Islamabad: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday slammed Islamabad Police IG Qazi for atrocities on journalists and remarked that the shooting and torture of media persons show ‘lawlessness’.
The remarks came from Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin during the hearing of a suo moto case regarding the harassment of journalists in the country, Samaa Tv reported.
The court also slammed Police forces for not making rapid actions in apprehending the culprits who shot Absar Alam in Islamabad.
Pakistan is surfacing an increase in the attacks on journalists. Senior journalist and former Chairman of Pakistan Electronic Media Authority (PEMRA), Absar Alam, was shot in Islamabad.
Meanwhile, at least 10 journalists were murdered and several others threatened, kidnapped, tortured and arrested in Pakistan on trumped-up charges while discharging their responsibilities in 2020 alone, according to the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) Media Freedom Report.
No action has been taken against those responsible for torturing and killing journalists and it seems that such persons enjoy impunity.
In other recent developments, Hundreds of journalists in Pakistan gathered outside the Parliament House on Sunday to protest against the proposed ‘Pakistan Media Development Authority’ (PMDA) law.