The court has granted four-day physical remand to Security Chief of Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) Colonel (Qazi Mansoor Retd) and other employees of the Bank to police custody and adjourned hearing till May 2. Islamabad Police presented the Security Chief of Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) Colonel Qazi Mansoor (Retd) and other employees of the Bank in the court of Judicial Magistrate Malik Naeem Shaukat on Thursday.
ZTBL employees including, Colonel Qazi Mansoor (Retd), Ghulam Muhammed, Imran Khan, Wasim Satti and Hafeezullah Khan were arrested on Wednesday when they made the media teams of two television channels hostage at ZTBL headquarters, beat them and broke their equipment including cameras and cell-phones. The police pleaded before the court that the officials were involved in beating journalists and sought physical remand of the detained bank employees. The magistrate after hearing police version granted four-day physical remand of the accused.
Bank officials have been taken to task for beating journalists, but still no police official was brought to task for beating journalists in presence of Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan. Police resorted baton charge when journalists were trying to enter the ZTBL headquarters to rescue their colleagues who were taken hostage.
In spite of announcements made by Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan and other government functionaries, SSP Islamabad Tahir Alam Khan declined to file a case of police torture on journalists outside the ZTBL headquarters.
An application against police manhandling has been lodged at Aabpara Police Station against SHO Haq Nawaz and other police personnel. But, SSP Islamabad Tahir Alam refused to register case against his fellows. It is pertinent to note that ZTBL employees and Islamabad Police have thrashed journalists to bar them from coverage of a raid conducted by the Revenue Department's team to recover over Rs 85 million.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan after hearing the news reached outside ZTBL to show solidarity with journalists. In presence of the Information Minister outside the ZTBL police resorted to baton charge on the media men instead of arresting the real culprits involved.
Many media persons sustained injuries in the police baton charge including Sadaqat Ali, who received injuries on head and are reportedly serious. Heavy contingents of Islamabad Police and Anti-Terrorist Squad arrived for rescue purposes, but did not launch the needful action. Despite the passage of over an hour, police had not started proper efforts to rescue the media teams from ZTBL's employees.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Amer Ahmed Ali has said that judicial inquiry into alleged torture on journalists and other people by security employees of ZTBL will be completed within 48 hours. He termed the incident very sad and said that First Information Report will be registered against the perpetrators while judicial inquiry into the matter would be completed within 48 hours.