PJA and APL condemns journalist killing

PJA and APL condemns journalist killing
LONDON, Jan 14 (APP)- The UK-based Pakistan Journalists Association (PJA) and Association of Pakistani Lawyers (APL) have both strongly condemned the murder of young journalist of a private TV channel Wali Khan Babar in Karachi and urged the provincial and federal Governments to take exemplary action against those who involved in his brutal death.PJA has also fully supported the decision of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) to observe country-wide black day against this killing.

The Association Secretary General Wajahat Ali Khan said this incident has once again proved that working condition in Pakistan for media persons leaves lot to be desired and urged the authorities to create more conducive atmosphere for the working journalists.
The PJA executive council has demanded both the Federal and Sindh Governments to announce reasonable compensation for the family members of the deceased Wali Khan Babar .The APL in a similar statement listed a number of media persons who have been killed in line of duty in the recent times.“APL endorses and encourages freedom of expression, tolerance as enshrined in Pakistan’s 1973 Constitution and considers the right of people of free speech as inalienable. We had supported all journalists when they were under threat post 9th March 2007 and in particular after imposition of emergency post 3rd November 2007, and we reiterate our stand and uphold our tradition and values of supporting a free press and electronic media in Pakistan today,” APL Chair Amjad Malik said.The Association urged the authorities to ensure a fair treatment and protection of journalists belonging to print or electronic media as this is not the first incident and demanded that the culprits behind these threats, harassment, assassinations, and targeted killings are brought to justice in a limited time frame, and families are compensated befittingly.