KARACHI- The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors has decided to send a delegation of its Member-Editors to Iraq to demonstrate fraternity with the Iraqi people and to study the situation on the ground and inform the Pakistani newspaper readership better on the situation as obtaining in Iraq now.

The CPNE delegation will make efforts to reach Iraq at the earliest and the required facilities for travel to Iraq of the CPNE delegation are being sought from the concerned authorities through the Government of Pakistan, said CPNE General Secretary Mahmudul Aziz in an announcement here April 11, 2003.

All member-editors of the CPNE desirous of being included in this delegation of the CPNE to Iraq should send their names to the CPNE Secretariat in Karachi by 20th, with full particulars. All expenses for the visit to Iraq by the member-Editors of the CPNE will be borne by them individually.

The final list of members of the CPNE delegation to Iraq will be finalised by President of the CPNE Mujibur Rahman Shami, in consultation with the Standing Committee members of the CPNE.

The CPNE editors delegation to Iraq will seek to visit as many places of opportunity as possible including Baghdad, demonstrate fraternity with the Iraqi people and study the objective conditions as prevailing on the ground under the control of the existing forces in Iraq and inform the Pakistani readership better about these conditions.

Mahmudul Aziz hoped that all the concerned quarters would help and facilitate this visit, to Iraq by Pakistan editors delegation in keeping with pledges of upholding press freedom as embodied in the Charter of Human Rights of the UN.
Source: Business Recorder
Date:4/12/2003