Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) is alarmed at the armed attack on journalist and blogger Asad Ali Toor in his home on May 23, 2021 in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad .
PPF urges the authorities to investigate the attack on Toor and to ensure that those behind it are held accountable. The attack on Toor provides yet another case of the restrictive and dangerous environment media in Pakistan is forced to operate under. The assault on yet another journalist is a reminder of the urgent need for the government to enact effective journalists safety legislation and to ensure that it is implemented to the fullest extent.
Toor was attacked by three unidentified individuals who had barged into his apartment and tied him up. In a video statement, a visibly shaken Toor recalled the incident in which he was repeatedly hit on his elbows with the butt of a pistol. Toor said at some point he started screaming and the attacker tried to shut his mouth and told him to stay quiet. Toor said that he realized that there was no point in staying quiet and he continued screaming, after which the intruders ran out.
Toor said that he walked with difficulty with his feet tied, opened his apartment door and came out and started screaming for someone to help him after which some people from the building came and untied him. In CCTV footage, Toor can be seen in the stairway area of an apartment, when people come to untie him.
In September 2020, a criminal complaint was registered against Toor for posting negative propaganda against the state, Pakistani institutions and the Pakistan Army on his social media account. In November, the Lahore High Court dismissed the case against him to be “infructuous”.
Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has strongly condemned the attack on Toor. In a statement, PFUJ President Shahzada Zulfiqar and Secretary General Nasir Zaidi said that this was the second time Toor was being harassed and beaten. “This cowardly act of beating and harassing an independent journalist shows anxiety of anti-media agents who are bent upon denying freedom of press and free speech and expression in the country,” they said. The PFUJ leadership said that this attack “seems to be designed to further suppress journalists’ community ” as earlier former PEMRA chairman Absar Alam had been attacked. PFUJ demanded the immediate arrest of the culprits and the initiation of a probe by a judge of a high court.
A protest has been called outside the National Press Club in Islamabad. Speaking to PPF, NPC President Shakeel Anjum said they strongly condemn the incident and demand the speedy arrest of the accused. “Action should also be taken against those [on] whom the law does not apply,” he added.
Senior Superintendent of Police Operations Islamabad Mustafa Tanveer told PPF that a First Information Report has been filed at the Shalimar Police Station and the case is under investigation.
Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari condemned the attack and Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaduhry was in touch with police to take “necessary action”.
