A group of women journalists and their allies have signed a public statement condemning Geo News's decision to take senior anchor Hamid Mir off air, urging the government to protect media from such pressure.
“The journalists are deeply disturbed with the decision to remove Hamid Mir from his flagship show Capital Talk, a mere 72 hours after he spoke at a protest organised by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) on Friday, May 28 in condemnation of the attack on Asad Ali Toor, who was brutally tortured in his home on May 25. It goes on to express alarm at “the sharp escalation of direct, indirect and covert actions against journalists, which are having a detrimental and silencing effect on news media in Pakistan," the statement reads.
The statement further reiterated that journalists must be allowed to perform their duties without fear and intimidation. Women journalists also demanded the authorities investigate the cases of violence against journalists and make details on these inquiries public.
“The journalists are deeply disturbed with the decision to remove Hamid Mir from his flagship show Capital Talk, a mere 72 hours after he spoke at a protest organised by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) on Friday, May 28 in condemnation of the attack on Asad Ali Toor, who was brutally tortured in his home on May 25. It goes on to express alarm at “the sharp escalation of direct, indirect and covert actions against journalists, which are having a detrimental and silencing effect on news media in Pakistan," the statement reads.
The statement further reiterated that journalists must be allowed to perform their duties without fear and intimidation. Women journalists also demanded the authorities investigate the cases of violence against journalists and make details on these inquiries public.