PFUJ President Afzal Butt condemns registration of cases against certain Mirpur journalists:

English , Kashmir - آزاد جموں کشمیر , Snippets , / Monday, September 9th, 2024

Altaf Hamid Rao.

PFUJ President:

MIRPUR  ( AJK): Sept.  9:  The Central President of  Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists,  Hafiz Muhammad Afzal Butt, has said that the alleged  retaliatory actions against some of  the journalists of Mirpur were condemnable act that spread a wave of concern among the journalist fraternity in the country including AJK.

“The administration should immediately release the arrested journalist Zaffar Mughal government and the  the prime minister should immediately establish a high-level inquiry  committee to probe into the matter.

He demanded  immediate release of the  senior journalist Zafar Mughal  within  next 24 hours.

Otherwise Journalists will be constrained to take to streets protest all over the country, he warned.

The PFUJ President was addressing a mass Mirpur journalists protest rally, held by Kashmir Press Club Mirpur, through video link from Islamabad on Monday,  staged to protest and condemn the arrest of Zaffar Mughal.

The PFUJ President continued, while unveiling the proposed street protest program that in the first phase, Islamabad National Press Club, in the second phase, journalists from all over Pakistan will protest.

” If there are such tactics with journalists, we will not tolerate.  We will protect the journalists of Mirpur who have given a positive message thru their recent unity and integrity in yheir ranks, he addrd.

He said  Journalists cannot be compelled  to protest time  and again taking to  the streets agitation for a further long time.

Addressing the protest meeting against Mughal’s arrest President Syed Abid Hussain Shah, General Secretary Raja Sohrab Khan and others demanded release of Zaffar Mughal.

Earlier, a protest demonstration was held, which culminated at Kashmir Press Club after passing through Chowk Shaheedan Allama Iqbal Road, Mian Mohammad Road.

Syed Abid Hussain Shah the KPC President addressed the protest said that the police party stormed, during a surprise raid, at the local house of Mughal, in the dark of the night and picked him in much misbehaved manner.

“These acts of retaliation against journalists must be stopped immediately”, he said adding that otherwise the journalistic community knows how to protect the rights of journalist brothers by taking the democratic right of protest”, he added.

Abid Shah demanded of Prime Minister Azad Jammu Kashmir to take immediate take notice of the situation.

“No one can blackmail journalists. We know that some people were very hurt by the recent unity among the local  journalistic community.

He underlined that entire journalistic community of Mirpur joined  the protest giving their message of unity and integrity in the ranks of journalists, he concluded.