LAHORE: A large number of journalists, politicians and representatives of civil rights organisations staged a protest demonstration against the attack on Geo anchor Hamid Mir here in front of the Lahore Press Club on Sunday.

The demonstrators carried placards and raised slogans against the assault on Mr Hamid, terming it an attack on the press. They demanded immediate arrest of the culprits and deterrent punishment to them.

Prominent among them were I.A. Rehman, Hina Jilani, Ejaz Chaudhry, Shafqat Mehmood, Abid Hasan Manto, Arshad Ansari and Afzal Butt.

They said the attack on Mr Mir was in fact an assault on the entire media community, and it had established that no-one was safe in the country. Mr Mir was the leading media person in the country and the attempt to kill him was highly regrettable.

They said journalists could not be intimidated by such acts of violence. They would continue to tell the nation what was truth despite terrorism or in case of any dictatorship.

They said the Sindh government had once again failed to maintain law and order in the province, and the same situation prevailed in the entire country.

They urged the government to arrest the culprits or get ready for a country-wide campaign.

Earlier, a meeting was held in the Nisar Osmani Auditorium of the press club which was attended by journalists, politicians and representatives of civil rights organisations.

Adopting a resolution which was presented by Lahore Press Club President Arshad Ansari, the meeting condemned the attack on Mr Mir. It declared the attack on him an onslaught on the entire journalists’ community, making it clear to the terrorists that they could not suppress the voice of justice and snatch the freedom of expression by such coward attempts.

The resolution made it clear that such events would give strength to the journalists’ community, and they would never compromise on the constitutional right of freedom of the press.

It urged the government to order a judicial inquiry into the incident under the chief justice of Pakistan, arrest the culprits and bring them to justice. It also showed solidarity with Mr Mir and prayed for his early recovery.

Meanwhile, it was announced that like other press clubs in the country, the Lahore Press Club would hoist a black flag on Monday on the call of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists.