sindh chief ministers among other officials and their pledges of protecting media freedom, words alone could not assuage the media’s fears, which has been under attack from various quarters for years.  “Friday’s attacks on the media in Karachi, Hyderabad and Lahore are indeed an attempt to curb freedom of expression,” the commission said. The HRCP said this was not the first time that those wishing to dictate through violence what the media ought to or not cover had struck.  The commission said it strongly opposed any attempt by the state or non-state actors to intimidate the media into submission.  The HRCP said that while Friday’s attacks ought to receive more than mere condemnations from official quarters, authorities must ensure that those behind the action were prosecuted. The commission said steps should also be taken to secure the media from such attacks. The HRCP said this should be done in consultation with media outlets and journalists’ organisations. “Media outlets, journalists and the greater civil society should close ranks against new threats in addition to the many perils already confronting them on account of their work,” the commission said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 6^th, 2016.