Building stormed: Protesters briefly force state-run TV off air

Army escorts party workers out; equipment stolen, destroyed, MD says.

ISLAMABAD:

Hundreds of protesters reportedly from Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) briefly seized the headquarters of the state broadcaster, Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV), on Monday, intensifying the political crisis gripping the country.

Around 10am, the protesters began pelting stones at the police, who retreated without any resistance. The protesters reached the main gate of the PTV headquarters around 11am. Guards were told to stand aside as some protesters began cutting cables near the entrance gates. An AFP reporter said more than 300 protesters, many armed with wooden clubs, entered the PTV building shouting anti-government slogans.

MAP: TALHA KHAN

The party workers ransacked the reception area, entering the cafeteria and taking food and supplies from the cupboards and freezers. The staff rushed for cover as the protesters proceeded to the second and third floors of the building. “We were frightened and locked our office door from the inside,” said one employee, Noman Manzoor.

All entrances to the PTV headquarters were occupied by protesters as they began to damage the property, forcing their way through the first, second and third floors. Wires were cut as they entered the panel room, which led to a temporary breakdown of PTV transmission and its English-language PTV World service. “They have stormed the PTV office,” a news anchor said just before the screen went blank. “The PTV staff performing their journalistic duties are being beaten up,” he added.

“Most of the PTV coverage is watched in Pakistan [compared to satellite channels] but they reported against our ‘peaceful protests’,” said Khalid, one of the protesters.

PTV Managing Director Muhammad Malick told AFP the protesters had ‘ransacked’ the building. “They destroyed and stole equipment. No one was seriously injured but we’re pretty shaken up,” he said.



According to Shahid Mehmood, the engineer in-charge, 14 TV cameras are missing while six have been damaged. An employee in the IT section said the protesters tried to damage servers and the networking system, even as the staff pleaded with them not to.

Photographs of Dr Abdus Salam, former prime ministers Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto and celebrities who had visited PTV over the decades were destroyed. “I never thought we would be taken hostage inside our workplace,” said Ghulam Rehman, an engineer here.

At roughly 12pm, army and rangers troops entered the building. Upon seeing the security forces, the protesters began to chant, “Pakistan Army Zindabad!” while clapping. Army troops made announcements on a megaphone asking the protesters to vacate the building. The army gave the protesters 10 minutes to vacate the building and said that failure to do so would result in strict action against them. Urging the protesters to head to Secretariat Road, Rangers personnel said: “We are here to protect you.”

Outside the headquarters, demonstrators had written Dr Tahirul Qadri’s name and words such as ‘Inqilab’ on the walls and on all cars in the vicinity. Television footage showed some of the protesters beating a photo of the prime minister with sticks.

Information Minister Senator Pervaiz Rashid strongly condemned the attack as an ‘act of aggression and violence’. In a statement, he said Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri could not absolve themselves of responsibility as they agitated their workers and incited them to violence.

Chairperson National Assembly Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting Marvi Memon visited the PTV headquarters shortly after the vandalism. “Anarchists of PAT and PTI attacked a state building and this act should be condemned,” she said. “A lot of damage was done to the building. The government is continuously showing patience.”

However, both Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri denied instructing any of their supporters to storm PTV. They urged their supporters to maintain peace and not enter the Prime Minister House or any other building.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 2^nd, 2014.