PAKISTAN: Journalists end NA boycott after Shujaat’s assurances

Four-day boycott of press gallery ends after Pakistan Muslim League president says he will look into journalists' grievances, police brutality

Dawn
Friday, May 6, 2005

By Ahmed Hassan

Islamabad -- Journalists covering parliamentary proceedings on Friday called off four-day boycott of the press gallery on the assurances given by ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Secretary-General Mushahid Hussain Syed of redressing their grievances. The journalists’ leadership announced they were ending the boycott also on the persuasion of the parliamentary group of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) which had, in support of their cause, walked out of the house and condemned police action against journalists on the World Press Freedom Day.

Earlier, the lower house was adjourned till Monday by Deputy Speaker Sardar Yaqub due to incomplete quorum and after an exchange of hot words with the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal’s Hafiz Hussain Ahmed for pointing out quorum.

Chaudhry Shujaat and Mushahid Hussain visited the journalists’ protest camp at outer gates of Parliament House and requested the leadership of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Rawalpindi Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ) and Rawalpindi Islamabad Press Club to end the boycott.

Chaudhry Shujaat told journalists that he had talked to President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz about their grievances and found both concerned about the police violence and willing to resolve their grievances.

From the MQM side, federal ministers Shamim Siddiqui and Syed Sifwanullah, MNAs Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi and Iqbal Mohammad Ali Khan and from the MMA, Hussain Ahmed and Hanif Abbasi were present on the occasion.

While making the announcement of calling off the boycott, the journalists’ leadership warned the government that resumption of coverage of the assembly proceedings would be subject to the government’s visible sincerity towards the resolution of their grievances till Tuesday and if they found any foul play, they would be free to resume the protest campaign.

The PML leaders assured journalists that their grievances regarding the police violence, wage award implementation and non-payment of salaries to workers by some newspapers would be resolved.

Mushahid Hussain justified withdrawal of a National Assembly resolution calling for setting up of a special committee to inquire into the police violence, saying that the concerned standing committee with an independent chairman would tackle the issue in a better way than a special committee.

He said that although he was not a member of the standing committee on information, he would like to attend its session to get the desired results in time. He sought at least one week in this regard.

Chaudhry Shujaat said that the cabinet committee set up by the prime minister to tackle the wage award issue might be reactivated to get the desired job done.

He said that he had talked to Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao and the cases registered against journalist leaders would not be pursued.

Earlier, the newsmen complained to the PML team that police had conducted raids on the houses of the president and secretary-general of the RIUJ throughout the night.

Mushahid Hussain assured newsmen that the government would compensate the photo journalists whose cameras or cellphones had been damaged by police.

Speaking on the occasion, Hussain Ahmed said that the MMA, by pointing out quorum, had blocked the passage of an information ministry’s bill and that the government had failed to complete quorum in two attempts despite People’s Party Parliamentarian’s presence.

Date Posted: 5/7/2005