ISLAMABAD – Veteran reporter associated with ‘The News’, Ahmad Noorani, was assaulted by unidentified assailants in Islamabad on Friday.
According to reports, Noorani’s car was intercepted by three motorcyclists near Zero Point Interchange while he was heading to Islamabad from Rawalpindi.
A total of six unidentified men got down from their motorcycles and tortured Noorani and his driver with iron rods after taking out the keys from the ignition switch.
The attackers sped away after onlookers started gathering at the site and traffic started coming to a halt on the busy intersection, Geo News reported.
Noorani, who lost consciousness, was taken to the Poly Clinic and is being administered first aid while the police are investigating the case.
Noorani’s colleague Azaz Syed shared a picture of him undergoing medical treatment
https://twitter.com/AzazSyed/status/923805209004036096
Editor investigation of The News, Ansar Abbasi stated that Noorani faced head injuries.
https://twitter.com/AnsarAAbbasi/status/923799877468983296
Ahmed Noorani, who has been critical of the state policies regarding foreign affairs and civil-military imbalance, left the microblogging site mysteriously on October 19.
Widespread Condemnation
As soon as the news of the assault on Noorani hit the headlines, journalists recorded their protest in droves to denounce the bid apparently aimed at thwarting freedom of speech.
https://twitter.com/mujibshami1/status/923811848956334085
https://twitter.com/TalatHussain12/status/923810041358143488
https://twitter.com/AzharAbbas3/status/923803798547640320
https://twitter.com/KlasraRauf/status/923807439874555904
https://twitter.com/Kashifabbasiary/status/923813490074165250
https://twitter.com/Shahidmasooddr/status/923810615751335936
https://twitter.com/samiabrahim/status/923814128329854976
https://twitter.com/jawabdeyh/status/923810681014583296
https://twitter.com/ajmaljami/status/923815018138882049
https://twitter.com/SyedAliHaider13/status/923813185840386048
https://twitter.com/MahrukhQureshi/status/923807580488654848
Apart from newsmen, political figures also decried the attack on Ahmed Noorani calling for immediate investigations.
https://twitter.com/ShireenMazari1/status/923806771357147137
https://twitter.com/Asad_Umar/status/923810250892996613
https://twitter.com/ShkhRasheed/status/923812309658718208
