Masked men snatch Jang copies near Lodhran

 

MULTAN: In yet another attack against the Jang Group, unidentified armed men snatched copies of daily Jang from a delivery van and tortured the driver, warning him that he would be killed if he transported the newspaper again.
Seven people wearing masks stopped the vehicle at Kotli Morr and asked the driver – Sabir Shah – to hand over all copies of the daily Jang after snatching the car key and his cellular phone from him. They left the scene after warning him that his vehicle would be torched and he would be killed in case he transported daily Jang again.

The masked men also told Sabir that the driver supplying daily Jang to Rahim Yar Khan should be told to stop his routine; otherwise, his vehicle too would be torched, as they had four ‘checkposts’ on that route.

Giving details, Sabir said as a daily routine, he along with a colleague Ahmed and two passengers left Gujjar Khadda for Lodhran at 3:25am, as he supplies the newspaper from Multan on a route covering Station Adda Larr, Basti Malook, Makhdoom Aali, Lodhran, Dhanote and Karor Pakka.

As he reached the Bahawalpur Bypass, two cars started following him. At Kotli Morr, the armed men carrying pistols and Kalashnikov rifles intercepted his vehicle. While snatching the copies of daily Jang and threatening him of dire consequence, they also thrashed him. According to Sabir, the attackers were wearing shalwar kameez and speaking Urdu.

Our correspondent from Gaileywal said people expressed annoyance over the brutal act, saying they were deprived of their favourite newspaper.

No one will be allowed to snatch press freedom’

 

LAHORE: Speakers at a seminar held at the South Asian Free Media Association (Safma) said the right of freedom of expression was directly linked to the right to life, but unfortunately, both of them were in jeopardy in Pakistan.
They said they would not allow anyone to snatch the press freedom. MNA Tehmina Daultana, former assistant attorney general Iftikhar Shahid, Geo Television Lahore Bureau chief Syed Khawar Naeem Hashmi, Khalid Chaudhry, Allama Siddique Azhar and Anjum Rasheed were speaking at a seminar organised in connection with the attack on Hamid Mir and the freedom of expression.

They said the freedom of speech and freedom of the press were a part of the Constitution of Pakistan and there was no state or non-state institution that could defy these rights under any pretext. The civil society and the media had a history of a rigorous struggle for the freedom of expression and press. Therefore, they would not allow anyone to take back even a small part of the gains made so far.

They said in the case of Pakistan, the right of expression was directly linked to the right of life because those who were determined to practice the former were ending up risking the latter.The speakers were of the view that there was a need to improve the current state of security and tolerance among certain national quarters regarding information and opinion.

According the speakers, the right to freedom of expression and security are a cornerstone of any democracy and the country becomes a totalitarian state the very moment these rights are encroached upon. The government needs to look into the situation as to why the freedom of expression was becoming more and more dearer rather than an inalienable right and should fix this growing dangerous trend.

They pointed out that even before the attack on Hamid Mir, dozens of journalists suffered the same fate and many had not been as lucky as Hamid, as they lost their lives for the cause. They said had the inquiry report and the measures proposed by the Saleem Shahzad commission implemented, it would have acted as a deterrent.

They said practicing the right to freedom of expression was not exclusive to journalists; in fact, politicians used it more than media persons in their election campaigns, in parliament and at other forums. Therefore, any curb on this right would not only hit the media but would also seal the lips of the society as a whole.

They said no one could deny the fact that the Geo News and other organisations of the Jang Group were the most popular media outlets in Pakistan and any attempt to shut them down would be a blow to the people’s right to information.