Islamabad, Pakistan: Rawalpindi Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ) President Tariq Ali Virk said that harassment of senior journalist Rana Abrar Khalid should be stopped.
Virk was of the view that the journalist did not commit any crime by requesting information from the government of Pakistan under the law, the Government of Pakistan should withdraw the case filed against senior journalist Rana Abrar Khalid on grounds of (malfeasance).
In a statement released yesterday, President RIUJ Mr Tariq Ali Virk said that Rana Abrar Khalid is a senior journalist while Rawalpindi Islamabad Union of Journalists stands with him. The constant targeting of him by a particular political party (in Pakistan) is condemnable and unfortunate. Under the Right of Access to Information Act 2017, Rana Abrar Khalid did not commit any crime by demanding the details of the foreign gifts of (former) Prime Minister Imran Khan which he had received from the heads of state during his foreign visits, but based on which followers of a political party (PTI) are still accusing him and he is being targeted based on a pending Right to Information case in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, obstacles are being created in the journalistic work of Rana Abrar Khalid and conspiratorial efforts are being made to close the doors of media houses for him through false propaganda.
President RIUJ said that the case against Rana Abrar Khalid in the Supreme Court of Pakistan was filled based on malice on the part of the Cabinet Secretary of the PTI government, Mr Ahmed Nawaz Sukhaira, to make a journalist controversial. Although the Pakistan Information Commission (PIC) and Islamabad High Court (IHC) had already issued orders to provide the required information to Rana Abrar Khalid. Recently state-run television closed down the current affairs show of journalist Rana Abrar Khalid without assigning any reason.
