LAHORE, Sept 12: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has strongly condemned the administration for what it said harassing newsmen covering the Okara tenants issue.

In a press statement issued here on Thursday, HRCP secretary-general Hina Jilani said that “fresh incidents of authorities’ unwarranted interference with journalists’ normal functions can only cause alarm over the declining level of freedom allowed to the media.”

She said two journalists and several other members of their group, including a high-ranking retired naval officer, were detained by the Rangers in Okara and stopped from meeting aggrieved peasants there.

“This apparently amounted to obstruction of mission of not only journalists but also human rights defenders. The villages of Okara tenants have not yet been declared ‘no-entry zones’ and the right of every one wishing to inquire into the situation there cannot be trifled with by any authority. On the top of it, the Rangers have chosen to vilify NGOs and threaten them. These tactics betray authoritarianism at its worst. An inquiry into this must be held at the highest level,” she demanded.

In the second incident, a senior journalist from Islamabad has also reported harassment by intelligence agencies and threats aimed at preventing him from writing freely about current developments in the country. A thorough inquiry must also be held to establish the truth of these charges and any one found guilty must be dealt with, she demanded.