KARACHI, April 16: The All Pakistan Newspapers Society has, in a press release, strongly condemned incidents of violence against media persons and described them as constituting an attack on press freedom.

The press release pointed out that police officials had barged into the plane of Mr Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday morning and manhandled journalists and editors on board to cover his arrival in Lahore. The police not only snatched mobile phones and cameras from the media persons but also beat up some of them.

The APNS also referred to the intimidation of a newspaper editor in Quetta and the beating up of some journalists at the Karachi Cantonment railway station, and said it was unacceptable in a democratic country that the police and political groups should feel free to manhandle the press without any check.