KARACHI: The Karachi Press Club has written a letter to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan, asking the latter to...
KARACHI: The Karachi Press Club (KPC) has written a letter to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan, asking the latter to stop his workers from attacking Geo News office and harassing journalists.
The letter written by the KPC Secretary states that attacks by PTI workers on journalists in Islamabad were not only ‘damaging your (Imran) reputation of being a fair sportsman, but also bringing a bad name to the KPC.’
The letter is reproduced below:
Dear Sir,
May this find you all well, Here is the Secretary Karachi Press who is addressing a Life Member of the Karachi Press Club (KPC), Pakistan’s oldest and most prestigious body of journalists. You are associated with this club for the last 22 years, and the KPC members had been proud of having you as its life member.
You are the only politician who is the life member of the KPC, although you had not been granted the life membership in the capacity of a politician but as a sportsman.
Khan Sahib, what we are getting from your part nowadays is not at all a matter of pride or respect for yourself and the members of this prestigious Press Club. The way your workers have been misbehaving and manhandling reporters and cameramen during the coverage of your “Azadi March” in Islamabad is not merely damaging your reputation of being a fair sportsman, but also earning a bad name to the KPC.
You have been time and again making promises that your party would uphold the freedom of expression.
However, I am disheartened to mention that in practice what we are seeing, is a stark contradiction to your words. Your workers are not only misbehaving and beating up male journalists, they do not spare even female reporters. Three female reporters of Geo News, Rifat Javed, Amna Aamir, and Iffat Rizvi were mistreated and harassed by your workers on separate occasions while they were covering your sit-in two weeks ago. Similarly, Aaj Tv reporter, Nasir Kazmi, cameramen Mohammad Iqbal, Usman Gujjar, and other technical staff, Waqt TV reporter, Sajid Shah and cameraman, Atif Yousaf were beaten up and harassed by your workers on different occasion in last three weeks.
Scores of your supporters have been pelting stones at the building of Geo News Islamabad every day for over last one week. They smash vehicles parked outside the building, and hurl abuses on the staff.