Journalists protest under the umbrella of Peshawar Union of Journalists at the press club. PHOTO: PPI
The main gate of Baghwan’s house was damaged in a grenade attack in Murshidabad area early Sunday morning. He is the Peshawar bureau chief of Express News.
The South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) called for the protest, in which members of the Khyber Union of Journalists (KHUJ) and other media organisations participated.
People held placards and banners calling for freedom of the media, while chanting slogans against the government for not protecting journalists. On March 19, a medium-intensity bomb was defused outside Baghwan’s house.
The Express Media Group has been targeted about a half dozen times since August 2013, leading to the deaths of four people in separate incidents in Karachi and Lahore.
“We will not tolerate any more attacks on the media,” said Nasir Husain, president of the Peshawar Press Club. If the government could not provide protection to journalists, it should not govern, he added.
He demanded the government provide adequate security to journalists, whose work is both challenging and dangerous. KHUJ President Nisar Mehmood also expressed concern over the continuous threats faced by the journalist community, and asked the provincial government to take steps to protect them.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 8th, 2014.
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