LAHORE: Newly-appointed Federal Ombudsperson on Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Kashmala Tariq’s security staff on Thursday reportedly restrained the crew of a private news channel after the show’s anchorperson Matiullah Jan, otherwise famous for his obnoxious behaviour, asked her some tough questions.
A video footage of the interview shows Kashmala Tariq and the anchorperson embroiled in a heated discussion after what appears to be an unsettling question directed towards the federal ombudsperson.
According to the television channel, Kashmala Tariq gave time to the anchorperson for an interview. After the interview was recorded and the news crew was getting up to leave, Kashmala Tariq asked her staff and told them not to let the team leave with the interview footage. She also directed her staff to take the team’s telephones, camera equipment, and footage of the interview, the channel’s management alleged.
According to reports, Kashmala Tariq was invited to review the interview and to see if she found any content objectionable. However, she ordered her staff not to let the team “leave with the footage”. On the team’s refusal to hand over the interview’s video, she ordered her staff to “attack: the crew and forcibly take the footage, the channel claimed.
A video footage which emerged from the scene shows the channel’s team being forced back into Kashmala Tariq’s office as they try to leave. The video also shows police officials present at the scene who make no effort to break up the altercation taking place in front of them.
Footage of the incident:
Pakistan Today telephoned Kashmala Tariq for her version of the incident, however, a member of her staff stated that the ombudsperson was busy attending a meeting and could not be disturbed for a comment.