KARACHI: The journalists assigned to cover the Sindh Assembly proceeding boycotted these as well as the press conference of the chief minister Ali Muhammad Maher on Monday due to misbehaviour and insulting attitude of the police and security staff of the Sindh Assembly.
The police at the assembly chambers did not allow the
reporters even to enter the lobby, the assembly secretariat, and the offices of the Speaker,
Deputy-Speaker, and Leader of the Opposition.
The newsmen lodged a protest against this insulting attitude of the assembly staff and against the police deployed at the assembly gates and boycotted the proceedings of the House and the press conference of the Chief Minister Ali Muhammad Maher.
The Speaker of the Sindh Assembly sent Sindh Ministers Dr Irfan Gul Magsi, Chaudhari Iftikhar, and adviser to the chief minister on Information Salahuddin Haider for negotiations with the journalists and bring them back to the House.
The newsmen informed the mediation team that the police and assembly staff not only misbehaved with the journalists but also stopped them from performing their professional duties by imposing restrictions. They also asked the minister’s team that the armed plainclothes policemen and unidentified armed civilians were freely moving about in the assembly lobby and galleries but the journalists who came for covering the assembly proceedings and others activities of the members were stopped from performing their professional duties. They were not even allowed to go to the offices of the Speaker and Leader of Opposition.
The journalists also informed the ministers that the Chief Minister also insulted the newsmen few days ago when he invited the media for a press conference but he left the city without taking the trouble of talking to the media while they waited an hour-and-a-half.
The newsmen asked the ministers that they would cover the press conference of the CM only if he tendered an apology for his attitude.
Meanwhile, the Adviser to the chief minister on Information and Archives Salauddin Haider
expressed his deep regrets at the unfortunate incident.
According to an official statement, the adviser stated that the security arrangements, as a matter of precaution, had been adopted to stop a scheduled protest march to ensure smooth functioning of the provincial legislature.
The statement said that the newsmen wanted to speak to the chief minister to bring to his notice the alleged high-handedness of the staff deputed for security at the assembly building. The chief minister, at the request of his colleagues, came out of his office to receive the journalists but the newsmen had left the premises by then.
The CM and members of his cabinet assured the mediamen in a statement later that they held journalists community in high esteem and would always uphold their cause.
Source: The News
Date:3/23/2004
