Cpne Meeting: Violence against journalists condemned

KARACHI: The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) has expressed its deep concern on the killing of nine journalists, including Salim Shehzad, during the last six months and warned the forces that are trying to suppress the independence of press that to stop their tactics. A report presented in the meeting of the CPNE standing committee disclosed that 13 journalists were martyred during 2010 and 74 journalists were martyred between 2000 and June 2011. The meeting was presided over by CPNE President Khusnud Ali Khan. The meeting termed the trend of violence against journalists as the worst ever trend in the history of the country and demanded of the government to take steps immediately to ensure the safety of journalists. The meeting expressed the hope that the commission set up to probe Shehzad’s murder will help identify the killers.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2011.