PFUJ dedicates Press Freedom Day to APP employees

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published 6 years ago

ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) on Friday observed the World Press Freedom Day, and dedicated it to the workers of Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), who have been protesting for their rights for 50 days now.

To mark the day, journalists staged rallies in all major cities including Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Sukkur, Hyderabad, Gujranwala, Multan, Rahimyar Khan, Peshawar, and Quetta.

In Islamabad, a protest rally led by PFUJ President Afzal Butt started from APP Head Office and culminated in front of Press Information Department (PID) building.

A large number of journalists from Rawalpindi and Islamabad as well as APP employees took part in the rally.

Afzal Butt said that free thinking and freedom of expression were the fundamental rights of the people and guaranteed by the Constitution of Pakistan.

"These rights are must for the progress of democracy, society and the nation," he said.

Expressing solidarity with APP staff, he said it was regrettable they were being denied their rights.

"I am surprised as to why APP workers are being denied the rights announced by the government. I appreciate APP Employees Union for launching a historic movement for the cause of its workers.”

President Rawalpindi Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ), Syed Aamir Sajjad, RIUJ Secretary Asif Bhatti, President APP Employees Union, Shehzad Ali Akbar Chaudhry, and veteran journalists Nasir Zaidi, C.R. Shamsi, Sardar Shaukat, Imran Yaqoob Dilhoon and others, also spoke at the rally. - Online/Photo Courtesy: Aamir Sajjad Syed (Facebook)