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President PFUJ G. M. Jamali and Gen. Sec. Rana Azeem condemn attack on DAWN offices in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: President PFUJ G. M. Jamali and Sec. General Rana Muhammad Azeem, while strongly condemning the mob attack on the DAWN offices yesterday (Monday, 2nd December) demanded action against those who besieged the Media House. 

Chairman PPP-P  Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari too while deploring the incident stated that no one should be allowed to attack media outlets in the name of protest. He demanded action against the mobsters who had attacked the DAWN offices and vowed to side with the journalist fraternity.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Firdous Ashiq Awan denounced the attack on DAWN’s Islamabad offices and claimed that she took action immediately as soon as the protest came to her notice. Awan said that she was the first person to call DAWN and had also arranged security for the building. She said that government would discourage such acts.

According to details following publication of a piece by Daily DAWN revealing the ethnicity of London Bridge stabber Usman Khan, a couple of dozen unidentified miscreants converged at the gate of the newspaper.

The charged mob carrying banners and shouting slogans besieged the offices for three hours making the workers hostage. Mob, demanding a written apology, prevented DAWN staff from entering or exiting from the building. Many misbehaved with the DAWN and DAWN TV employees. Gates of the Media House were locked by the security guards in order to stop mobsters from entering the premises.

Later the Police and officers of the Capital Administration reached the DAWN offices. Finally in the presence of an AC, after lengthy parleys between the mobsters and the DAWN management the miscreants dispersed but not before hurling warnings.The siege has been condemned by leaders of political parties, parliamentarians and journalist bodies.

Information Secretary of PML-N Marriyum Aurangzeb has called for a high-level investigation into the incident to identify and punish the perpetrators. She held that it was imperative to set a precedent by awarding strict punishment to those who attacked the DAWN offices so that it should act as a deterrent in future. 

Taking notice of the besieging of DAWN offices by the unidentified persons Chairman of the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights Mustafa Nawaz Kokhar had directed the IG to submit a report on the issue to the committee by 6th day of December. Mustafa Nawaz Kokhar had also asked Police to provide him details of the action taken by them against the mobsters.

News Pakistan

 

M M Alam

M. M. Alam is a Pakistan-based working journalist since 1981. Karachi University faculty gold medalist Alam began his career four decades ago by writing for Dawn, Pakistan’s highest circulating English daily. He has worked for region’s leading publications, global aviation periodicals including Rotors (of USA) and vetted New York Times as permanent employee of daily Express Tribune. Alam regularly covers international aviation and defense-related events including Salon Du Bourget (France), Farnborough (United Kingdom), Dubai (UAE). Alam has reported thousands of events and interviewed hundreds of people in Pakistan, UAE, EU, UK and USA. Being Francophone Alam also coordinates with a number of French publications.