- Police damage the property, crushes the cameras during the raid.
- Journalists beaten inside the cafeteria for no reason.
- Employees and office holders also attacked, arrested.
Islamabad: The Islamabad police broke into the National Press Club (NPC) on Thursday afternoon during a protest organized by Awami’s action committee, assaulting journalists and damaging the property in what the representatives of the media described as one of the “worst incidents in history.”
The protest was scheduled for around 3pm at the National Press Club. When the protesters gathered outside, the police arrested them.
The journalists on the scene began to document the events with photos and videos, but the police tried to stop them, even trying to snatch cameras and mobile phones.
Minutes after the police were asked not to manipulate the media staff for older journalists, police staff forced to open the doors of the press club, and some climbed the walls and enter the building as if “the terrorists were inside.”
They attacked multiple journalists, broke their team and also assaulted the cafeteria, hitting the journalists who were having tea.
Although journalists repeatedly informed the police that there were no protesters inside, the assault continued. The cameras were thrown to the ground, while the media workers were attacked.
The president of the Federal Union of Journalists of Pakistan (PFUJ), AFZAL BUTT, condemned the incident, saying that the police broke the NPC furniture, assaulted the employees and the owners of the office, and even arrested part of the staff.
He said that the level of aggression shown by the police had no precedents.
“Even during dictatorships, this behavior was not witnessed. The police used to wait outside a person sought instead of assaulting the press club,” Butt said.
He warned that the Islamabad police would have to respond for violence, otherwise, journalists would launch a strong protest.
Meanwhile, NPC journalists were maintaining discussions in their next course of action after the assault.
The Interior Minister realized the incident and requested a report by the Islamabad police chief. When ordering an investigation, Naqvi said that journalists would not be tolerated to torture.
He also issued directives for disciplinary actions against the responsible police.
