Journalists assail murder of Wali Khan Babar

The cold-blooded murder of a private TV channel reporter Wali Khan Babar on Friday stirred up anger and protests by the journalist community across the country. The journalist community termed the killing of Babar a "ruthless" attempt, which depicts state of a complete insanity of the perpetrators.
Newsmen staged a protest rally from Karachi Press Club (KPC) to Arts Council on the call of KPC and Karachi Unions of Journalists to condemn the killing. A large number of journalists marched on the streets from the club chanting slogans against the government for failing to arrest the culprits.
Protestors were holding banners and placards which read "Babar's blood will pave bring revolution," "Arrest the killers," "We condemn the cold-blooded murder of Wali Khan Babar," etc. Earlier, journalists' representatives demanded of the government to arrest killers without any delay.
Veteran journalist Abdul Hameed Chhapra urged the government to provide security to all working journalists, particularly TV cameramen and press photographers for their professional duties. President Karachi Union of Journalists (Dastoor), Afzal Mohsin said the killers' motive was clear aiming at gagging the journalists' voice against injustices in the society.
He vowed to continue the mission of raising voice for people's rights and identify the problems without fears of death. "Wali Khan Babar was not the first journalist killed for raising voice against injustices, nor would perhaps be the last one," he added. He said the journalists were working under harsh circumstances and there was no proper medical and security cover to them either by the government or by their respective organisations.
Mohsin urged the newsmen community to chalk out a comprehensive plan for their security and medical cover through insurance. General Secretary KUJ (Burna) Hassan Abbas said the government should arrest the killers immediately. He said the killing was a sign of intolerance in the society, saying such a trend would drive the society to a terrible stage.
Secretary KPC Moosa Kaleem also condemned the killing. Senior journalist Azhar Abbas highlighted the bright aspect of Babar's life and character. He said the late journalist was a brave and truthful person and he saw him as a committed professional reporter. Karachi Press Club President Tahir Hassan Khan presented a joint resolution demanding of the government to arrest the criminals. The resolution was passed by the participants unanimously. The meeting was attended among others by Hyder Abbas Rizvi, Waseem Akhtar and Faisal Subzwari of MQM, Jam Madad Ali of PML (F), Sharmila Farooqi advisor of CM for information and certain political figures.