SUKKUR: Municipal Commis­sioner Pir Wahid Bux along with assistant commissioner (city) and anti-encroachment staff on Friday served an eviction order to the office-bearers of the Sukkur Press Club and sealed off the building, which is to be demolished in pursuance of a Sindh High Court order pertaining to the removal of encroachments from all amenity plots.

Media personnel, including the press club office-bearers, vacated the premises without posing any resistance to the municipality staff who were escorted by a strong contingent of police comprising a large number of personnel carriers.

A Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists leader Lala Asad Pathan said the property was vacated in compliance with the court order “but it’s black day today for the press”. He and other media personnel present at the club said the general public today lost the “Hyde Park” of Sukkur where they used to express their views freely and share their grievances with the media without any fear in order to get themselves heard in the corridors of power.

The SHC had recently rejected an appeal filed by the press club office-bearers against demolition of the building, which stands on a portion of the Mohammed bin Qasim Park, formerly Lucas Park.

An application filed in the Supreme Court seeking an alternative accommodation for the club is fixed for May 8.

Meanwhile, a tent has been pitched in front of the sealed building to serve as the press club as a stop-gap arrangement.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2019