During a Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) press conference, Journalists from different media houses protested on Sunday against manhandling of a female journalist by the officials of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital in Islamabad.
The journalists demanded registering First Information Report (FIR) against the officials involved in giving special protocol to the under arrest chairman Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Zafar Hijazi and manhandling journalists.
Earlier talking to media, the victim female reporter, Saba Bajeer said she was subjected to assault and FIA officials tried to confiscate her phone when she took a couple of photographs of Hijazi, on Friday.
On seeing her holding her phone in hand, some FIA officials in civil dress forcibly made her delete the pictures and shoved her by holding her arm, she said.
Read more: FIA manhandles female reporter for taking Zafar Hijazi’s photo
The reporter of Channel 24 claimed that FIA personnel assaulted her for taking photographs of the SECP chairman. She also claimed that Hijazi’s son also used foul language against her.
When one colleague journalist of Saba, Irfan Malik, tried to intervene, he was also badly thrashed.
“FIA Assistant Director Tahir Tanvir an FIA inspector and several other officials manhandled me,” said Irfan.
It is pertinent here to mention that Zafar Hijazi has been remanded to FIA for four days. He was arrested on Friday after Special Judge Central Tahir Mehmood refused his plea for bail extension in a case pertaining to record tampering of the Sharif family’s companies.
Minister of State for Capital Administration and Development Division Tariq Fazal has assured the journalists to register an FIR within 24 hours against all those involved in the condemnable incident.
He said the PIMS hospital lied in his jurisdiction and he assured to take strict action against the administration officials involved in misbehaving with journalists.
