Islamabad: As protest against the Peque amendments entered its second day on Thursday, the Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) of Pakistan warned that agitation would continue even if the government could obtain a favorable decision of the courts.
The participants said they would give a “strong protest call” in the next phase. The president of PFUJ, AFZAL BUTT, also expressed his gratitude to media workers, human rights activists and civil society members who participated in the hunger strike fields established throughout Pakistan.
“The Pfuj Press Freedom Movement has begun; On a front, we are on the roads and we have established hunger strike fields, while in the other front, we are in court to fight a legal battle against this black law, ”he added. He said that the PFUJ approached the court in the hope that the court will cancel the provisions that were in conflict with human rights.
“We have told the Court that this law is against the spirit of the Constitution and personal and civil freedoms, but if the court also seals this law as the Parliament has done, then we will remain in the streets.”
Rallies that will be carried out throughout the country to oppose a controversial legislation
He also announced that they would celebrate a sitting in front of the House of Parliament, saying that they would invite people from all over the country to join their protest until the acceptance of their demands.
The hunger strike camp at the National Press Club was visited by veteran and resident journalists of the Federal Capital to express solidarity with Protestant journalists. It was announced that the demonstrations would be carried out throughout Pakistan on the third day of the hunger strike field.
The former secretary general of PFUJ, Nasir Zaidi, during his speech, described the new law as “Marcial Law of the Media.” This law was not discussed in Parliament or in the public, and under this law even giving an opinion had been criminalized, he added.
Another former general secretary, Fawzia Shahid, recalled that the administrator of the Martial Law, General Ziaul Haq, had stopped informing about speeches of former Pfuj leader, Minhaj Barna. But finally, the regime of martial law had failed and now all PFUJ workers were like Minhaj Barna and journalists knew how to defend their freedom, he added.
Posted in Dawn, February 14, 2025
