November 18, 2007	Sunday	Ziqa’ad 07, 1428

TOBA TEK SINGH, Nov 17: Journalists held a protest meeting on Saturday to condemn the government for shutting down Geo and ARY news channels.

A joint meeting of the district press club and district union of journalists was held in the press club with its president Mian Manzoor Naz in the chair.

Speaking on the occasion, journalists Ihsanul Haq Burki, Tariq Saeed, and lawyers Rana Azam and Mukhtar Chaudhry and others criticized the government for closing down the news channels.

In separate press statements, district PML-N president Chaudhry Amjad Ali Javed, Jamaat-i-Islami district amir Dr Zahid Sattar, MMA district secretary Mian Abdul Basit, MQM leader Ghiasuddin Janbaz, ANP leader Rana Mubarik, ex-MPA Mian Muhammad Rafiq and former PPP MNA Haji Muhammad Ishaq said that setting conditions to beam programmes on news channels was the negation of free media.

They demanded that the government should withdraw its decision and allow both channels to resume their networks.

SHEIKHUPURA: The political, civic and religious circles have strongly condemned the government for the suspension of news channels and placing curbs on media.

PML-N district president Haji Muhammad Nawaz said that President Pervez Musharraf was putting restrictions on those news channels that were not ready to compromise on the freedom of press.

PPP district president Chaudhry Muhammad Altaf Virk termed the curbs on media a heinous crime committed by the Musharraf government.