Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has strongly condemned the violence and arrest of journalists in different parts of the country and demanded judicial enquiry into these incidents.
In a joint statement issued on Wednesday, President of PFUJ Shahzada Zulfiqar and Secretary General Nasir Zaidi condemned the arrest of KTN news reporter Zahid Jamrro in Khairpur, Sindh, and senior journalist of daily Jang/Geo News in Mianwali as well as torture and beating up of Bakkhar-based journalist Zahid Shareef Rana. They said it is unfortunate that despite the passage of Journalists Protection Bill by the Parliament, high-handedness and violence against the journalists and media workers is on the rise, which is alarming. “Even the journalist was severely beaten by the workers of a political party with lashes by tiding him with a poll, but no action has yet been taken against the culprits.”
The PFUJ leaders said if the journalists are beaten up to stop them from performing their professional duties, the situation will further deteriorate and the “media community will have no choice but to take to the streets”.
“We demand that the provincial governments should immediately take measures for the safety, security and protection of journalists and media workers and constitute a judicial commission to probe the incidents of violence and arrests of journalists,” they urged.
