ISLAMABAD: Various journalist bodies on Monday staged a demonstration here outside the National Press Club (NPC) urging the government to ensure foolproof security at their workplaces.

The protest was held on the call of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) which was attended by the members of Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ), NPC and other journalist bodies.

Condemning the gun attack on the office of a private channel in Lahore, NPC President Shakeel Anjum said the government should immediately take steps for the security of media houses which were under threat from various elements.

He said the media had been playing an important role in the war on terror. He said the journalists had rendered sacrifices in the struggle for freedom of expression and always become target of those elements who did not want a free environment for the media industry.

PFUJ President Afzal Butt said the journalists had always raised voice for the rights of people but now they themselves were not safe at their workplaces. He said the culprits involved in the killing of journalists should be prosecuted.

Meanwhile, the journalist community also staged a protest rally in Lahore. The rally led by Lahore Press Club President Shahbaz Mian started from the Club and concluded in front of the Punjab Assembly building. The participants of the rally demanded the government to ensure protection to the media houses and journalists. They also demanded early arrest of the culprits involved in the firing incident.

The News

LAHORE: Two motorcyclists opened fire at the office of a private news channel on Jail Road on Sunday evening.

No one was hurt in the incident and three empty shells were recovered from outside the office of City 42.

The channel aired a report about the incident alleging that police officials sitting in a van across the road and near the main entrance to Kinnaird College for Women remained aloof. “The attackers came on a motorcycle, parked it on the road and one of them fired shots at City 42 office. Both drove away while brandishing the pistols in the air without any resistance. Even the officials at the next door Shadman police station did not dare challenge the attackers,” went the story.

The channel administration said law-enforcement agencies had informed them of a possible attack on the office some days ago.

Representatives of journalists associations rushed to the spot to express solidarity with the employees of the news channel. Some of them raised slogans against the Punjab government and city district administration for their failure to provide security to the media houses.

Senior police officials reached the spot and said they would apprehend the suspects and assured journalists of providing security.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has announced that protest demonstrations would be staged outside press clubs all over the country on Monday (today) at 3pm to express solidarity with the news channel.

This is not the first time any media house has been attacked in Lahore. Just a few months ago two unidentified motorcyclists hurled hand grenade at Dunya News office in Faisalabad bureau and injured three employees of the channel.

In another incident, three employees including a policeman were injured when motorcyclists hurled hand grenade at the office of Din News channel in Lahore.

Dawn

Related News

The Nation: Shots fired on TV channel’s office

ISLAMABAD: The government will petition a superior court against the acquittal of an accused and the award of life imprisonment to four accused instead of the death penalty by an anti-terrorism court of Sindh in the murder case of Geo News reporter Wali Khan Babar.

The Sindh administration would be asked by the federal government to redouble its efforts for an early arrest of absconding convicts who have been handed death penalty.

It is the first murder case in the country whose venue was shifted from Karachi to a remote town in the interior Sindh benefiting from the Protection of Pakistan Ordinance (PPO) promulgated last year. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s assertions cannot be undervalued who had pledged in public meetings at least a dozen times that the government would not let Wali Khan Babar’s killers go scot-free.

Sources told The News Saturday evening that the federal government kept monitoring developments in the case and stayed in touch with the Sindh administration throughout on the direct instructions of Prime Minister Nawaz.

He was among the first national leaders who condemned the killing of Wali Khan Babar in strongest terms. Babar was gunned down in Karachi on January 13, 2011.

Wali Babar murder case was one of the causes that forced the federal government to legislate the PPO as the case had turned highly sensitive when six people linked with the prosecution including a witness and a lawyer had already been killed one after another, the sources reminded.

The prosecution will study the verdict once the detailed judgment is announced and an appeal would be submitted in the light of that in the higher court for enhancement of punishment and revision of acquittal of one of the accused, the sources said.

The News

National Assembly Standing Committee on Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage on Friday decided to move a privilege motion against Sindh and Punjab police for providing wrong data regarding attacks on journalists in their respective provinces. A sub-committee was also constituted to look into the issues pertaining to attacks on media persons, compensation to families of killed journalists and creation of a code of conduct to provide safer environment to media people. Naeema Kishwar Khan is nominated as convenor of the sub-committee.

Chairperson of the committee Marvi Memon asked Marriyum Aurangzeb, member of the committee, to draft a privilege motion on behalf of the committee against Sindh and Punjab police officials for not providing data on journalists killed in the current session of the National Assembly and giving poor briefing to the committee. Memon said attacks on media persons were unfortunate and every effort should be made to ensure safety of the journalists, especially for those who were working in conflict zones.

“Pakistan’s ranking on global index regarding journalists’ safety stands at 158. We need to improve this ranking by working hard and devising viable mechanism for safety of the media persons,” she said. She said she was disappointed over response of the provinces to a request seeking number of attacks on journalists and media organisations in their respective territories.

Elaborating on difficulties faced by the media persons, International Federation of Journalists’ representative Pakistan Pervaiz Shaukat said Pakistan had been declared as one of the most dangerous countries on earth for journalists. “Each time we are asked for suggestions and recommendations to improve working conditions for the journalists and each time these suggestions are dumped by the committees,” he complained.

He suggested that families of the victim journalists should also be compensated the way families of the soldiers were compensated. The previous government had agreed for Rs 1.5 million for each victim family of journalists, but the amount was never paid. “If journalists put their pen and cameras down, no political party (of Pakistan) and even democratic institutions will be able to survive,” he said.

He said if the federal government paid Rs 10 million premium, then all journalists across the country could be insured. Masood Hamid, Secretary General of All Pakistan Newspapers Society, said journalists working in the conflict zone were most vulnerable to terror attacks and pressure from militants and government security forces.

“Around one third of Fata journalists have either migrated to other parts of the country or left the profession owing to threats,” he revealed. The impunity enjoyed by those who were targeting media persons was hampering the freedom of expression, he said, adding that not a single culprit involved in journalists killing was arrested or prosecuted since 2003.

He said a judicial commission probing murder of journalist Saleem Shahzad had recommended a separate ombudsman to entertain complaints of the journalists, but it had not been established so far. Tahir A Khan, executive member of Pakistan Broadcasters Association, informed the committee members about a list of 16 journalists facing threats from different quarters. “The government should provide security to these journalists before something untoward happens to them,” he said.

Dr Jabbar Khattak, Secretary General of Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editor (CPNE), said journalists in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were sandwiched between militants and government security forces. He said journalists were more vulnerable to threats from different quarters in absence of a law on easy access to information. “The situation can improve if the government enacts the easy access to information law,” he said. Earlier, police representatives from Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan briefed the committee members about the number of journalists killed and measures being taken for security of the media persons in their respective provinces.

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