PPP’s nationwide protest today
KARACHI: Pakistan Peopleís Party Chairperson Benazir Bhutto has directed her party to hold a nationwide protest on Friday (today) against the brutal and inhuman treatment of journalists by the regime, especially over the last two days in Karachi, Faisalabad and Quetta.
Condemning the violence against media people as intolerable, she directed the party to show solidarity with the journalist community who have been baton-charged, assaulted and arrested all over the country in an attempt to gag the entire press community.
Central Information Secretary of the PPP Sherry Rehman also announced that the party would stage protests in front of all press clubs in all the divisional headquarters of the country on Friday to demonstrate solidarity with the journalists.
Lawyers, journalists stick to their guns
MARDAN: The lawyers community of Mardan broke the gate of the district courts and took out a protest procession against the emergency, the house arrest of superior judges and beating of journalists by the law enforcement agencies in Karachi and Faisalabad here on Thursday.
Earlier, they held a meeting wherein media persons were also invited. They condemned the announcement of the election schedule and the new ordinance issued by the president. Secretary of the Bar Abdul Ahad, advocate, while speaking on the occasion condemned the beating of journalists in Karachi and Faisalabad and termed it inhuman and an atrocity against the journalists on the part of the government. He said announcing the election schedule after sending judges home, imposing emergency and gagging the media was nothing more than throwing dust in the eyes of the masses. The secretary bar said that President Musharraf was not acceptable and the struggle against him would continue till his ousting from the power.
Later, the lawyers took out a protest procession where Bakhtyar, advocate, and Mausama Aryani, advocate, broke the gate of the district courts and came out on the road. However, after brief march on various areas of the city, they returned to the court premises. Police tried to arrest the president of the Bar Khan Ghawas Khan and Abdul Ahad but due to the presence of lawyers, they failed to do so. The legal fraternity of District Mardan also invited journalists to their programme who joined them in the protest.
NAUSHAHROFEROZE: Journalists on Thursday here observed token hunger strike for the sixth consecutive day to protest against the imposition of emergency rule in the country and curbs on media under amended Pemra laws.
Led by President Naushahroferoze Press Club, Mohammed Shabir Khanzada, and senior journalists Zahid Rajpar, Younis Rajpar, Mazher Khaskheli, Dr Suhail, Ghulam Mustafa Tagar, Zafar Tagar, Masroor Chandio, Hafiz Abdul Haque Panhwar and Amanullah Qureshi, the journalists on hunger strike raised slogans against the anti-press laws and determined to continue their struggle till the restoration of the Constitution, end of the emergency rule and lifting of the ban on Geo channels.
They demanded immediate release of journalists, lifting of the ban on Geo channels and end of the emergency rule.
MIRPURKHAS: Journalists held a demonstration here on Thursday outside the press club against the curbs on media under the aegis of the Mirpurkhas Press Club and the district union of journalists.
On the occasion, Mirpurkhas Press Club President Rashid Saleem and Senior Vice-President of district union of journalists, Muhammad Khalid, said the government opened all fronts and even the media was not spared, which pointed out the mistakes of the government.
They said the government, which was making claims of providing liberty to media, apparently lost its temper to the criticism and was now expecting all private TV channels to work on the same pattern as that of the state-run TV channel.
The confrontation with media was started by the government and now it must solve the issue before it was too late, they added.
They mentioned that history stood a witness that the government was always on the losers' side whenever it tried to take on the media and imposed illegal and unconstitutional bans.
They strongly reacted over the inhuman police behaviour against journalists in different parts of the country.
Later, in a joint meeting of the press club and the district union of journalists at the Mirpurkhas Press Club, journalists strongly condemned the brutal police action on peaceful journalists outside the Karachi Press Club.
Meanwhile, the son of former premier Muhammad Khan Junejo and PML-Q Senior Vice-President Asad Ali Khan Junejo said the ban on Geo was unfortunate and created uneasiness and concern among the people throughout the country and abroad as well. He called upon the authorities to lift the ban on Geo.
Former MNA and PPP Sindh Vice-President Pir Aftab Hussain Shah Jilani strongly condemned the curb on Geo, terming the ban as unconstitutional and undemocratic.
Former MNA Syed Khadim Ali Shah said: "Geo is the voice of the people," which was silenced. He said the ban on Geo was like strangulating the people of Pakistan.
SUKKUR: Journalists of the town continued token hunger strike at a camp at Press Club Sukkur on the sixth consecutive day on Thursday to protest against the emergency rule, the PCO and draconian media laws including the Pemra Ordinance.
Several delegations of lawyers, political parties and civil society organisations visited the camp to express their solidarity with the newsmen.
The office-bearers and members of the Sindh High Court Bar and District Bar associations, through a resolution, demanded of the government to immediately lift the emergency, scrap the PCO, and release the office-bearers of the Pakistan Bar Council and Supreme Court Bar Association.
The meeting also demanded of the government to immediately release Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan and other office-bearers of the PBC and SCBA.
The meeting demanded to release the chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Rana Bhagwandas and other senior judges of the apex court and high courts, besides releasing arrested lawyers and journalists.
SWABI: Gandhara Union of Journalists (GUJ) handed over a memorandum to the district coordination officer and the district police officer here Thursday for lifting the curbs imposed on media by the government.
Led by its president Muhammad Farooq, the journalists visited the office of the two officers and gave the memorandum to them for registering their protest against the continued targeting of journalists community by the law enforcement agencies.
Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami staged a protest demonstration against the emergency and targeting of opposition and journalists by the law enforcement agencies.
The JI leaders and workers gathered in its office and marched to the main bazaar where their leaders addressed them.
Former MNA Muhammad Usman demanded the restoration of independent judiciary and reinstatement of the deposed judges.
He said that the independence of judiciary was vital for strengthening of various institutions and without strong institutions, democratic order could not flourish in any country.
Our problem, the former MNA said, is that the intuitions are weakened by the rulers.
DIR: The lawyers' community staged a protest rally on Thursday against the imposition of emergency in the country and chanted slogans against Musharraf, Army intervention in politics and the promulgation of PCO.
The march started from the district courts and returned to the same point after passing through Dir bazaar.
The lawyers vowed to continue their fight till restoration of the Constitution and pre-November-3 judiciary.
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Union of Journalists (KhUJ) and Peshawar Press Club on Thursday continued their protest against the curbs on media, Pemra ordinance and imposition of emergency in the country and condemned the police violence against newspersons in Karachi and other parts of the country.
The protesting journalists and representatives of civil societies staged a sit-in in front of the PPC against the ban on private TV channels and Pemra Ordinance.
Led by KhUJ's President Jan Afzal, General Secretary Nasir Hussain and Peshawar Press Club President Mohammad Riaz, the protesters held placards and banners and chanted slogans against the government, emergency and restrictions on media. A large number of police personnel were deployed on this occasion.
They also chanted slogans against Karachi police for baton charging peaceful journalists, who were protesting against the Pemra ordinance and emergency. They also blocked the road in front of the Governor House.
KhUJ President Jan Afzal and Peshawar Press Club President Mohammad Riaz addressing the protesters strongly condemned the police violence against journalists.
They said that the protest movement would continue till the end of the emergency and curbs on the media and end to dictatorship and restoration of private TV channels transmission.
They alleged that General Musharraf imposed emergency in the country only to prolong his rule. They strongly condemned General Musharraf's alleged actions against judiciary and media. They said that the government-imposed ban on the transmission of private TV channels was only to conceal its misdeeds and to pressure them to air news and analysis of its choice.
They said that the journalist community would not accept any government pressure and would perform their duties honestly.
ARY back on air, only Geo remains off air
ISLAMABAD: The ARY has been allowed to air its programmes after an assurance earlier on Thursday given by the Minister for Information and Broadcasting Nisar A Memon to a delegation.
Talking to the media delegation on Thursday morning, the minister held out the assurance that all the problems of the electronic and print media would be resolved shortly and they would see that the ARY would be on air soon. "We hope that media would conform to the law of the land."
Earlier in the day, the government and representatives of publishers, editors and working journalists reviewed the media-related issues and agreed to move forward for their resolution. The Newspapers, News Agencies, Books Registrations (Amendment) Ordinance, 2007, Ethical Code of Practice contained in the Pakistan Press Council Ordinance, 2002, which had caused concern to the media organizations, will be suitably amended through mutual consultation, it was decided.
It was agreed that the media bodies would provide the names of their nominees for the Pakistan Press Council by the first week of the next month. It was further agreed that the matter regarding registration of FIRs against the journalists would be taken up at an appropriate level.
The decisions were taken at a joint meeting of the heads of CPNE, APNS and PFUJ with the Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Nisar A. Memon.
In his remarks, the minister said, "I am against physical action against any citizen of Pakistan, especially the media persons." He reiterated that a conducive environment was necessary for the holding of free, fair and transparent elections in the country. He also expressed the commitment of the government to the freedom of press and said it always believed in unfettered media.
"Journalists are like my children and this is the message I conveyed to the governors and chief ministers of the provinces," the minister said, adding: "Any issue relating to the media be conveyed to me for resolution." |
