Reporter of daily Star held: Dawn Group’s statement
KARACHI, July 24: Mr Rashid Channa, senior Pakistani journalist for the Star, the Karachi evening daily newspaper published by the Dawn Group of Newspapers, was picked up on Sunday by police officials on the orders of a civil servant responsible for running the chief minister’s office in Karachi.
A spokesman for the Dawn Group of Newspaper which publishes the daily Star has issued the following statement on the matter and appealed to national and international organizations to rally in defence of Mr Channa and the newspaper group in defence of press freedoms:
Today at approximately 13.30 hours Mr Rashid Channa, reporter of our evening newspaper the daily Star, was picked up from his residence in Karachi by unknown and uniformed police officials escorted by a police vehicle.
Mr Channa is assigned to the Star in Karachi for covering affairs pertaining to the performance of the Sindh government. Till the time of the issuing of this statement, the whereabouts of Mr Channa were unknown to us and to his wife.
Several police agencies and intelligence officials have denied his arrest and any knowledge of his present whereabouts.
The arbitrary detention and/or arrest of Mr Channa appear to be closely linked to the stories filed by him pertaining to the Sindh government, the conduct of its officials and of Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, the Chief Minister.
The detention of Mr Channa appears to have taken place as a consequence of the latest salvo fired by the Sindh government against the Dawn Group of Newspapers, which publishes the most influential English-language newspapers and magazines in Pakistan.
In an abrupt move six weeks ago, the Sindh government on the orders of the chief minister had moved to ban all government advertising in the Dawn Group in an attempt to silence critical opinions being expressed from newspapers and magazines within the group. Despite being explicitly informed by the publishers, the federal government watched silently as the Sindh government waged its rapidly escalating war of aggression against the newspaper group.
The arrest of Mr Channa is being viewed as the first of a series of intended arrests of leading journalists and senior management personnel in the Dawn Group, on orders of Dr Mohammed Ali, the secretary to the chief minister, Sindh, issued to the relevant police official. The fact that one such official of the Sindh government refused to take any unjustified or arbitrary action in the matter and that this official is currently awaiting an impending transfer from his senior position as a consequence of his courageous refusal is praiseworthy.
The Dawn Group has therefore decided to take its case to the major national press bodies — the All Pakistan Newspapers Society, the Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors, and the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists. In addition, we appeal to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and to all local and international organizations involved in the protection of press freedoms and civil rights in Pakistan.
We have seen it fit to inform the relevant higher federal and provincial authorities of the excessive and illegal actions by the Sindh government since such actions constitute a wilful violation of Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan. Such senior officials of the country include the president, the prime minister, the governor of Sindh, the chief justices of the Supreme Court and high courts as well as officials responsible for the conduct of law and order at the provincial and federal levels so as to secure the life and freedom of Mr Channa.
We appeal to all segments of public opinion to come forward and remonstrate with the government as to the behaviour of one of its senior functionaries, to effect measures for the immediate release of Mr Channa, and for cessation of all hostilities against the Dawn Group and it journalists.
Staff Reporter of Dawn adds: Mr Channa was picked up from his house in the Defence Housing Society here on Sunday afternoon in mysterious circumstances.
A police van and a private car reached the home of Mr Channa and took him away. Mrs Channa told Dawn that her house was being white-washed and more paint was needed. Mr Channa sent his friend to buy more paint. As he returned, the police followed him to their doors at around 1.30pm.
“We thought he might have met with a road accident and, therefore, police followed him. Rashid went out to inquire about the matter. As he reached there, police took his mobile phone and asked him to sit in the mobile van, saying they had come to arrest him,” she said.
She said that some police officials in uniform and others in plainclothes told her husband not to ask any question and they whisked him away. She said that the police did not inform her where Mr Channa was being taken and what were the reasons.
A senior police officer said on condition of anonymity: “We have picked up Mr Channa and he is with us.” The officer did not disclose where he had been lodged and said that Mr Channa had been picked up over some political issue.
Sources in the capital city police said that some police officials from the investigation wing had picked up Mr Channa.
