ISLAMABAD: PMLN Secretary Information Marriyum Aurangzeb has demanded that the inquiry reports regarding attacks on journalists be made public immediately.
In a statement for National Assembly Standing Committee On Interior Marriyum said, all reports regarding attacks on Absar Alam, Matiullah Jaan, and Asad Toor and all others be released without any redaction. She said such assassination attempts on journalists were extremely alarming and condemnable.
The former Information Minister said this recent report makes dangerous revelations. She pointed out that there is a steep rise in violence against journalists in Pakistan. Journalists were attacked 91 times from April 2020 – May 2021 in Pakistan, she told.
Marriyum said Islamabad had become the most dangerous city for journalists because there were 31 such incidents in the national capital.
She reminded how Absar Alam was shot, Matiullah Jaan was abducted and Asad Toor was assaulted in his own home. But she said not a single perpetrator had been arrested to date. Not a single report regarding any of these incidents was presented, she lambasted.
Marriyum stressed that special steps be taken to ensure the safety and security of Pakistan’s journalists. Special legislation and practical steps be taken in this regard, she demanded. Mere lipservice won’t achieve anything, she said, and demanded that the inquiry reports be presented in the Parliament at all cost.
The PMLN Secretary Information pointed out that these attacks on journalists is one of the reasons why the EU is reviewing Pakistan’s GSP Plus status.
