A cameraman of Aaj News was injured when miscreants hurled stones at the media channel’s Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) van in Karachi’s Gulistan-e-Johar Bloch 11 on Tuesday.
The van was on duty to cover the anti-encroachment operation in the area. The front windscreen and satellite and electronic equipment were damaged in the attack. Dozen of people, termed as land grabbers by officials, had come out to prevent the anti-encroachment team from demolishing properties.
When the police and anti-encroachment officials reached the area to start the operation, the people tried to resist them, our correspondent Shahmir Khan said.
The police resorted to aerial firing to disperse them.
Then heavy machinery was brought to start the operation. But the protesters again gathered and hurled stones at the public vehicles and the Aaj News DSNG. Eyewitnesses said that many were injured because of the assault.
Khan said that protesters were still present where the heavy machinery was used to demolish structures built on encroached lands.
Senior Cameraman Shahadat Baloch was hit on the leg. Other members of the team remained safe.
The central highway from Mehman Goth to Kamran Chowrangi has been blocked by protesters.
Journalist bodies have condemned the attack on Aaj News DSNG van.
“This is a failure of law enforcement agencies and administration,” Karachi Union of Journalists Fahim Siddiqui said, adding that the anti-encroachment operation was a planned activity.
He went on to add that the incident should be dealt with strictly. He condemned the attack saying protesters attacked the van despite knowing that it was a media van.
Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists Central Leader Lala Asad Pathan condemned the attack and demanded the Sindh government to compensate the loss and arrest the culprits.
“Unfortunately, I think the administration along with the qabza mafia targeted the media in order to stop them from reporting facts,” he said and the administration and encroachers have deliberately attacked the news channel.
He added that strict action should be taken people involved in this. Pathan wondered why the state machinery came into action when the miscreants started to resist the police.
Siddiqui wondered what kind of action would be taken against the culprits as it was the same area where a plot of President Arif Alvi was located.
He demanded that it should be investigated whether it was a deliberate attack or not.
MQM-P leader Aminul Haque condemned the incident. Though he lauded the Sindh government’s decision to launch a crackdown against encroachers, he suggested that such operations should be launched with the help of police and rangers.
Haque assured the channel that he would contact the officials concerned and a case was registered. “I am standing with the journalistic bodies. I will make sure that FIR is registered and people involved in this are arrested.”
