Journalists across Sindh protest reporter’s murder
Death toll of journalists killed in the province since 2002 has reached 16
PHOTO: FILE
HYDERABAD/KARACHI:
Journalists took to the streets across Sindh on Monday to condemn the murder of journalist Aziz Memon, whose body was found in a canal in Naushero Feroze district the previous day. Observing a black day, media personnel demanded the arrest of the killers.
This latest incident takes the number of journalists killed in Sindh since 2002 to 16. Hardly any culprits in these cases have been taken to task, with the killers either still at large or family members having settled the cases out of court.
Memon, 56, had reportedly been facing threats to his life after he broke a story regarding the participation of 'fake jiyalas [supporters]' at Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's 'train march' last year.
The deceased, who was affiliated with Sindhi TV channel KTN, had interviewed daily wage workers who had come to attend the 'march' in the guise of PPP supporters at Mehrabpur Railway Station. While speaking to Aziz, some of the workers had allegedly complained that the local PPP leadership had promised to pay them Rs1,000 each but ended up paying them only Rs200 for attending the march instead.
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Soon after this incident, Memon was threatened and left for Islamabad, where he addressed a press conference appealing to government authorities to protect him. This appeal went viral on social media.
On Sunday, unidentified individuals killed him and threw his body in a canal on Sunday. According to an initial medico-legal report, Memon had been strangled to death. His body was found floating in Godah waterway with a cable tied around his neck. Memon was reportedly throttled with his microphone's cable. However, the post-mortem report has not yet been finalised.
According to the police, Memon's cameraman Owais Qureshi dropped him at Sufai Sahito village in the Khairpur district. They added that it is likely that the reporter was killed in the limits of Khairpur district, with his body floating to Naushero Feroze through the waterway.
Naushero Feroze SSP Farooq Ahmed maintained that the police would lodge an FIR at Mehrabpur police station against any suspect that emerged, regardless of their identity or influence. Meanwhile, the police have also detained Qureshi for investigation.
Federal Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain has blamed the PPP's Sindh government for obstructing an impartial investigation into the murder, asserting that an independent inquiry was not possible under the provincial government. He alleged that the PPP's reluctance to hold independent inquiry points to their connivance with the people who might be involved in the case.
Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah condemned the incident and ordered an inquiry into it. The PPP chairperson also condemned Memon's murder, stating that the provincial government would not spare the killers.
However, PPP ministers and local leaders have shifted the blame to Sindh Inspector General of Police Dr Kaleem Imam, alleging that the police had failed to provide protection to the deceased.
Meanwhile, Abdul Hameed Memon, the brother of the slain reporter, said that the family of the deceased would nominate PPP MNA Syed Abrar Shah, among others, in the FIR. No case had been registered till the filing of this report.
'Silencing the media'
Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) head Khalid Khokhar, speaking at a protest in Hyderabad, said that Memon's murder was an act of terrorism and an attempt to silence the media. He demanded that the reporter's video statement, in which he had accused the PPP's local leaders, should be made a part of the investigation of his murder.
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On the same lines, Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) president Hassan Abbas asserted that both the KUJ and PFUJ had been protesting for the rights of journalists in Pakistan, but it was the state's responsibility to take action and provide protection and relief to media personnel.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, journalist Owais Aslam Ali said that over 70 journalists had been killed in Pakistan since 2002. "We only investigate those cases where journalists are killed because of their professional work. We do not add those to the list who lost their lives due to personal enmity."
Meanwhile, a veteran journalist working in Shikarpur district said that they preferred to avoid controversial stories. "Not everybody can dare to write the truth. Locally, we must face these cruelties every day," he pointed out.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 18th, 2020.
Journalists took to the streets across Sindh on Monday to condemn the murder of journalist Aziz Memon, whose body was found in a canal in Naushero Feroze district the previous day. Observing a black day, media personnel demanded the arrest of the killers.
This latest incident takes the number of journalists killed in Sindh since 2002 to 16. Hardly any culprits in these cases have been taken to task, with the killers either still at large or family members having settled the cases out of court.
Memon, 56, had reportedly been facing threats to his life after he broke a story regarding the participation of 'fake jiyalas [supporters]' at Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's 'train march' last year.
The deceased, who was affiliated with Sindhi TV channel KTN, had interviewed daily wage workers who had come to attend the 'march' in the guise of PPP supporters at Mehrabpur Railway Station. While speaking to Aziz, some of the workers had allegedly complained that the local PPP leadership had promised to pay them Rs1,000 each but ended up paying them only Rs200 for attending the march instead.
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Soon after this incident, Memon was threatened and left for Islamabad, where he addressed a press conference appealing to government authorities to protect him. This appeal went viral on social media.
On Sunday, unidentified individuals killed him and threw his body in a canal on Sunday. According to an initial medico-legal report, Memon had been strangled to death. His body was found floating in Godah waterway with a cable tied around his neck. Memon was reportedly throttled with his microphone's cable. However, the post-mortem report has not yet been finalised.
According to the police, Memon's cameraman Owais Qureshi dropped him at Sufai Sahito village in the Khairpur district. They added that it is likely that the reporter was killed in the limits of Khairpur district, with his body floating to Naushero Feroze through the waterway.
Naushero Feroze SSP Farooq Ahmed maintained that the police would lodge an FIR at Mehrabpur police station against any suspect that emerged, regardless of their identity or influence. Meanwhile, the police have also detained Qureshi for investigation.
Federal Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain has blamed the PPP's Sindh government for obstructing an impartial investigation into the murder, asserting that an independent inquiry was not possible under the provincial government. He alleged that the PPP's reluctance to hold independent inquiry points to their connivance with the people who might be involved in the case.
Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah condemned the incident and ordered an inquiry into it. The PPP chairperson also condemned Memon's murder, stating that the provincial government would not spare the killers.
However, PPP ministers and local leaders have shifted the blame to Sindh Inspector General of Police Dr Kaleem Imam, alleging that the police had failed to provide protection to the deceased.
Meanwhile, Abdul Hameed Memon, the brother of the slain reporter, said that the family of the deceased would nominate PPP MNA Syed Abrar Shah, among others, in the FIR. No case had been registered till the filing of this report.
'Silencing the media'
Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) head Khalid Khokhar, speaking at a protest in Hyderabad, said that Memon's murder was an act of terrorism and an attempt to silence the media. He demanded that the reporter's video statement, in which he had accused the PPP's local leaders, should be made a part of the investigation of his murder.
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On the same lines, Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) president Hassan Abbas asserted that both the KUJ and PFUJ had been protesting for the rights of journalists in Pakistan, but it was the state's responsibility to take action and provide protection and relief to media personnel.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, journalist Owais Aslam Ali said that over 70 journalists had been killed in Pakistan since 2002. "We only investigate those cases where journalists are killed because of their professional work. We do not add those to the list who lost their lives due to personal enmity."
Meanwhile, a veteran journalist working in Shikarpur district said that they preferred to avoid controversial stories. "Not everybody can dare to write the truth. Locally, we must face these cruelties every day," he pointed out.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 18th, 2020.