HYDERABAD, Jan 8: Hundreds of working journalists and employees of different newspapers took out a protest rally to condemn the registration of a case against the editor and executive editor of daily Kawish and the police action against journalists all over Sindh on different occasions.
The journalists claimed that the rally marked the beginning of a long drawn-out struggle aimed at ensuring freedom of the press in Sindh and demanded immediate withdrawal of the FIR.
The newsmen began their protest march from the local press club and gathered in front of the Old Campus and the SSP office where some of them delivered speeches.
Carrying banners and placards, they condemned police for harassing members of the newspaper industry. They raised slogans against police officials.
Speaking on the occasion, the vice chairperson, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Sindh, Ali Hassan, said that the struggle would continue until the journalists were assured that they would be having complete freedom and security while discharging their professional duties.
The president of Hyderabad Press Club, Lala Rehman Samoon, reminded the authorities concerned that it was not a question of registration of an FIR against the editor and executive editor of Kawish but the professional freedom of journalists.
He said that today’s protest indicated that the journalists were united and would raise voice against all measures which were being taken to stifle the voice of the press.
Meanwhile, the action committee of journalists, which met here on Tuesday, finalized the arrangements for a protest meeting on Jan 10.
The meeting asked the journalists to hold protest meetings at all divisional headquarters. It informed that the journalists would observe token hunger strike on Wednesday.
The Qasimabad police lodged a criminal case under sections 447 (criminal trespass), 147, 148, 149 (rioting while armed with deadly weapons with common object), 506(2) (criminal intimidation with threats to cause death or grievous hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intend to provoke breach of peace) and 427 (mischief) on Sunday night on the complaint of Khameso Hajano who accused that some hoodlums tried to occupy his lands at the behest of Qazi Ali, the editor, and Qabi Ayub, the executive editor, of Kawish.
MIRPURKHAS: A hurriedly called meeting was held at the Mirpurkhas Press Club on Tuesday.
The meeting strongly condemned the act of the Hyderabad police to implicate the editor and executive editor of daily Kawish, Hyderabad, in a false case.
It decided to hold protest demonstration on Wednesday outside the local press club against the registration of a false case and appealed to local journalists to participate.
MITHI: The journalists of Mithi held a protest meeting at the local press club on Tuesday against the registration of a false criminal case against Ali Qazi and Ayub Qazi, editor and executive editor, respectively, of daily Kawish.
The participants of the meeting pointed out that the case was registered against the editor and executive editor at the behest of senior officials of the Hyderabad police merely to pressure the print media.
Similar protest rallies were held in Sanghar, Badin, Dadu, Nawabshah, Thatta, Sukkur, Shikarpur and other cities.
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