Police storm National Press Club, attack journalists and smash equipment

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published last month |  JP Staff Report

ISLAMABAD — Tensions flared in the federal capital on Thursday when Islamabad Police stormed the National Press Club, attacking journalists and damaging their cameras and equipment while dispersing a protest staged nearby.

The violence erupted during a demonstration organized by the Azad Kashmir Awami Action Committee, which had gathered outside the National Press Club to stage a peaceful protest. According to eyewitnesses, police launched a baton charge on the protesters and began arresting them. Journalists covering the protest also came under assault as police tried to snatch cameras and mobile phones in a bid to stop media coverage.

Sheraz Gardezi, Senior Joint Secretary of the National Press Club, condemned the police action, saying reporters were subjected to brutal force without any provocation. “We were able to rescue some of our colleagues from police brutality and brought them inside the press club. However, only after five minutes, the police barged into the club by scaling the boundary walls. They smashed the doors and kicked the media persons present inside,” he told Geo News.

Gardezi added that the police behaved as though they were conducting an operation against militants. “They also entered the cafeteria and beat up the journalists there, and broke into the club president and secretary's rooms by smashing the doors. We tried telling them that there were no protesters here, but the SHO paid no heed. They pushed and shoved photographers against the doors,” he said.

The attack sparked outrage among the journalist community. The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) announced an emergency meeting to discuss its response and chalk out a plan of action against what it described as an alarming escalation in state highhandedness against the press.

Incidents of violence against journalists in Pakistan have been on the rise, drawing criticism from local and international press freedom watchdogs. Thursday’s attack is being widely condemned as yet another attempt to stifle press freedom and intimidate media professionals in the country.