RAWALPINDI: The Punjab Union of Journalists and Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists have taken strong exception to the statement of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer against the media.

In a statement issued in Lahore on Tuesday, the Punjab Union of Journalists (PUJ) termed the statement of Salmaan Taseer un-parliamentary and immoral and called it a blatant attack on the freedom of press.

PUJ President Shehzad Hussain Butt said in the statement that Governor Salmaan Taseer was a remnant of President Pervez Musharraf’s dictatorial regime and he was busy in hatching conspiracies against the democratic government. He said when President Pervez Musharraf banned electronic media by imposing emergency last year, Salmaan Taseer became a part of that government. He said that Salmaan Taseer should cease to dream about handcuffing the anchorpersons and arresting them because the journalist community would never compromise on the freedom of press. General Secretary PUJ Naeem Hanif said that Salmaan Taseer was devoid of talking to the stature of a governor.

Reacting to his terming the media a ghost, Hanif said it was regrettable that the Punjab governor was using highly objectionable language against the media in a democratic era and if he did not change his attitude towards the media, the PUJ would take measures, which it would deem appropriate to save the media from such objectionable onslaughts.

He said that it was not in the interest of the country and the nation to let such a person continue to hold such an important office. He said that the remnants of Pervez Musharraf regime were hatching conspiracies against the PPP-led democratic government, adding, the authorities should take notice of the plots being hatched to put the government and the media at loggerhead.

Treasurer PUJ Ijaz Maqbool while terming the Punjab governor’s statement childish said that no restriction on the print and electronic media would be accepted and they should keep in mind the fate of those who tried to impede the way of truth. The Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ) also severely condemned the Punjab governor’s diatribe against the media and the people associated with it.

In a press statement issued in Islamabad on Tuesday, the RIUJ President, Afzal Butt, termed the governor’s statement very sorrowful and called upon him to pinpoint as to which TV anchorperson violated the code of conduct in his programme.

Butt said the journalist community was conscious and patriotic and always performing its professional duties keeping the national interests supreme. He said the governor’s statement reflects the thinking of the government to suppress the freedom of the media by introducing new laws to gag it.

The RIUJ president said that the media was not granted freedom by any government but it was the result of a long and continuous struggle of the journalist community, adding, they would offer all sorts of sacrifices for preserving this freedom.

He reminded the governor that the media was like a mirror that showed true face of a person to him. If some one got a shabby look in the mirror he should try to correct his face rather than cursing the mirror.