JournalismPakistan.com | Published 13 years ago
Join our WhatsApp channel
ISLAMABAD: Frontier Post journalist Anwer Abbas, beaten by police for drinking Pepsi during fasting hours last week, has sent in a first-hand account to JournalismPakistan.com of what happened that day at the Daman-i-Koh picnic spot on the Margalla Hills.
“Last Friday after covering the Senate session, my friend Malik Saeed Awan from INP and I decided to have something to drink because of the blazing weather. Since I was not fasting and my home and office were several kilometers away, we decided to go to Daman-i-Koh to have some soft drinks.
“Once there we chose a secluded corner well away from all the people. There were about 7 to 10 visitors in the park at that time including some dating couples.
“Just as we were having our drinks, a policeman named Shahzad arrived and told us we were committing a sin, this being the fasting month. He snatched the glass from my hand, smelt it and then rudely tossed it away.
“I told him I was not fasting and was having my drink in an isolated corner. He asked for my national ID card which I handed over. He told me he was going to register a FIR under Ramadan Ordinance against me.
“He then asked us to accompany him to the police post adjacent to the park and we did. On the way there the cop started using abusive language.”
"At the police post there were already two officers present, one of whom was Abid Shah. They all started threatening us, posing as if they were drunk.
“Abid told us ‘you have never dealt with police, now we will let you know what police is.’ Just then Shahzad stood up, abused me and pushed me hard. I slapped his face in anger and thus started the fight.
“Abid started beating me with his belt while Shahzad and I exchanged punches. My friend attempted to restore peace but was hit as well.
“The cops said they would make sure we do not come out of prison in less than 12 months.”
“We were then taken to the police station with Shahzad threatening me all the way. The cops there were polite and asked me what action I wanted taken against their errant colleagues.
“I could barely open my left eye following the beating I got and my back was red with marks of belt used by Abid….yet I decided to spare them.”
October 31, 2025: Police foiled a plot to kill DawnNewsTV journalist Tahir Naseer in Rawalpindi after arresting suspects hired for Rs200,000. Naseer says threats followed his reporting.
October 31, 2025: CPJ calls on Pakistan to bring Imtiaz Mir’s killers to justice after the journalist was allegedly murdered by a banned militant group in Karachi.
October 30, 2025: The PFUJ has condemned a fabricated drug case against journalist Matiullah Jan, calling it an attempt to silence him and urging authorities to quash the charges immediately.
October 30, 2025: NewsOne TV remains on air but faces mass layoffs and delayed salaries, exposing Pakistan’s worsening media crisis and financial instability.
October 28, 2025: Sindh Police arrested four suspects linked to a banned outfit in the murder of journalist Imtiaz Mir, who was shot in Karachi in September 2025.
October 26, 2025: Riffat Ara Alvi, the mother of slain Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif, has died, ending her relentless fight for justice following his killing in Kenya in 2022.
October 25, 2025: Veteran journalists and rights activists urge authorities to quash the fabricated drug case against Matiullah Jan, calling it an attack on media freedom.
October 24, 2025: PTV journalist Najam Wali Khan faces social media backlash after calling late SP Adeel Akbar a coward and a fool following his alleged suicide in Islamabad.
October 31, 2025 Radio Free Asia, a US government-funded broadcaster covering tightly controlled Asian media environments, has suspended all news operations after federal funding dried up.
October 30, 2025 PSL franchise fees lag far behind IPL's USD 18.5B valuation as Pakistan Cricket Board's bureaucratic grip stifles growth. Hard numbers expose a stark reality.
October 30, 2025 India’s government has proposed strict new rules mandating the labelling of AI-generated and deepfake media to curb misinformation and ensure content authenticity on social platforms.
October 30, 2025 Vietnamese authorities seize BBC journalist’s passport amid interrogation, sparking outrage as Hanoi leader To Lam visits the UK. Rights groups urge her release.
October 30, 2025 CDEPS and CPJ condemn the arrest of 7TV’s Maimouna Ndour Faye and other journalists in a late October crackdown on Senegalese media over interviews with a wanted politician.