By Sohail Chaudhry
ISLAMABAD: Police baton-charged participants of a students protest rally at the Aabpara intersection on Tuesday. They were demanding lifting of emergency and restoration of the constitution and deposed judges.The rally was held by the Progressive Student Action Committee and Joint Student Movement and was attended by students of different academic institutions and members of the civil society.The protestors, who were raising slogans against the government and curbs on media, started proceeding towards the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Press Club camp office to express solidarity with protesting journalists. However, a heavy contingent of police stopped and baton-charged them. The students vowed to continue their struggle, threatening the government with severe consequences if their demands were not met. They also called for holding student organisations’ elections.The protestors urged all the political parties to boycott the upcoming elections. They were of the view that under the present setup free and fair elections could not be held. They also condemned the detention of political leaders and lawyers. Meanwhile, the journalists also staged a sit-in in front of the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Press Club camp office on Tuesday to protest against the imposition of emergency and curbs on media. The protest call was made by Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ).Criticising the code of conduct and the ordinances being promulgated to suppress freedom of media in the name of national security, they said freedom of expression was the fundamental right of the public and no authority could suspend it without providing justifiable grounds.They also demanded restoration of the deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and other superior courts’ judges who refused to take oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO). “The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) should also avoid using unfair measures against the media,” they added.
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