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 the 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

Related links: Dawn