PFUJ CONDEMNS CURBS, RAIDS ON MEDIA
ISLAMABAD, Nov 4 : Pakistan Federal Union of
Journalists (PFUJ), has rejected the promulgation
of “mini-Martial Law,” in the country in the
cover of emergency, strongly condemned late night
police raids on private tv news channels, two FM
radios following the virtual ban on news channels
for the last two days and decided to resist these
action with the cooperation of other media
organisations including International media
watchdogs, it said in a Press Release.
In the last 24-hours all the private news
channels were blocked, police raided the offices
of FM-99, in Islamabad, FM-103, in Karachi and
Aaj, tv in Islamabad and the senior police
official present outside Aaj tv, said they have
similar orders for other news channels as well.
There are also unconfirmed reports about possible
action against journalists, anchors, reports
collected by PFUJ revealed.
On Sunday, morning a paramilitary officials
stopped the ARY news teams in Quetta, when they
were taking visuals, snatched the camera, removed
film and after warning handed over the camera
back. “I can even put you behind bar,” an
official present at Faizan chowk, told an ARY
reporter.
" It is nothing but martial law, media came under
worst kind of attack through black laws on print
and electronic media and we will never accept it
and will resist like we did in the past. We
expressed complete solidarity with the channels
and radios which came under direct attack and
assured our complete cooperation," it said in a
statement.
PFUJ has called an emergency meeting on Tuesday
at 4 p.m. in which President and General
Secretaries of the affiliated Unions will attend
while the Ujs have already held their meetings in
different parts of the country.
The meeting will consider joint action along with
other media bodies and may also give call for
“Global Action Day,” during which media bodies
around the world will protest against media curbs
in Pakistan.
All the International media watchdogs including
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ),
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters
Sans Frontiers (RSF), have extended their support
to PFUJ.
PFUJ said the ordinance-2007, to amend Press,
Newspapers, News Agencies, and Books Registration
Ordinance, 2002 and the Pakistan Electronic Media
Regulatory Authority, PEMRA, 2002 added to
already existing “black laws,” against media and
its a direct attack on freedom of expression and
freedom of the Press.
It rejected General Pervez Musharraf’s remarks
against the media during his address to the
nation and said “negativism” was on the part of
the government, which tried to corrupt the media
and tried to misguide the people.
Government in the last five years have taken
action against different tv channels and FM
radio, issued show-cause notices, raided their
offices, confiscated their equipments on number
of occasions. Some 24 Journalists had been
killed, ten were kidnapped by intelligence
agencies, over 100 cases of attack on media were
reported, their families were target ted.
Journalists were booked in cases under Official
Secret Act and treason, but even these cases were
never tried. Even in the cases where government
was not directly involved police never pursued
their cases and as a result no culprits were
arrested in any of these cases.
PFUJ has appealed to all the media organisations
including Pakistan Broadcasters Association, PBA,
Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors, CPNE and
All Pakistan Newspapers Society, APNS to fight
against attack on freedom of expressions with
full force.
Mazhar Abbas,
Secretary General, PFUJ
4.11.07