Protesting Factions

Judiciary and lawyers are suffering so that the nation can have justice. The ongoing and countrywide touching protests of journalists, lawyers, political and non-political activists and the students are getting a steady momentum, though its very slow and without a unified leadership. In their peaceful protests, which becomes not-so-peaceful when police comes down at them charging with batons, teargas and abuses and which lead to the arrests and torture.

The demands by this crowd are simple and justifiable. They want what the nation wants, and what the civilized world wants. Their demands include lifting of emergency, end to media curbs and reinstatement of deposed judges and a pure democracy. Newspapers and PEMRA-controlled T.V. channels are littered with the images of protesting factions wearing black armbands, bolding red and black flags and banners, shouting slogans like “Zinda Hain Wukla Zinda Hain”, “Zinda Hain Tulaba Zinda Hain”, “Zinda Hain Sahafi Zinda Hain”, “Zinda Hain Jujdges Zinda Hain.”

My favorite image which I saw in a newspaper was of a journalist who was shown raising his hands tied with a black band and a lock hanging to it during a demonstration against the imposition of emergency and curbs on media organized by RIUJ in front of a private TV channel office. It was a very resounding and moving scene to watch. Another scene which I don’t forget was of a young lady protesting for the arrest of Imran Khan, and she was then picked up in arms by a plain-clothed policeman from behind and she was thrown into the back of a van.

Another thing which came to the surface during the demonstrations is that PEMRA has taken hold of the top management of the private TV channels and now the owners of these channels are trying to stop their employees from taking part in such activities. Some owners of the newspapers and TV channels have started giving notices to their employed journalists for their appearances in the protests arranged by the journalists’ community and unions. They are trying to stop the journalists from joining and arranging the protests. Now journalists have found another front to combat for.