ISLAMABAD, May 3: Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has condemned the beating and arrest of journalists in front of the Parliament House on Press Freedom Day. “It was a sad day for the country when the rulers beat the journalists and threw them in lock-ups just because they were demanding freedoms of the press and their rights,” the former premier in a statement here Tuesday said.

She said it was a right of the journalists to demand freedom for the media and also better working conditions for themselves. Demonstration in front of the Parliament House was the only way they could raise their voice and be heard, she said.

She also called upon the international community to take note of the incident.

RABBANI: Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Mian Raza Rabbani also denounced the incident and said it had exposed the real face of the rulers who claimed day in and day out of promoting ‘enlightened moderation’, tolerance and good governance.

“The PPP condemns this barbaric act perpetrated on press corps of the federal capital,” he said in a statement.

Mr Rabbani recalled a string of actions in recent past which showed the mind of the rulers towards media. The political workers and journalists were beaten on the occasion of Zardari’s arrival at the Lahore airport on April 16, then the Pemra Ordinance was quietly amended to curb electronic media freedom, he said.

PML-N: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz also condemned the police action against the journalists.

In their separate statements, acting PML-N President Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, Secretary-General Iqbal Zafar Jhagra and Information Secretary Siddiqul Farooque termed the arrest of journalists and snatching of cameras from photographers a “cowardice” attack on press freedom.

Mr Hashmi, in a message from Kot Lakhpat Jail, said the police brutality had exposed the true face of the “dictatorial regime.”

Mr Jhagra and Mr Farooque recalled the police manhandling of the journalists during the arrival of PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif in Lahore last year as well as the reception of Asif Zardari on April 16.