After an attack on Pakistani journalist Asad Ali Toor, opposition leader and chairman of National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Imran Khan should be ashamed while telling lies to the entire world that media was completely free in the country.
After visiting Toor's residence, Bilawal said that he has decided to convene a meeting of the committee to take up the issue of press freedom in the country with particular reference to the recent attacks on journalists in the federal capital, Dawn reported.
"As the chairman of the National Assembly Committee on Human Rights, I am taking notice of the incidents of attacks on journalists and soon I will convene its meeting to discuss the state of media freedom in the country," he said.
He also regretted that the present government could not provide security to journalists in the capital where foreign embassies were situated and that his party - Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) - would never tolerate assault on press freedom.
He said before Toor, journalists Absar Alam and Matiullah Jan were also attacked but the culprits were never caught and vowed to take up these cases to a logical conclusion, reported Dawn.
Last month, three masked men assaulted the journalist at his home in Islamabad. Closed-circuit television camera footage obtained by Geo News showed three suspects wearing masks leaving Toor's apartment afterward.
The video also showed an injured Toor walking out of the apartment with his hands and feet tied, calling for help. He was later taken to a hospital.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) on Saturday denied allegations of attacking the Pakistani journalist and said that it is being "targeted under an organised conspiracy."
On the increasing number of attacks on journalists, Toor said, "Under this regime, we have seen a spike in the attacks on the journalists. The reason for this is because the state of Pakistan has done so many illegal things. Now they get frustrated because those illegal acts didn't deliver."
According to the Freedom Network's annual state of the Press Freedom 2021 report, Pakistan has emerged as the riskiest place to practice journalism.
In April, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that media and content restrictions are a threat to the ability to exercise the right to freedom of expression and association in Pakistan.
( With inputs from ANI )
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