Journalists in the town of Badin in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province have been protesting against the police for falsely involving ten journalists in criminal complaints.

Three of the journalists have been charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).

The journalists said that they are being victimized for covering the activities of Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza, a dissident politician and former member of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the ruling party in Sindh province.

Tanveer Arain, President of the Badin Press Club, said that journalists were preforming their duties during a police siege of Mirza’s farmhouse.

Murtaza Memon, a journalist facing charges under ATA, said police falsely claimed he had stormed a Badin police station along with supporters of Mirza. He also said that police had raided journalists’ houses but he fled Karachi.

According to Khurshid Abbasi, Secretary General of PFUJ, the administration claimed these journalists were supporting Mirza, even though they were only covering his visits to the district.

Abbasi said two local PPP leaders had conveyed to journalists the message that their names could be removed from these cases if they submitted a written apology for the coverage they had given to Mirza and promised they would not report on his events in the future.

Dr Ashothama Luhano of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said raiding homes, beating people and hampering professional duties of the media all appeared associated to the ongoing political conflict in the province.

Those who have been named in criminal cases include Mumtaz Memon and Niaz Memon of the Daily Sindh; Yousuf Jani and Dir Murad Mari of the Daily Koshish; Shankar Kumar and Meharrudin Mari of the Daily Hilal e Pakistan; Shafqat Pinyaro of the Daily Sindh Express News, Aachar Azeem of the Daily Tameer e Sindh; Murtaza Memon, a reporter at Neo TV, and Haji Khan Lashari, a member of the Talhar Press Club.

Cases have been registered under the ATA against Murtaza Memon, Meharrudin Mari and Haji Khan Lashari.

Journalists have been holding protest meetings in major cities of the province including Karachi, Hyderabad Sukkur and Badin, and have demanded the government form a judicial commission to investigate the police action and allegations.

Pakistan Press Foundation

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KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah on Sunday appointed DIG Traffic Dr Ameer Shaikh to investigate the incident in which journalists had been manhandled by police outside the Sindh High Court building on Saturday and submit a report to him in a week.

The decision was taken during a meeting the chief minister held with reporters and cameramen of private TV channels who had been thrashed by police outside the SHC building where they had gathered to cover the appearance of PPP’s estranged leader Dr Zulfiqar Mirza before a court.

The media personnel told the chief minister that they had been manhandled by masked commandos of the Special Security Unit of Sindh Police who were not in uniform.

They requested the chief minister to order an inquiry into the incident and bring those involved to book.

Mr Shah assured the journalists that no such incident would take place in future. “I have already directed the IG to provide protection to journalists when they cover high-profile events,” he said.

Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said he had already apologised to journalists.

“Journalists are my brothers and they have always supported our elected government(s). We will not allow police to harass them,” he said.

Meanwhile, demonstrations were held in some cities of Sindh on Sunday to condemn police action against journalists.

DAWN

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