PUJ welcomes suspension of FIA notices against senior journalists

LAHORE (Staff Report) — The Punjab Union of Journalists (PUJ) has welcomed the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) decision to suspend Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) notices issued to six senior journalists, terming it a significant step towards safeguarding press freedom.

Chief Justice of the LHC, Ms. Aalia Neelum, on Friday suspended the FIA’s notices that had been served to Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) Secretary General and Lahore Press Club President Arshad Ansari, Crime Reporters Association General Secretary Mujahid Sheikh, senior journalists Ahmed Faraz and Shiraz Hassan, among others. The suspension came in response to a petition filed by their counsel, Advocate Ali Changezi Sandhu.

In a joint statement, PUJ President Naeem Hanif, , Senior Vice President Yousaf Raza Abbasi, Vice President Nadeem Zaeem, Joint Secretary Muddasir Hussain Tatlah, Sher Ali Khalti, Treasurer Naseem Qureshi, and members of the executive council hailed the court’s ruling as “a major victory in the struggle to protect press freedom and freedom of expression.”

PUJ President Naeem Hanif said that it was the responsibility of superior courts to prevent any attempt to curtail media independence. “Journalists have never demanded unchecked freedom, but asking questions and publishing news is their professional duty. To stop them from doing so is nothing less than an attack on press freedom,” he stressed.

General Secretary Qamaruzzaman Bhatti said the LHC Chief Justice had rightly questioned why the FIA had issued notices in haste on the complaint of a single YouTuber when “over 50,000 complaints under PECA are pending with the agency.”

He urged the FIA’s National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) to take action on the complaint lodged by five senior journalists of Lahore against YouTuber Azizullah. “If NCCIA fails to register a case against him, journalists will be left with no option but to stage strong protests,” he warned.

The PUJ leadership expressed hope that the federal government and the FIA would refrain from using the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) as a tool against journalists in the future.