Islamabad, April 9, IRNA -- Pakistan's media organizations and        
journalists on Wednesday alleged the US had deliberately targeted a   
group of newsmen for objective reporting of the events, taking place  
in Iraq.                                                              
    They condemned the attack on the journalists and termed it a      
total negation of free press and human values.                        
    The Secretary General of All Pakistan Confederation of Newspapers 
Employees, Pervaiz Shaukat, told "IRNA" that the attack on a group of 
newsmen in Baghdad was blatant violation of human rights and press    
freedom.                                                              
    Condemning the incident, that claimed three lives on Tuesday,     
during US bombardment, he blasted the American leadership and Saddam  
Hussain, who failed to defend his country.                            
   "The action against Iraq was partly the result of wrong policies   
of Saddam Hussain, for which the entire Iraqi nation had been         
subjected to aggression," he lamented.                                
    He held US and Saddam responsible for the death of hundreds of    
Iraqi civilian.                                                       
    C.R. Shamsi, Senior Vice-President of All Pakistan Federal Union  
of Journalists, said that under a well-thought out conspiracy the     
journalists were targeted as they were engaged in reporting of the war
in Iraq in its true perspective.                                      
    He said that the US was outraged over objective reporting. In     
this direction, he cited the instance of Al-Jazeera channel.          
    He requested the world community to take action against those     
responsible for the tragedy.                                          
    Kashif Hussain Datt, a journalist, working with an                
Islamabad-based news agency told this agency that the International   
Court of Justice should take up the matter and punish the culprits for
this naked aggression.                                                
    Another Islamabad-based reporter, Mohammad Azam Khan Niazi, said  
that US forces had internationally attacked the journalists. He urged 
the United Nations to initiate investigation in to the incident.      
MHA/MMZ/RR                                                            
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