Shams Keerio, editor of a Sindhi-language newspaper and the joint secretary of the Karachi Press Club, was manhandled by members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.
Activists of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party manhandled Shams Keerio on December 17, 2013 in the city of Karachi, the capital of Sindh province. Keerio is the editor of the Sindhi-language newspaper Daily Aaino and the joint secretary of the Karachi Press Club (KPC).
Keerio told Pakistan Press Foundation that the PTI workers were holding a protest demonstration outside the KPC building and suddenly 12-15 workers tried to enter the press club premises. When gatekeeper stopped them, they tried opening the gate forcefully.
Seeing the situation, Keerio intervened and asked them not to enter the premises, upon which the activists started beating him with sticks and manhandled him. He received injuries to his head and hand.
The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) condemned the incident in the strongest terms. They demanded stern action against the attackers by the government. KPC has also imposed a ban on the entry and coverage of PTI until the party tenders an apology publically.
