KARACHI, March 7: The representatives of the print and electronic media, who were formally invited to cover the all-parties conference on “Inter-active dialogue on provincial autonomy” organised by the Sindh government on Wednesday in a local hotel were stopped from attending the conference after initial remarks by Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim.

The organisers’ attitude was resented by representatives of the media who left the conference hall raising protest slogans.

Secretary Inter-Provincial Coordination Department Mehtab Rashdi after introductory remarks by the chief minister asked all media representatives present to leave the hall as the rest of the proceedings would be held in camera. The journalists present left the conference hall protesting that when they had been requested formally asked by the government for coverage why were they being stopped now.

The President Karachi Press Club, Sabihuddin Ghausi, who was invited as one of the speakers objected at their attitude and joined in the protest. Later, during the lunch break, a journalists’ delegation led by Mr Ghausi met the chief minister and drew his attention to the matter. The chief minister said that they had invited selected journalists for participation and the others for coverage and it was now their discretion how to get media coverage at the conference.

When the invitation issued to the journalists for covering the conference were shown to him, the chief minister said it was the government’s wish how to get the conference covered. On hearing the chief minister’s response, the journalists left the hotel raising slogans of shame, shame.