LAHORE – Opposition in the Punjab Assembly joined the journalists in their protest on Tuesday against bullet injury to a television channel’s cameraman, while he was sitting in a media camp in the assembly’s courtyard on Monday.
Opposition’s lawmakers in the assembly expressed solidarity with the journalists, who wearing black armbands, protested against the incident and demanded the authorities arrest these responsible at once. They also boycotted the assembly’s proceedings. The media men termed the incident an attempt to suppress the free media’s voice and vowed to continue the protest until the culprits were nabbed.
Journalists, who were protesting against the incident in a large number, joined the strike that was called by the Electronic Media Reporters Association.
PA opposition leader Raja Riaz joined the protest and said that the incident was an attack on press freedom. He said that the media was being targeted for exposing the misdeeds of the PML-N led provincial government.
He said that it was the Punjab chief minister’s responsibility to attend the assembly’s session and respond to MPAs’ queries but the CM was deliberately avoiding it, though he was the leader of the house and his foremost responsibility was to attend the proceedings.
“If the prime minister can attend all the National Assembly’s sessions despite a tight schedule and official engagements, why cant Shahbaz Sharif?” he questioned.
He said that turncoats were hiding their faces and had no courage to face the people and their fellow members because of their ‘shameful decision’.
