ISLAMABAD: The
authorities on Tuesday said they had launched an investigation into torture of
two journalists in Chaman. The two journalists said that they were tortured for
reporting on a coronavirus quarantine centre near the Afghan border.

Television reporters
Saeed Ali Achakzai and Abdul Mateen Achakzai said they were abused while
spending three days in detention in Balochistan province. Photos released to
AFP by the men, who are not related, showed them with apparent red welts across
their backs. Balochistan´s Home Minister Ziaullah Langove said an inquiry was
underway into the “brutal incident”.

“Three
officials who were directly involved in the incident have been suspended,”
Langove said, adding that the original case against the journalists had been
dropped. In a statement, press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
showed concern over the incident.

Meanwhile, Pakistan
Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has taken notice of torture and brutality
that the two Chaman-based journalists had to face.

Their physical
condition is in bad shape due to the severe beating and torture inflicted upon
them, while they were locked up by the district administration, says a PFUJ
press release on Tuesday. PFUJ President Shahzada Zulfiqar and Secretary
General Nasir Zaidi in a joint statement have demanded for a judicial inquiry
into the incident along with immediate suspension and arrest of persons who
tortured the two journalists in custody, under Section 3 (1) of the West
Pakistan Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO) 1960.

This violence is an
inhumane act that the journalists were subjected to by authorities during
illegal arrest. Such acts cannot be ignored anymore,” they said.

PFUJ have urged
Balochistan government and concerned authorities to ensure safety of the
journalist community in Balochistan, as such acts of violence and injustice
tarnish the country’s reputation.

Newspaper: The News