Punjab Union of Journalists (PUJ) and the Lahore Press Club (LPC) have urged the federal government to immediately order deportation of Puk Damsgard Anderson, Islamabad-based correspondent of Danish newspaper 'Jylland Posten', which had published blasphemous caricatures of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
In a press statement issued here on Tuesday, LPC President Sarmad Bashir and Secretary Ziaullah Khan Niazi also called upon the government not to issue visas to other correspondents of the said newspaper. They said the publication of such blasphemous material in the name of so-called freedom of expression has exposed the double standards of European media.
They also condemned the reproduction of the caricatures by Norwegian newspaper 'Aften Posten' on January 8. They urged the United Nations and international media organisations to frame a code of conduct to bar the media from publishing or broadcasting blasphemous material of all Prophets.
PUJ President Rai Hasnain Tahir and General Secretary Rana Mohammed Azeem also demanded deportation Puk. They said no Pakistani citizen could tolerate the presence of correspondents working for a newspaper indulging in blasphemous acts in the country. "Freedom of expression does not mean that one is free to hurt the sentiments of others," they added.
They were of the view that some vested interest groups, through media, are hatching a conspiracy to trigger what they termed as 'clash of civilisation'. The journalist bodies warned the government of countrywide protests if the said correspondent was not deported immediately.