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NWFP CM suspends four policemen for torturing journalists

Staff Report

PESHAWAR: NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti suspended four police officials on Thursday night for torturing journalists and ordered formation of a three-member committee to probe the matter.

Chief Capital City Police (CCCP) Dr Muhammad Suleman along with other top police officials went to the Peshawar Press Club on Friday to apologise to journalist community on behalf of the Inspector General (IG) Police and the department.

The incident occurred late on Thursday night when ARYOne World reporter Shahzad Mehmood and Waqt TV cameraman Asad Ali were going home on a motorbike. The staff of the Faqirabad Police Station intercepted their motorbike and started beating and torturing them without any reason. The police later sent them to a lockup.

A large number of journalists including Peshawar Press Club President M. Riaz rushed to the police station as soon as the news reached them and protested against the incident.

Chief Minister Hoti took serious note of the torture incident directing Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain to go to the police station to convey the government’s feelings to the protesting journalists. Hussain met the victims and after hearing facts, said the provincial government was shocked to learn about the tragic incident and would take serious action.

On the chief minister’s directives, the information minister immediately suspended SHO Fayyaz Khan and three other police officials responsible for the incident.

The information minister said a three-member committee had also been constituted on the chief minister’s directives to investigate the matter. He said the committee would send its report within a day.

Meanwhile, while condemning the police brutality, the Crimes Journalists Forum (CJF) announced on Friday the boycott of police coverage all over the Frontier province which would continue until proper action was taken against the cops that tortured the journalists.

The CJF postponed protest demonstrations and protest camps till the Khyber Union of Journalists (KhUJ) and Peshawar Press Club took a decision in this regard.

The CJF urged newspaper news editors, TV channels and news agencies to discourage police coverage till an action against the cops was taken.

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