JournalismPakistan.com | Published 8 years ago | Myra Imran
Join our WhatsApp channel
ISLAMABAD - Journalist unions Saturday threatened to protest in front of Punjab House where Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar is due to hold a press conference Sunday if an FIR was not registered against FIA officials who harassed and manhandled a female journalist and thrashed her colleagues.
The protest was organized by journalist unions and National Press Club. Senior journalists and union leaders condemned the action of FIA officials. They demanded registration of FIR against them. They said police had not done so on the directives of the interior minister.
Saba Bajeer, a reporter with Channel 24, was manhandled, threatened, and harassed by FIA officials and family members of SECP Chairman Zafar Hijazi at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).
She was on an assignment to report on Hijazi, brought to the hospital after being arrested earlier in the day by FIA for tampering with records of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s companies.
Her colleagues who arrived to rescue her were beaten up.
Fawad Chaudhry of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar of Pakistan People’s Party also attended the protest. They assured support to media freedom and said the incident reflected the government was in panic mode.
Aoun Sahi, Bureau Chief of Channel 24 said that Saba belongs to interior Sindh and it was very brave of her to practice journalism in a metropolis far away from her native town.
“Since this incident, her family is pressuring her to return home. Instead of encouraging and protecting such women, the government is making them insecure,” he said.
Saba did not attend the protest because of psychological trauma. But journalist Irfan Malik, among those beaten up was present. He could not stand due to injuries sustained Friday.
Senior journalist Farooq Faisal Khan said the entire city was shut down to protect Maryam Nawaz, daughter of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, when she was called up by the Joint Investigation Team. “Saba is also a daughter of someone but the same law enforcement agencies threatened and manhandled her,” he said.
Dawn reporter Kalbe Ali also addressed the gathering. He said he had received threatening calls for publishing news about SECP.
Image courtesy: Aamir Sajjad Syed
November 01, 2025: Pakistan Press Foundation reports 137 attacks on journalists in 2025, highlighting rising threats, legal harassment, and censorship on the International Day to End Impunity.
November 01, 2025: A viral Samaa TV clip featuring MNA Sher Afzal Marwat’s crude remarks and Talat Hussain’s laughter raises questions about the declining ethics of Pakistani television.
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.
November 01, 2025 UNESCO survey finds one-third of media lawyers cannot effectively defend journalists due to threats, limited resources, and lack of specialization.
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.