Journalists slam colleagues' murder

MULTAN, March 27: Journalists demonstrated on Friday in Multan and Faisalabad against the killing of their colleagues in Lahore and Rawalpindi.
Unidentified men killed DawnNews reporter Tariq Javed Malik in Lahore and The Nation’s Raja Asad Hameed in Rawalpindi.In Multan, the Multan Press Club and the Multan Union of Journalists staged a rally, led by Jamshaid Rizwani, Mazhar Javed, Gohar Javed, Jabbar Mufti and Irtaza Malik. The participants paid rich tributes to the slain journalists and demanded early arrest of the killers.Activists of the Pakistan Muslim League-N led by Tariq Naeemullah and workers of Pattan Development Organisation led by Sarwar Bari and Abdul Saboor also participated in the protest.
Speakers said journalists had always been victimised by the oppressors and the killing of both journalists was an attack on the freedom of the press. They said that the murder of journalists had proven that the media was not free and that law and order situation was worsening in Pakistan day by day.The speakers said the murder of the journalists happened due to the negligence of the government.
They demanded security arrangements for all journalists besides compensation for the heirs to those reporters who lay down their lives in the line of duty.FAISALABAD: The Pakistan Union of Journalists staged a protest rally against the killing of Raja Asad.The rally was led by PFUJ President Huma Ali, secretary Mazhar Abbas and Faisalabad Press Club president Shahid Ali started from the press club.
Wearing black armbands, the journalists chanted slogans against the killing of Raja Asad and for journalists’ protection.Mr Ali and Mr Abbas said five journalists had been killed in the country in last five months and the government had done nothing to arrest the criminals.
They said the journalists would decide their future course of action to stage a sit-in outside the president’s and governor’s secretariat.