Islamabad: The hunger strike fields were established throughout the country on Wednesday in response to a call from the Federal Union of Pakistan Journalists (PFUJ) against recently controversial amendments added to the Law on the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (PECA).
The Pfuj said the changes were equivalent to silence the free voice. The camps were established in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Sukkur, Peshawar, Hyderabad and Quetta, etc.
While journalists observed the symbolic strike of hunger, the people who belong to different areas of life visited the camps to express solidarity with the protesters.
The president of PFUJ, AFZAL BUTT, while talking in the camp outside the National Press Club in Islamabad, criticized politicians for making amendments into a law at a fast pace.
Pfuj warns of the House of the Parliament of Indefinite in the House of Parliament if the unmotted changes
“We have asked the tokens hunger strike call in the first phase and it is visible that human rights activists and people in all areas of life are with us,” he said, “… if the government It does not pay attention to our concerns we will give a date for a sitting in front of the House of Parliament, and that will be an indefinite sitting. “
“The hunger strike camp will continue for two more days and after it, there will be a demonstration and the future plan will be announced on Friday.” Butt said.
Riuj General Secretary Asif Bashir Chaudhry said the media staff wanted consultations with the authorities, but Parliament approved Peca quickly. “No one listened to us,” he deplored, adding: “Now our demand is clear … the government will have to withdraw the law before starting negotiations with us.”
He said that it is a pity that, although the murder is a bail crime in Pakistan, giving an opinion and raising a free voice has become a non -financial crime.
The protesters declared that journalists will not stop their protest against the ‘Black Law’ until they retire.
The speakers pointed out that only three countries in the world had promulgated such laws, adding that the other two were located in Africa.
In the capital of Sindh, the union of journalists of Karachi (Kuj) established the hunger strike camp.
Going to the camp in the Karachi Press Club, the president of Kuj, Tahir Hasan Khan, said that the new law reflects the quickly decreasing space for democratic norms and debate. “We will take every step to block the draconian law. We will protest it in the streets and challenge the law poorly conceived in the Court, calling each door for its withdrawal, ”he announced.
The president of KPC, Fazil Jamili, said he would soon gather the journalist’s fraternity, human rights activists and civil society members to join under his platform for a joint fight against “black law.”
“Initially, the Government promised that our concerns would be heard and that our contribution would be considered before the final draft,” he said. “Unfortunately, none of those promises was fulfilled and the bill was approved in a hurry. We believe that Peca will be used as a tool for the media community and journalists.
In Hyderabad, the protest was directed by the leader of Pfuj, Khalid Khokhar, the president of Huj, Wasim Khan, and Secretary General Fareed Lakho.
In this phase, the hunger strike would be observed for two more days, Thursday and Friday.
The protesters called Peca an attack on the freedom of the media, adding that through this the government had tried to cover up their own “misdeeds.”
They recalled that when it was brought during the previous Government of PTI, opposition leaders Shehbaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had expressed solidarity with journalists and also joined their protests.
However, they regretted that these parties now play the role of “dictator in the outfit of democracy.”
The protest camp in Peshawar was chaired by Nasir Hussain, executive member of Pfuj, while Arshad Ansari, president of Lahore Press Club, and Qamar Bhatti, president of the Union of Punjab journalists, directed the protest in Lahore.
In Quetta, the senior journalists led by Khalil Ahmed of the Union of Journalists of Baluchistan and general secretary Ghani Kakar together with other media workers observed hunger strike from 11 am to 6 pm
Political leaders, lawyers, civil society representatives, street vendors, union leaders and minority communities visited the camp and expressed solidarity with the journalist community.
Speaking at the camp established outside the Quetta Press Club, BUJ leaders and the main journalists declared that they would not allow any attempt to reduce their freedom to succeed.
Imran Ayub in Karachi and Salem Shahid in Quetta also contributed to this report
Posted in Dawn, February 13, 2025
