Parliament, Sindh PA to be boycotted if tormentors not held:PFUJ

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) on Sunday announced that if the Sindh government failed to arrest the culprits involved in the kidnapping and torture of Geo News Karachi Bureau chief Faheem Ahmad Siddiqui within 24 hours, then journalists would not only boycott the proceedings of parliament and the Sindh Assembly but also stage a sit-in in front of Sindh Chief Minister’s House and the Governor’s House.
Addressing the participants of a protest demonstration held here, PFUJ President Afzal Butt said the provincial government must arrest the people responsible for kidnapping and torture of Faheem Ahmad Siddiqui otherwise journalists would use their right to protest at all forums.
“The journalist kidnapped from Sukkur some four months ago is yet to be recovered showing that the Sindh government has badly failed in protecting journalists,” he said. Afzal Butt said they had nothing to do with the constitution of with the constitution of investigation teams because it had been seen in the past that governments made teams but failed to yield any positive result.
National Press Club President Sheharyar Khan said the governments take no action against murderers and attackers due to which the situation has reached the point where no journalist is safe anywhere in the country.
“If the governments don’t arrest culprits and bring them to book then how can law and order be maintained and how can they protect life and property of people including journalists,” he said.
Former NPC President Farooq Faisal Khan said the incident was actually a message to journalists to avoid criticizing bad policies and corruption of the provincial government but they wanted to make it clear that they would not compromise on the freedom of press and would continue to perform their duties in line with the norms and traditions of journalism.
Rawalpindi Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ) President Ali Raza Alvi said the Sindh government must arrest the culprits who had kidnapped Faheem otherwise journalists would stage protests across the country.
RIUJ Secretary General Bilal Dar said it was really astonishing to see that the Rangers were carrying our operation in Karachi but some people in police uniform kidnapped and tortured a senior journalist in broad daylight.