ISLAMABAD, July 19: The Station House Officer of the capital’s Aabpara police station has been ‘reprimanded’ for issuing ‘unauthorized instructions’ to newspapers directing them not to publish material “based on sectarianism and fundamentalism”. The principal information officer of the information ministry’s press information department told Dawn that the police officer was withdrawing the order.

This was the first written official order sent to newspapers about what they should not print after the notorious practice of the so-called “press advice” was discontinued in late 1980s and the first from police in the country’s history.

The Urdu-language notice read: “In the prevailing situation in the country and in view of sectarian terrorism, you are directed not to publish literature based on sectarianism and fundamentalism.

“In the event of the publication of such literature, legal action according to ‘zabita’ (code) will be taken. And note should be taken of this.”