Speakers at a meeting arranged by the South Asian Free Media Association (Safma) here on Tuesday condemned the government for baton-charging peaceful rallies of journalists in Lahore and Islamabad on the World Press Freedom Day and arresting more than 50 media people in the capital. Safma, a recognised body of media practitioners from South Asia, has arranged the meeting on the World Press Freedom Day to express solidarity with the Nepalese journalists who are fighting for the press freedom.
But the atmosphere of the Islamabad's meeting was changed after receiving reports that police had baton charged rallies in Islamabad and Lahore and arrested at least 70 journalists.
Speakers in their speeches targeted the government for this unwanted action and accused it of trying to stifle the press freedom.
"It appears that our military dictator and the Nepalese King who had dismissed elected governments decided to celebrate the World Press Freedom Day in their own dictatorial manners, said M. Ziauddin, Resident Editor, Dawn, Islamabad.
Ziauddin said baton charge of journalists in Lahore and Islamabad on the World Press Freedom Day and manhandling of media people on the arrival of PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari should not be taken as isolated incidents but as part of the government strategy to stifle the press before holding of general elections in the country.
He said the western friends of President Pervez Musharraf also seem to have given a free hand to the President to trample the fundamental rights and the press freedom. Noted scholar and academician Khawaja Masood observed that whatever press freedom was being exercised in Pakistan today was because of the heroic struggle of Pakistani journalists during the last 50 years.
"We will not allow the government to apply reverse gear and this struggle will continue," he said.
Professor Masood also criticised the Nepalese King for curbing the Press and observed that winds of change that have started blowing for freedom couldn't be stopped.
Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists former secretary-general Afzal Khan said the government was still using government advertisements as tool to tame the Press.
"The press freedom has not been a gift of the government but a result of journalist community's own struggle," he remarked.
Safma co-ordinator Nasir Malick briefed the meeting about the visit of the Safma fact-finding mission to Nepal and said several radio stations had been closed and hundreds of journalists rendered jobless because of the closure of magazines and radio stations in Nepal.
He said South Asian journalists should extend their support to their Nepalese counterparts in this hour of trial. The meeting passed two unanimous resolutions condemning the Pakistan government for the unwanted action and demanding unconditional apology for this incident. In the second resolution, it expressed its grave concern over the continued detention of several journalists in Nepal and demanded their unconditional release.
Safma's Pakistan chapter expressed complete solidarity with their Nepalese counterparts and said they would not be left alone in their just struggle.
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