KARACHI, Jan 2: The All Pakistan Newspapers Society has condemned the act of violence in the offices of daily Awami Awaz in Karachi by armed gunmen of the Sindh National Front who threatened the staff with ‘dire consequences’.

An emergency meeting of the committee held here on Friday was informed by Dr Jabbar Khattak, the chief editor of the paper, that over 30 armed men belonging to the Front entered the offices of the paper and inquired about the chief editor. They abused the staff and threatened to take further action if the publication did not change its policy.

The meeting described the violence as an attack on freedom of the press.

The committee expressed complete solidarity with the publication and described the incident an attempt to muzzle the press.

The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) also condemned the attack and called upon SNF chief Mumtaz Bhutto and other leaders to respect freedom of the press.