Journalists protest against police barbarity in Gilgit amid COVID-19 outbreak

Journalists and media personnel hit the streets of Pakistan occupied Kashmir's Gilgit Baltistan to protest against police forces.

They took to the streets after a fellow journalist was tortured by the police while reporting from the ground amid the COVID-19 lockdown.

The territory has been under lockdown in order to control the spread of the deadly Coronavirus.

However, the government has issued special passes to media personnel that allow them to report and perform their duties.

While protesting one of the journalists said "Targeting media personnel like this is an unjust act by the administration and it should be stopped. When passes have been issued by the authorities then there is no sense that the ACP comes and shows brutality on the journalist. After all, unless media functions properly, both the administration and the governments can't".

Another protesting journalist said that they think that attacking one of them would mean attacking all of them and this is not the first incidence of firing that has been observed during the lockdown.

"Some of the passes were also torn by the authorities. If these incidences continue then they may think about the last options as well. Despite the permission granted by authorities, several incidences of police brutality and incorporative behaviour have been reported in the region", he said.

These protestors demand an apology from the Assistant Commissioner of Police for their impetuous behaviour.

Also, this is not the first time when incidences of brutality and barbarism were seen by the authorities in the illegally occupied territory.

As it is, freedom of the press in the illegally occupied territory is at its lowest but journalists of the region are working hard and fulfilling their duties of keeping the citizens well-informed.

However, acts like these on media persons have left the citizens of the region without any hopes for a better future.