LAHORE – Members of the provincial assembly (MPA) on Monday condemned police torture of a journalist’s son and demanded prompt action over the issue while journalists protesting against the incident staged a walkout from the Punjab Assembly (PA) Press Gallery.
MPAs criticised police for torturing journalists, doctors, teachers and students and termed manhandling of Hassan Iftikhar, son of noted journalist Iftikhar Ahmed, at the Lahore airport as condemnable. They said that the incident had exposed high-handedness of the Punjab Police once again. Journalists, sitting in the press gallery, protesting over the incident, staged a walkout from the gallery and demanded the Punjab government to take action against culprits otherwise journalists would boycott all government functions.
After the question hour session, speaking on a point of order, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MPA Azma Bokhari drew attention of the House over the police torture saying that Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, while serving as the PA deputy opposition leader, had condemned police performance and should take notice of the situation. She said that the minister, while sitting on opposition benches, was quite critical of police performance. She said that we were expecting a dramatic change when he became law minister. “Has the thana (police station) culture changed now?” she questioned. Azma was supported by a large number of other members who thumped desks in her support.
