ISLAMABAD, May 10: The president of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, on Tuesday apologised to journalists, on behalf of the government, for the manhandling and detention of newsmen on the World Press Freedom day outside parliament house on May 3.

Speaking as a special invitee in the National Assembly standing committee on information, which held a session on his initiative, the PML chief requested the journalists to withdraw their demand for removal of officers responsible for the incidents because, he said, they had misread orders from above.

The standing committee met with Rehana Aleem Mashahadi in the chair and heard the viewpoint of leaders of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), All Pakistan Newspaper Employees Confederation (APNEC), Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ) and Rawalpindi-Islamabad Press Club.

Speaking in the committee, Chaudhry Shujaat assured newsmen that the government was sincere in solving their problems.

The committee decided to constitute a committee headed by Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain with Minister of Information Sheikh Rashid as its member to take up the issue of the Seventh Wage Board Award and asked it to report to the committee within three weeks after holding meetings with newspaper owners.

The committee will replace a panel set up earlier under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

The committee had also summoned senior officials of police and Islamabad capital administration who gave their side of the story.

Ms Rehana Mashahadi strongly condemned the police violence and expressed grave concern over excesses committed by police personnel who manhandled and beat newsmen before arresting them.

She said the administration should understand that the journalists belonged to an educated community whose only weapon was their pen.

Minister of state Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli and Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed also attended the meeting.