ISLAMABAD, Nov 7: The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has announced a series of measures to carry forward its movement for freedom of the press if the government fails to lift curbs on the media by Thursday.

At an emergency meeting held at the Islamabad-Rawalpindi Press Club Camp Office, the PFUJ said the state of emergency had not been imposed to crush militancy; its target were the judiciary, media, lawyers and the civil society.

The meeting decided that journalists throughout the country would observe a ‘black day’ on Friday, boycott all official functions on Friday and Saturday and hoist black flags on press clubs, and all PFUJ affiliates would organise meetings, set up protest camps and observe hunger strike.

A Global Action Day will be observed on Nov 15 on a call given by the PFUJ and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) to express solidarity with Pakistani journalists.

IFJ affiliates and other press freedom supporters will organise protests at Pakistani missions and write letters of protests against the crackdown to

President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. The meetings and demonstrations will continue till Nov 20.

An international media mission will visit the country to look into the actions taken against the media. The PFUJ has urged the IFJ to send the ‘crisis’ mission to remind the government of its pledge to support a free press and to meet journalists who are defying the government’s crackdown.

The PFUJ condemned manhandling of journalists by police and demanded lifting of the state of emergency and withdrawal of the two anti-media ordinances promulgated last week.

The PFUJ appealed to all media organisations, the APNS, CPNE and PPA to join the struggle for press freedom and for the people’s right to know.