ISLAMABAD, March 16: The government on Friday suspended 14 personnel of Punjab police, including an inspector, allegedly involved in attacking and ransacking the office of a private TV channel, a senior security official told Dawn.

Those suspended are: Inspector Khalid Mehmood and constables Mohammad Jawad, Farhat Mehmood, Zahoor Ahmed, Kamran, Iftikhar Shah, Naeem Abbas, Israr Khan, Mohammad Adnan, Mohammad Ali, Naseer Ahmed, Mohammad Naseer, Faisal Mehmood and Asif Mehmood.

However, the journalist community was of the view that the government had taken action against low-ranking policemen but those who ordered the attack went unpunished.

Meanwhile, the government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident. Additional District and Session Judge, Islamabad, Manzoor Ahmed Mirza has been appointed as inquiry officer.

The inquiry officer has also been asked to fix responsibility and recommend action against those involved in the attack on Geo television. He will also suggest ways to avert recurrence of such incidents in future.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz also convened a meeting of the cabinet on Friday and condemned the police action against the TV channel. The prime minister said that the government would compensate the channel.