ISLAMABAD- Five journalists were held in illegal detention by a military officer near Islamabad airport and forced to stand under an open sky for three hours, on Saturday night, the victims told Dawn.

The journalists Tanveer Shahzad, photographer of The News; Kamran Khan, cameraman of CNBC in Islamabad; Nasir Khan, photographer of the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP); Mobarik Virk, City Editor of The Nation Islamabad and Shahid Ahmed, senior cameramen of PTV News, Islamabad had gone to the airport to cover the events.

“As we reached the road leading to the PAF Base Chaklala, close to Islamabad airport, at around 3.40 am, to wait for the deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family to arrive, and were taking our positions, an army jeep stopped and an officer in civilian clothes jumped out of the jeep,” Mobarik Virk said.

“He seemed annoyed at our presence outside the air base and asked us who we were and what we were doing at that time of the night,” Mr. Virk said. “Other army soldiers sitting on the rear seat of the jeep also jumped down and stood close to us.”

“We explained the purpose of our presence there but he started humiliating us and accused the newspapers and the electronic media as the mother of all ills in the country.”

Mr. Virk said that the army officer also threatened the journalists with serious consequences and told them that taking pictures of army vehicles was a crime under the Army Act. “He ordered his men to confiscate all the cameras and other equipment and dump them in his jeep. The soldiers took no time to strip the journalists and the cameramen of their belongings,” Mr. Virk said.

“Around 6am, when the entire entourage of the Sharif family had entered the air force base, the army officer asked the guard to produce us before him.

“He handed back the cameras but ordered to take out the film rolls and hand them over to him. His order was carried out,” the city editor of The Nation said.
Source: Dawn
Date:12/14/2000