SUKKUR: Jamaat-i-Islami Emir Sirajul Haq attended a protest demonstration held by journalists and other media personnel outside the DC Office here on Tuesday.

The demonstration was part of the protests, held in several districts of the province on a call given by a private Sindhi TV channel and newspaper to express solidarity with the journalist community in the wake of the August 13 murder of Jan Mohammad Mahar, a senior newsman associated with the media house.

Speaking to the protesters, the JI leader attributed Mr Mahar’s murder to the decades-long ‘rule of bandits’ in upper Sindh’s riverine area.

He said JI would take up the issue on the floor of the Senate and with all provincial [caretaker] governments.

He said his party would keep raising its voice until arrest of the killers.

He said he had come to Sukkur to sympathise with the bereaved family and offer condolences to them on behalf of his party.

“More than 140 attacks on journalists have been carried out within the last five years,” he noted, and regretted that no action had been taken yet to put a halt to the trend and ensure safety and security of newsmen.

“This is due to the reason that Pakistan ranks 197th on the list of countries upholding press freedom,” he added.

Mr Haq called for immediate arrest of the killers and exemplary punishment to them.

Earlier, a large number of media personnel, along with civil society activists, took out a rally in the city and converged on the DC House to condemn failure of police in arresting the actual killers of Mr Mahar.

Journalists from across the district had come to the local press club to join in the rally. Led by Sukkur Union of Journalists president Naimat Khuhro and other office-bearers, the participants marched through various roads before holding the demonstration outside the DC House.

Published in Dawn, August 23th, 2023