Pakistani Forces Summon Chaman Journalists Over Protest Coverage

Pakistani forces in Chaman have issued summons to four journalists.

Mowladad Sultan, Ahmad Zahir, Hazrat Ali Aiyar, and Habibullah Bashardost are the local journalists who received these summons from the Pakistani police.

According to these journalists, the summons were issued due to their coverage of the Chaman protest movement.

Mowladad Sultan, a local journalist in Chaman, said: “We reported on the protests and did not take any action against anyone, but the government has taken such action.”

Ahmad Zahir, another local journalist in Chaman, said: “We confidently say that we will never stop covering issues related to our country.”

Hazrat Ali Aiyar, stated: “We don’t understand why the government sees our mobile phone cameras as a threat.”

Habibullah Bashardost said: “We are social media activists and are not affiliated with any media outlet.”

However, local journalists and officials of the Chaman protest movement view this action by Pakistani security forces as an attempt at censorship and strongly condemn it.

“We strongly condemn this action and call on international media to intervene,” said Imran Khan Pashtunyar, a member of the Chaman Media Center.

Sadiq Khan Achakzai, spokesperson for the Chaman protest movement, said: “The government wants to censor the media and put pressure on the protesters, but it will not succeed.”

For the past seven months, protests have continued over the requirement for passports and visas at the Chaman – Spin Boldak crossing. To prevent news coverage of these protests, local authorities had also cut off internet access.

For the past seven months, protests have persisted over the requirement for passports and visas at the Chaman – Spin Boldak crossing. In an effort to prevent news coverage of these protests, local authorities have also cut off internet access.