Journalists attacked in Karachi, Islamabad

Many injured; petrol bombs hurled; assailants try to set vehicles on fire; information minister, Sindh ministers, PFUJ condemn KPC incident

KARACHI: Two journalists were injured when activists of the Anjuman Talaba Islam (ATI) subjected them to physical violence while attacking the Karachi Press Club with petrol bombs and resorting to arson on Sunday evening. The assailants tried to enter the club and set vehicles on fire. Later, the attackers managed to flee the scene before the very eyes of the police.

The reports said that the ATI activists were protesting against the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri outside the Karachi Press Club when its workers attempted to enter the premises of the club. Upon failure to enter the KPC premises due to resistance, the ATI workers resorted to arson and hurled petrol bombs inside the club. A van of a private television channel and another vehicle were partially damaged when the enraged protesters tried to set on fire cars parked outside the club.

The assailants also snatched five cameras from cameramen and fled. During this whole drama, a van of the Artillery Maidan Police Station stationed only a few yards away from the scene did not bother to intervene and arrest the ATI goons. Later, the police fired teargas shells only when the attackers managed to flee the scene.

Meanwhile, an emergency meeting was held at the KPC in which it was decided to boycott the media coverage of the ATI and its parent organisation besides banning their entry in the club. The meeting also requested the print and electronic media houses to boycott the assailant group. The meeting demanded of the government to immediately arrest the attackers and give them exemplary punishment.

According to KPC Secretary General AH Khanzada, an emergency meeting of the club’s governing body has been summoned on Monday (today) to decide the future course of action. Meanwhile, Sindh Home Minister Sohail Anwar Sial and Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister on Information Moula Bux Chandio took notice of the attack and sought a report from Additional Inspector General of Karachi Police Mushtaq Mehar.

They ordered the immediate arrest of the attackers and enhanced security for KPC and offices of newspapers and TV channels. They urged the injured journalists be provided better medical facilities.

Meanwhile, the activists of the Sunni Tehreek manhandled journalists in Islamabad as they gathered outside Parliament House at the Red Zone to protest against the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri. Many journalists, including cameramen, were injured. 

Meanwhile, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervaiz Rashid strongly condemned the attack on the Karachi Press Club by the activist of a religio-political party. Earlier, the Pakistan Federation of Union of Journalists (PFUJ) strongly condemned attacks on media persons at the Karachi Press Club and in Islamabad. PFUJ President Rana Azeem and Secretary General in a statement said the attackers tried to set a TV van on fire and beat up staff of channels and also snatched cameras and equipment. The journalists were stuck inside the KPC during the attack. 

They demanded that the government must take action against the miscreants. PFUJ Secretary General Amin Yousuf condemning the attack said that the journalists would not cover major events until action was taken. He said that journalists did not want hollow condemnation from the government but they needed assurance that they could work safely. 

Amin Yousuf asked how armed men riding on motorcycles attacked the KPC — which is in the vicinity of important places like the Governor’s House in the Red Zone — and fled without being caught. “Where was the security of the red zone”, he asked.