KARACHI, Jan 14: Various organisations of journalists condemned the murder of Geo News reporter Wali Khan Babar and demanded immediate arrest of killers at a protest meeting held at the Karachi Press Club on Friday.
The meeting was followed by a protest march, organised by the Karachi Union of Journalists, to the Arts Council intersection where the participants staged a sit-in.
The young reporter was killed on his way back home from work by unidentified attackers near the Liaquatabad Super Market on Thursday.
Addressing the gathering at the protest meeting, which was chaired by veteran journalist Abdul Hameed Chhapra, the speakers termed the killing of the reporter a message for the journalist community. They expressed fears that the targeted killing of journalists might not end here and demanded that the government arrest the killers.
A resolution moved by KPC President Tahir Hasan Khan on the occasion condemned the killing and asked different forces in the city to spare journalists from their power struggle or else media persons would be forced to adopt measures for their protection.
The resolution describes the killing of a journalist as “an attack on the freedom of press and a message meant for other journalists to refrain from reporting the truth”.
The resolution says that though the government has miserably failed to maintain law and order, the journalist bodies seek immediate arrest of the killers of Wali Khan Babar and also demand protection for the journalist community.
Managing director of the Geo Television Network Azhar Abbas praised the slain reporter, saying that Wali Babar had the journalist spark and was very committed to the profession that he joined only two years ago.
Karachi Press Club President Tahir Hasan Khan, Secretary Moosa Kaleem, KUJ Secretary Hasan Abbas, and KUJ (D) President Afzal Mohsin, Association of Television Journalists Secretary Fahim Siddqui also expressed their condolences.
Following the meeting, the journalists marched towards the Art Council intersection, where they staged a sit-in.
The journalists chanted slogans against the government`s failure in controlling law and order in the city. They said none of the police high-ups or government functionaries called them to express their concern over the tragic incident.
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