01 March 2004	Monday	09 Muharram 1425

KARACHI, Feb 29: Protesters demonstrating against a private TV channel attacked the Karachi Press Club on Sunday night, wounding seriously a watchman and damaging the KPC's property.

According to eye-witnesses, hundreds of protesters converged outside the KPC chanting slogans against a programme aired by the TV channel, which reportedly hurt religious sentiments of the Shia community.

About 15 to 20 protesters scaled the KPC walls and attacked the main reception of the club, breaking its window panes. The protesters got hold of the watchman, Rafiq, who was trying to block their entry, and beat him up.

Journalists present inside the club at the time of the attack took cover in a room on the first floor. After ransacking the club premises, the protesters walked away. Police reached the place of the incident but did not make any arrests.

The protesters were also reported to have tried to move towards a publishing house, but a heavy police deployment foiled their attempt. A section of the I.I. Chundrigar Road, from the Khairabad Restaurant to the publishing house's building, was sealed by heavy contingents of the police.

The wounded KPC watchman was taken to the Civil Hospital for treatment, an office-bearer of the club said. The president of the club, Sabihuddin Ghausi, strongly condemned what he called a cowardly act.

"The KPC is a symbol of democracy, freedom of expression, religious tolerance and sectarian harmony. This is recognized by all the freedom-loving democratic and enlightened people of Pakistan," he said in a statement.

He said: "I urge all the democratic and enlightened people, irrespective of their religious, sectarian, ethnic and political affiliations, to condemn this cowardly attack on this institution."

Condemning the incident, the president of the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ), Mazhar Abbas, termed the incident a shameful act. "We believe the Karachi Press Club has always remained an impartial institution, which provides equal opportunity to all segments of society to express their views freely," he said.

"The attack on such an institution is an attack on the freedom of expression. We urge all the groups to respect the sanctity of the Karachi Press Club," Mr Abbas added.