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KARACHI, Nov 6: A joint meeting of various organisations of journalists on Tuesday rejected emergency rule and curbs on the media and condemned the ongoing crackdown on lawyers, media persons and activists of civil society organisations. It resolved not to surrender, or compromise on, press freedom and democratic dispensation in the country.
The meeting was organised jointly by the Karachi Union of Journalists, Karachi Press Club and the Association of TV Journalists at the KPC with veteran trade unionist Minhaj Barna in the chair.
Speakers at the meeting lashed out at the government’s repressive measures, and expressed the view that a collective struggle was needed to protect freedom of expression. They warned the rulers that emergency would have serious repercussions. Minhaj Barna recalled the history of journalists’ struggle for press freedom, and said that members of civil society organisations and trade unions had played a very important role in the movement.
Condemning the imposition of a state of emergency, he called for an organised movement against despotic rulers to rid the country of oppressors once and for all. “The history of Pakistan is full of struggles for rights,” he observed, and appreciated the role of KPC which had always been on the forefront in the struggle for truth and democracy and lent full support to civil society organisations.
Saleem Asmi, former editor of Dawn, called for a collective and sustained effort for ensuring press freedom and recalled the role the PFUJ, KUJ and KPC in the long struggle for democracy and press freedom. He also stressed the need for a close coordination between the legal fraternity and civil society organisations for the cause. KUJ President Shamim-ur-Rahman also stressed a collective struggle, pointing out that the country was passing through a critical phase and any movement in isolation would not work.
He suggested the struggle should be spearheaded by the PFUJ. He observed that the curbs on the media were aimed at concealing the rulers’ failure to contain extremism and terrorism, improve law and order and control unemployment and price hike.
KPC President Sabihuddin Ghousi vowed to continue the struggle for the freedom of the press and said that the journalists’ community rejected the ‘black laws’ and would never compromise on the freedom of expression. Former PFUJ secretary-general Ahfaz-ur-Rehman said the journalists’ community should not be afraid of a crackdown and litigation which were part of a fight for a cause.
Resolutions
In a unanimous resolution, the meeting urged owners of electronic and print media organisations to participate in the ongoing campaign by journalists for the freedom of expression and register their commitment for the restoration of fundamental rights of the people in general and press freedom in particular. It suggested that newspapers should print contents of their front pages in black borders to express their protest over the imposition of curbs on the media. It also called upon them to hoist black flags atop the buildings of newspaper offices and TV channels. Workers should also wear black armbands during duty hours, it added. The resolution suggested that newspapers should carry Quaid-i-Azam’s sayings about democracy and press freedom in all their editions.
Through another resolution, the meeting condemned imposition of emergency rule, curbs on the media, siege of press clubs and crackdown on media persons across the country, and demanded an immediate release of all those arrested in the swoop and lifting of the ban on the media.
It also demanded an immediate lifting of emergency, restoration of the 1973 Constitution and removal of all restrictions on political activities in the country.
Idrees Bakhtiar, Imtiaz Khan Faran, Javed Chaudhri, Javed Saba, Faisal Aziz and Mujeebur Rahman also spoke at the meeting.
