Such notification is a very dangerous tradition of intervention in any press club, Saeed Sarbazi, Afzal Butt, Arshad Ansari, Khalil Ahmed, and Dr. Akhtar Gulfam
Condemnation of various journalistic organizations including TV Anchors Club London, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ), and Karachi Press Club
Daily Dawn Staff Reporters + Dawn TV
Quetta: The Deputy Commissioner of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan Province, Lt. (Rtd) Saad Bin Asad has stopped organizations or political parties from hosting events in the Quetta Press Club without a No Objection Certificate (NOC) and for events in the Press Club. Permission is required.
The Quetta district administration has barred organizations or political parties from hosting events at the Quetta Press Club without a NOC given the ‘law and order situation’.
According to the notification issued by the Deputy Commissioner’s office to the President of Quetta Press Club, given the current law and order situation, no organization or political party should be allowed to hold a conference or seminar in Quetta Press Club with prior permission.
In May last year, the local administration closed the doors of the Press Club to prevent members of the Baloch Solidarity Committee from holding a seminar. Apart from this, Khuzdar Press Club was also closed for a long time.
Various journalist organizations including TV Anchors Club London, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ), and Karachi Press Club condemned the notification and demanded that this decision be withdrawn immediately.
TV Anchors Club London President Dakar Akhtar Gulfam, PFUJ President Afzal Butt, and General Secretary Arshad Ansari said in their joint statement that this is an attempt to curtail freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
Afzal Butt said in his statement that the law and order situation did not arise because of speeches and freedom of expression, places like press clubs should be respected where freedom of expression is promoted.
Karachi Press Club President Saeed Sarbazi said that such a notification is a very dangerous tradition of interference in any press club.
Balochistan Union of Journalists President Khalil Ahmad said that the notification is an attack on the freedom of the press and we will call a meeting soon and announce the plan of action.
