Daily Times

That armed men in plainclothes entered the premises of the Karachi Press Club (KPC) is a matter of grave concern. Of course, it is now known that they were security service officers; reportedly pursuing a high-value target(HVT). Equally troublesome are subsequent reports of a tracking device malfunctioning.

Given the hostile environment in which representatives of the fourth estate are currently operating — the entire situation could certainly have been handled better. To be sure, there was no need for armed men to make their way into an established safe space for journalists. In such scenarios, law enforcement agents typically cordon off a designated area; after announcing their arrival via loudspeaker as they clear bystanders from surrounding locations. But what happened at KPC could have easily turned ugly.

Thus we, at Daily Times, support all those journalists who marched from the press club to Governor House in protest of the incident. And since the suspect has now been picked up, the security services must come clean about one thing: is he a journalist or, rather a guest at KPC? The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has not confirmed this either way. But it has released a statement making it clear that the fourth estate will not kowtow to such intimidation tactics. And that the collective struggle for an independent media will continue.

Moving forward, it is therefore hoped that the concerned authorities will prioritise building bridges with the journalist community. For the latter literally risk their very safety on a daily basis just to do their job. Thus this is the least that can be expected.  *

Published in Daily Times, November  11^th 2018.