LAHORE: Various political parties and rights and media organisations on Saturday condemned the attack on TV anchor Hamid Mir in Karachi and termed it an assault on the freedom of the Press.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the attack on Mr Mir, saying, “The attack on Hamid Mir is an attack on the freedom of expression.” He prayed for the early recovery of the journalist.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan called the attack a part of “systematic violence to silence the media persons.”

In a statement, the HRCP recalled that 11 journalists were killed in the country in the year 2013 and incidents of targeting journalists had continued unabated this year.

“The HRCP calls for an investigation into the attack on Hamid Mir and into all incidents where journalists have come under attack by forces out to stop free speech. It demands that steps are urgently taken to protect the lives of journalists.”

South Asian Free Media Association (Safma) and South Asia Media Commission (SAMC) termed the attack an “attack on all journalists”.

“We condemn this senseless violence against brave journalists like Hamid Mir. This is another incident of journalists being targeted for speaking truth. Freedom of expression is really under attack,” said Safma Secretary General Imtiaz Alam and SAMC Secretary General M Ziauddin in a joint statement.

They urged the government to probe the attack and provide security to journalists so that they could perform their duties without fear.

“These attacks will continue until the government takes journalist safety as an issue for the entire Pakistani society and its right to freedom of expression,” they said.

Jamaat-i-Islami emir Sirajul Haq, former emir Syed Munawwar Hasan, Secretary General Liaquat Baloch and others flayed the attack on Hamid Mir.

They said it was a cowardly act. They demanded the Sindh government arrest the culprits and award them deterrent punishment.

Mr Baloch also said Mr Mir had been raising voice against official corruption, extortion and target killing in Karachi and shortcomings of the security agencies and the investigators must also consider these aspects.

Meanwhile, the Lahore Press Club and the Punjab Union of Journalists held a demonstration in front of the club to condemn the attack on Hamid Mir and demanded arrest of the culprits.

LPC President Arshad Ansari said negative tactics were being used to stop journalists from revealing truth. Senior journalists are receiving threats for quite some time but the government failed to provide them with security, he said.

PUJ President Afzal Butt said demonstrations would be held in front of press clubs across the country on Sunday to condemn the attack.

PPP Lahore President Samina Khalid Ghurki also condemned the attack.