Caught On Tape: PFUJ demands safety of cameramen

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has demanded that the government take stock of the threats being received by two TV cameramen. Abdul Salam Soomro of Awaz TV and Jamal Tarkai, a Quetta-based journalist, had recorded the killings of an unarmed teenager at the hands of Rangers personnel in Karachi and five foreigners by the police and Frontier Corps personnel in Kharotabad, near Quetta, respectively. In a statement issued on M, PFUJ Secretary-General Amin Yousuf said the government should take necessary steps to protect the two cameramen and provide security to all journalists who were under serious threats. He said that since the beginning of 2011, six journalists have been killed in the country, which shows that the journalists’ community was being targeted for their work. He said journalists were striving to bring the truth before the citizens, but this was not going down well with certain elements. The government had repeatedly being asked to take immediate measures for the protection of the journalists community but so far, it remains unmoved. The PFUJ would continue to raise its voice for the journalists’ community and would not rest until the protection of journalists was ensured. News Desk

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14th, 2011.