LAHORE – Senior journalist Haroon ur Rasheed, who is in hot waters after an audio clip of his phone call misbehaving with a police officer went viral on social media, has expressed regret over losing his temper during the conversation.
In the leaked clip, which is now the talk of the town, the veteran journalist can be heard inquiring a police officer named Rehan about a detainee, Nadeem Abbas.
During the conversation, Rasheed, who is in China for past four days, citing sources claimed that the accused is innocent and is being tortured in police custody.
The policeman, in response, said that the accused is on physical remand, to which, the journalist said: “Your IG will see you.”
Amid the exchange of heated words, Haroon ur Rasheed lost his temper and call the police officer Gadhey ka bacha (son of a donkey). The policeman lost his temper at such abusive language and ended the call, asking the journalist to come and meet him.
As the clip went viral, social media users including members of journalist community started criticising Rasheed over his rude behaviour with the official.
Amid the social media backlash, a senior columnist and journalist Amir Hashim Khakwani contacted Rasheed in China to get his response over the leaked clip.
Khakwani shared the response of the senior journalist on his facebook page, stating that Rasheed confirmed his telephonic conversation with the police officer. He added that Rasheed, however, was unable to hear the leaked clip as there is a ban on Facebook and WhatsApp in China.
Giving his response, Rasheed said: “I was informed by a person that an innocent man was tortured at Baghdad Al Jadid Police Station in Bahawalpur. I talked to SHO concerned but he did not confirm it and moharrar also avoid to talk”.
Later, he contacted investigation officer and introduced himself in simple words and did not try to put pressure on it, Khakwani wrote quoting Rasheed.
Rasheed said that the said police officer during the conversation misbehaved with him on which he lost his temper and called him son of a donkey. “Being a patient of high blood pressure, sometimes abusive words are uttered,” he argued.
Expressing regret over his act, the senior journalist said: “I should not behave in this was as it is not reasonable”.
However, Rasheed stood to his ground that the police officer had detained an innocent person without registering a case against him, adding that when ballif raided the police station, the said policeman immediately registered FIR against the detainee.
Rasheed talking to Khakwani further said that he had discussed the matter with IGP Mohmmad Tahir and asked him, “If the detained person is involved in any crime he should be punished and if he is innocent, he must not be subjected to torture”.
Haroon Rasheed said that he would give detailed response over the leaked audio clip after his return from China. “I will follow the case, adding: “If policeman is innocent I am ready for every kind of punishment”.
There should be action against the official if he had done injustice with the innocent man, he concluded.
