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| July 01, 2006 | Saturday | Jumadi-ul-Sani 4, 1427 |
PML men booked for press club attack
PESHAWAR, June 30: Pakistan Muslim League’s provincial president and federal minister Amir Muqam, and a number of other leaders and workers of the party have been charged under the anti-terrorism law for their alleged involvement in Thursday’s attack on the Peshawar Press Club.
The club was attacked in an apparent bid to foil a press conference by some leaders of a dissident group in the party.
Police have charged Mr Muqam, information secretary Nishat Orakzai, PML labour wing chief Arbab Akbar Hayat and its district president Dilawar Khan.
They will be tried in an anti-terrorism court and the bail before arrest which they had obtained from a local court has become null and void.
The Khyber Union of Journalists and the press club, in a joint meeting on Friday, decided to ban the entry of PML activists nominated in the FIR into the club. They also decided to boycott PML activities in the city. Meanwhile, leaders of political parties, trade unions and civil society organisations have condemned the attack and termed it an act of terrorism.
The Aurat Foundation condemned the attack and termed it an attempt to curb press freedom.
In a press release issued here on Friday, the organisation said incidents of violence against media persons were on the rise but the state organs responsible for protecting them were least bothered about that.
It lamented that while the assailants were beating up newspersons and PML dissidents, police were acting as silent spectators and they intervened only when the situation worsened after firing by the attackers.
Expressing solidarity with the injured newspersons, it demanded immediate arrest of the attackers, protection for journalists and ensuring freedom of expression. It said journalists needed a peaceful environment to work independently.
Awami National Party leader Bashir Ahmad Bilour, provincial Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mukhtiar Ahmad Khan Yousufzai, provincial People’s Party Parliamentarians chief Rahimdad Khan and others met Peshawar Press Club president Syed Bukhar Shah and expressed grief over the incident
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