PESHAWAR: The Khyber Union of Journalists (KhUJ) on Saturday organised a walk here on Saturday to mark the International Press Freedom Day amid calls for freedom of expression and the protection of journalists.

KhUJ president Kashifuddin Syed, Peshawar Press Club president M Riaz and other senior journalists led the walk outside the Peshawar Press Club.

Members of print, electronic and digital media attended it in large numbers.

Carrying banners and placards and shouting slogans for media freedom and journalists’ rights, they urged the government to ensure protection of media persons.

Media persons demand withdrawal of Peca tweaks

The speakers, including Mr Syed, Mr Riaz and senior journalist Shamim Shahid, said journalism had become a “difficult” profession in Pakistan due to government and political pressures and economic problems.

They vowed to take all possible steps to protect journalism.

The speakers said that democracy couldn’t exist without free press. They said the role of the media in reforming society and providing collective awareness to the people was undeniable.

The speakers also said that the federal government had failed to provide “complete” freedom to the media.

They urged the government to take concrete steps for press freedom, saying a free and responsible press is the foundation of democratic societies.

The speakers said that journalists in the province had rendered professional services despite facing adverse conditions and constant threats and that their morale was high.

They said that it was the responsibility of the state to provide journalists with an environment where they could perform their duties freely and without fear or danger.

The speakers rejected the amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act by the federal government declaring them an attack on the freedom of the press.

They said that those amendments were an attempt to suppress the voice of journalists, which wouldn’t be accepted under any circumstances.

The speakers said that under the guise of “fake news,” the government wanted to silence critical voices, but the journalist community would continue to lodge their protest against the law at all levels.

They said that the haste with which the Peca Amendment Bill was passed clearly showed the negative anti-media thinking of the federal government.

They demanded the immediate withdrawal of the bill and said that the freedom of expression was being restricted through such moves.

The speakers insisted that the federal government wanted to take away the freedom of expression from the people.

They also demanded that the government immediately implement the Journalists Protection Bill and provide protection to media persons.

In Mohmand, special assistant to the chief minister on commerce and trade and MPA Dr Mohammad Israr Safi paid homage to journalists, who laid down their lives in the line of duty, especially those from the Mohmand Press Club.

“We pay heartfelt tribute to all those brave journalists who rendered their lives in the pursuit of truth and justice,”Dr Safi said in a statement.

He said the martyred members of the Mohmand Press Club, who turned their pens into swords and stood against falsehood, were the nation’s pride and their sacrifices won’t go to waste.

The aide to the CM said the people would always remember those journalists for their sacrifices.

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2025