First direct attack on journalists: Lahoris flay Peshawar Press Club bombing

By Hussain Kashif

LAHORE: Journalists, political figurers and civil society activists on Tuesday condemned the suicide attack on the Peshawar Press Club by staging protest demonstrations and taking out rallies across the city to show solidarity with the media.

The protesters collectively declared that such attacks would not make the media yield to terrorists and that journalists’ resolve to report the truth, especially regarding terrorists’ activities, would remain strong.

Four people, including an employee of the press club, reportedly died in the attack, while around 20 others got injured.

The suicide bomber detonated his explosives on the main gate of the press club when security guards stopped him from entering the building. One of the security officials lost his life in the process. A large number of journalists were present inside the press club to attend the press conference of a provincial minister. The participants remained safe, but the blast caused extensive damage to the building.

Members of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Punjab Union of Journalists (PUJ), Lahore Press Club (LPC), Pakistan Association of Photo Journalists (PAPJ), Photographers’ Association Lahore (PAL), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Labour Party Pakistan (LPP) and the South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) staged protest demonstration in various areas of the city.

Representatives of the PUJ and the PFUJ took out a protest rally on The Mall and shouted slogans in favour of independent media and freedom of expression. LPP leaders and some members of SAFMA and other rights organisation also joined the rally and expressed solidarity with journalists. Paying tribute to the journalists of Peshawar, PUJ and PFUJ leaders Nasir Naqvi, Anjum Gill, Hafiz Wadood, Rana Azeem and Amir Sohail said journalists were in the forefront of the war on terror and such cowardly acts would not harm their will to discourage terrorists. They said journalists would continue their fight against terrorism. Separately, dozens of journalists staged a protest inside the LPC, which was joined by PPP Punjab Women Wing’s Information Secretary Farkhanda Malik and other leaders.

Firm resolve: Addressing the protesters, LPC President Sarmad Bashir condemned the suicide attack on the press club and said such attacks on journalists would not make them abandon their resolve to rid the country of terrorism. He also prayed for the eternal peace of the dead and early recovery of the injured. He said the attack on journalists had exposed the pseudo-jihadi elements and other terrorist groups who carry out their un-Islamic acts and justify by misinterpreting the religion.

LPC Secretary Zahid Abid said bombing on the press club was a direct attack on the media, but journalists would not be terrorised by such acts and would continue to expose the truth. He also asked the government to ensure security for journalists and media outlets across the country.