A large number of journalists on Wednesday staged a demonstration at Club Chowk on The Mall against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership, Punjab government and police for supporting land grabbers and registering a fake case against the journalists. They also presented themselves for arrest but police shied away from doing so. Earlier, the journalists gathered at Lahore Press Club. The the protesters led by Lahore Press Club (LPC) President Sarmad Bashir, walked all the way from the LPC to Club Chowk. The protesters intended to stage a demonstration outside the 7-Club Road (Chief Minister’s Secretariat) but the police stopped them at Club Chowk where they held the demonstration. Addressing the gathering, Sarmad Bashir said that PML-N leaders were supporting the land grabbers who had been depriving journalists of their homes. He said the police too, backed by MPAs of PML-N, were victimising journalists. “Khawaja Saad Rafique, Mian Marghoob Ahmed, Imran Nazir, Rana Tajamul Hussain and other PML-N leaders are the main culprits and (they are) instructing police to punish journalists over their protest,” Sarmad Bashir said, adding that the journalists were not afraid of oppression.
