Harrasment of journalists: Reporters to boycott budget session

Staff Report

LAHORE: Journalist unions of the city have announced a boycott of the Punjab Assembly’s budget session and will protest outside the PA building today against the alleged harassment of journalists from a news agency on Tuesday.

Qilla Gujjar Singh police has registered case number 608/2006 against the administration of Alfalah Building for harassing, torturing and illegally confining journalists from Online news agency.

The agency’s photographer, Irfan, was taking pictures of the Alfalah Building when Saleem Sagir, the administrator of the building, and armed security guards snatched his camera and locked him up in a room for about an hour. When journalists Nawaz Tahir and Mian Nadeem arrived to resolve the issue, the guards beat them up, locked them up in his office and disconnected the telephones. Later, Online Bureau Chief Suhail Shehryar of the news agency submitted an application with Qilla Gujjar Singh police, which registered a case under section of 380, 382, 148, 149 and 506 of Pakistan Penal Code. Officials of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Lahore Press Club (LPC), Punjab Union of Journalists (PUJ) and the Punjab Assembly Press Gallery announced a boycott of Wednesday’s budget session and a protest outside the assembly building. They demanded the immediate arrest of the people responsible.

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