Members of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) will face police action for manhandling journalists during former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s first public meeting on Wednesday night, post his ouster through a no-confidence vote.
General secretary of Peshawar Press Club, Shahzada Fahad, appointed for media coverage of the event stated his disappointment against the organizers of the meeting for placing only one container for journalists, Dawn newspaper reported as cited by Fahad.
Before the speech of PTI chairman, ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan, over 50 rowdy youngsters mounted the container, thrashing media persons and throwing stones at them when they tried to stop the PTI workers.
President of Khyber Photojournalists Association, Fayyaz Aziz’s camera was damaged in the ruckus, cameraman Mohammad Sajjad passed out in the commotion, losing his laptop while the motorcycle of video-journalist Haji Maqsood was found mangled, a local media reported as stated by Khyber Photojournalists Association.
About 7 reporters and camerapersons were injured in the scuffle between the PTI members and journalists.
“In the first place, the container was too ‘narrow’ to place TV cameras and operate them,” said Fahad. “I pleaded with event managers as well as the policemen deployed there to protect us [media persons] from attackers, but no one come to our help,” he added.
Nasir Hussain, President of Khyber Union of Journalists(KhUJ) disapproved of such an attack on journalists by PTI workers in a public meeting on Wednesday announcing that stringent measures will be taken against the attackers if the PTI failed to take necessary actions within a day.
Ijaz Khan, Capital City Police Officer(CCPO) issued a statement confirming to look into this matter and identify the assailants.
“Coercion against media personnel is not acceptable at all,” he said.