QUETTA: Dozens of journalists and civil society activists gathered outside the Quetta Press Club on World Press Fredom Day, raising their voices against what they called a systematic crackdown on press freedom in Pakistan.
The demonstration, organized by the Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ) to mark World Press Freedom Day, drew a noticeable turnout from across the media community. Participants carried banners and chanted slogans demanding an end to laws they say are being used to silence journalists.
At the heart of their grievances was the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act better known as PECA which speakers condemned as a tool of censorship dressed up in legal language.
“This law has nothing to do with cybercrime and everything to do with shutting journalists up,” the mood on the ground reflected, as speaker after speaker took to the podium.
BUJ President Manzoor Ahmed, Quetta Press Club President Irfan Saeed, and PFUJ Senior Vice President Noor Elahi Bugti addressed the crowd, alongside BUJ General Secretary Shah Hussain Tareen and civil society leader Bahram Lahri.
Beyond PECA, speakers also took aim at the closure of television bureau offices across Balochistan, calling for their immediate restoration. There was particular anger over what journalists described as the economic strangulation of the media with several unemployed reporters and media workers present in the crowd, demanding reinstatement.
The demonstration was largely peaceful, with journalists holding press freedom banners as traffic moved around them on one of the busiest streets in the capital of Balochistan.
