Case against ARY News withdrawn, CM tells assembly

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QUETTA, Aug 27: The Balochistan chief minister announced on Tuesday withdrawal of the case registered against the ARY News because the “FIR was lodged due to some misunderstanding”.

Dr Abdul Malik Baloch said he had been told that the case was registered on directives of the Supreme Court, but the registrar of the apex court later clarified that the court had not issued any directive for filing a case against the private TV channel on charges of showing footage of the attack on the Quaid’s residency at Ziarat in June.

The chief minister assured the house that the government would investigate, among other matters, the identity of the official on whose orders the case was registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act against the channel’s chief executive. However, he criticised as unbecoming the language used by two anchors of the ARY News.

Our Hyderabad Bureau adds: Journalists in Hyderabad staged a rally on Tuesday against registration of the case against ARY News.

The rally started from the Hyderabad Press Club and terminated near Radio Pakistan. Hamid Shaikh, the club’s secretary, said lodging an FIR against journalists was shocking.

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