Journalists protest murder of their fellow
* Stage walkout, demand arrest of killers
By Mohammad Zafar
QUETTA: Journalists covering the proceedings of the Balochistan Assembly staged a walkout on Wednesday, condemning the cold-blooded murder of their fellow journalist Mohammad Khan Sasoli, in Khuzdar.
The protesting journalists held a noisy demonstration on the BA premises and chanted slogans demanding immediate arrest of the culprits involved in killing of the journalist.
Ministers Sardar Aslam Bizenjo and Ainullah Shams held talks with the irate journalists and assured them of justice. They asked the journalists that they would take this matter up with the chief minister.
The protesters registered their protest and apprised the team of ministers about the murder of the journalist, who, they said, had committed no crime against the state.
They ended their protest and attended the session after the ministers assured them that the culprits would be taken to task. The members of the Balochistan Assembly also offered fateha for the departed soul of the late journalist.
Earlier, a member from the ruling PPP, Ali Madad Jatak, raised the issue of missing persons and told the House that no chosen representative of the people had ever visited the camp of the missing people outside the Quetta Press Club. “They have been holding a hunger strike for the past five months, but not a single representative visited them. It indicates the callous attitude and isolation of the public representatives,” he said. The lawmaker also raised the issue on a point of order during the Balochistan Assembly session, while ministers were making complaints regarding slow pace of their personal projects or flow of unlimited funds for them.
“The ministers, who were elected by people of this province, usually give preference to the issues related to their departments and particularly about stoppage of releasing funds to their departments but ignore humanitarian issues,” he said.
He demanded that a high-level committee should be formed to probe the matter and resolve this long-standing issue.
The BA speaker said that the issue had come on record and it would be discussed in the cabinet meeting.
Minister for Minorities Basant Lal Gulshan took the floor on a point of order and drew the attention of the House towards lack of interest by the government officials in the proceedings. He said that no official of any department, whether it was police or the Home Department, did not attend the session.
Speaker Aslam Bhootani, while expressing his concerns, said that the matter was already taken up with the CM earlier through a senior minister and again he would ask to apprise him regarding this issue because the provincial assembly was the forum where problems of people not only came under, discussion but also law makers made suggestions to resolve them.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\12\16\story_16-12-2010_pg7_14
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