The journalists were nominated in the FIRs that were registered against estranged Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader DrZulfiqarMirza, who is also a former provincial home minister.

“Our actual crime is that we reported what was taking place in Badin,” claimed Badin Press Club president TanveerArain, referring to the police siege outside Mirza’s farmhouse and the expected storming of his residence.

Araid led the journalists from his district at a protest in Hyderabad on Monday. Several rights activists and local journalists also participated in the demonstration.

While the provincial government on Monday apologised in the Sindh High Court for the assault on the media in Karachi, their counterparts in Badin have not been so lucky.

“We have never had such a troublesome patch before,” said Arain.

The booked media men include MumtazMemon, YousufJani, DirMurad Mari, Shankar Kumar, Meharrudin Mari, NiazMemon, ShafqatPinyaro, AacharAzeem, Haji Khan Lashari and MurtazaMemon.

They all have been nominated in half-a-dozen FIRs, including one lodged at Darakshan police station in Karachi.

Mari, Lashari and MurtazaMemon have been charged under ATA sections in the FIR lodged against Mirza and his supporters for storming the police station.

Moreover, Mari has been named in four cases and Lashari in two.

Arain accused Badin SSP Khalid Mustafa Korai for persecuting his colleagues on behalf of the ruling party.

“Korai and two other local PPP leaders conveyed us messages that our names can be removed from the cases if we submit in writing that we apologise for the coverage we gave to Mirza and that we would not do it again.”

Korai was, however, unavailable for comments.

Having rebuffed this offer, they demanded the formation of a judicial commission to probe their alleged involvement in the crimes ascribed to them.

The regional incharge of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, DrAshothamaLuhano, also visited Badin on a fact-finding mission last week and observed the “prevalence of fear and political victimisation”.

“The police are raiding homes, beating people, affecting businesses and hampering professional duties of the media men,” he said.

“And this all appears related to the ongoing political confrontation.”

PunhalSaryo, a rights activist who heads HariPorhiyat Council, remarked that protesting journalists were never charged under the terrorism law even during martial law regimes.

He also pointed out that an economic war lies at the root of the issue, with huge deposits of oil, gas, coal, copper and gold, and rich coastal fishing, sugar industries and agriculture.

“Mirza has considerable support among the masses,” he said.

“If he combines forces with the anti-PPP political parties, they can put up a strong challenge to the PPP in the upcoming local government elections.”

Express Tribune

PCP Chairman Raja M Shafqat Khan Abbasi and Vice Chairman, Pakistan Bar Council, Akhtar Hussain have signed a MoU in this regard here on Friday. Protecting rights of the media and working journalists, especially in sensitive areas has seriously become a tough issue to address to these days in Pakistan. Press as well as legal fraternity of Pakistan had played a vital role in upholding true values of democracy for the rule of law and citizens’ right of expression granted under the Constitution.

According to MoU, both the bodies have agreed to become strategic partners to collaborate in providing legal aid to media persons who fell victim to attack/harassment or murder while during their professional work. The scope of collaboration will include at all levels throughout the country. The Pakistan Bar Council and Press Council of Pakistan will support and strengthen each other’s ongoing initiatives in this regard.

The PBC and PCP will jointly develop new concepts and ideas to protect rights of the media and working journalists in any part of the country.

Both the PBC and PCP will form a working group to review progress on quarterly basis and explore new areas to promote ethical journalism and safe environment for the media persons in the country.

They will support each other in case of any attack or assault on the freedom of press. It was agreed to make short, medium and long terms arrangements to meet the stipulated objectives within ambits of their working charters.

Pakistan Press Foundation

Reportedly, the crowd count was around 20,000 when Dr Tahirul Qadri began his speech. The protest site wore a populated look.

As Dr Qadri took the stage, some people misbehaved with media persons particularly with women journalists belonging to a private TV channel. After the journalists complained to their concerned media houses and the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Minhjul Quran organisers announced that those who indulged in such acts were not members of Minhajul Quran and blamed the incident on miscreants who were “out to disrupt the long march”.

Female journalist Nosheen, speaking to a private TV channel alleged that she identified the people who misbehaved with them and that they were volunteers of TMQ.

PFUJ former president Mazhar Abbas said that he had received messages from a female journalist alleging that some men in the TMQ procession had harassed her.

The TMQ chief and his followers had been continuously expressing their irritation toward the media for saying that the crowd did not number in millions. The TMQ chief claimed that millions of people comprising men, women and children had reached Islamabad and were participating in the long march. It was also witnessed that a few people inside the crowd chanted slogans against senior TV anchorperson Hamid Mir for being biased and partial towards TMQ.

Hamid Mir in a message published in the social media wrote, “Both supporters and opponents of Qadri bashing media we are only with the supremacy of constitution the only consensus document.”

The Parliamentary Reporters Association and other organisations of journalists have strongly condemned the harassment of journalists covering the long march by the workers of Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran. In a statement, the Parliamentary Reporters Association Interim President Siddique Sajid demanded from Dr Tahirul Qadri to take strict action against the workers and security guards present in the long march venue who manhandled the journalists, particularly female journalists. He also demanded that the journalists should be freely allowed to perform their professional duties.

Pakistan Press Foundation