ISLAMABAD, Sept 21: E. Candace Putnam, acting deputy chief of mission of the United States embassy, and Kay Webb Mayfield, counsellor for public affairs, called on Minister of Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Durrani on Friday to express concern over recent incidents of assault on and harassment of journalists in Pakistan.

According to a press release issued here on Friday, Ms Putnam cited the cases of television journalists who were assaulted in the course of covering events at the Islamabad airport on September 10, the reported September 14 attack on the son of an editor of a news agency, and the reported abduction and interrogation of a DawnNews TV reporter.

The diplomats urged the ministry of information and broadcasting to work closely with police and other agencies responsible for maintaining public order to ensure that journalists were able to perform their jobs without intimidation and without fear of reprisal.