Karachi, November 09, 2023 : Substantial number of journalists took to the streets in a show of support for their counterparts in the Middle East. These colleagues in Gaza have tragically lost their lives due to Israel’s extensive bombing of civilian areas, which began on October 7th.
Since the conflict started on October 7th, no fewer than 40 journalists have tragically lost their lives among the Palestinian casualties. This devastating war has resulted in over 10,500 Palestinian fatalities in Gaza and the West Bank, along with 1,400 deaths in Israel.
According to a recently released report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), eight journalists have sustained injuries, three are currently unaccounted for, and nine have been detained.
“The Israel-Gaza war has become the deadliest four-week period for journalists covering conflict since CPJ began documenting journalist fatalities in 1992,” it added.
In the Gaza Strip, the health ministry has reported a grim toll of at least 10,569 Palestinian individuals who lost their lives in Israeli assaults since October 7, with a heartbreaking count of 4,324 children among the victims.
The Gaza Solidarity March, spearheaded by multiple journalist organizations in Karachi, saw a passionate gathering of hundreds, encompassing men, women, and children. They fervently voiced slogans and brandished placards as they marched from the Karachi Press Club to the Sindh Governor House in the city.
In a display of solidarity with their Middle Eastern counterparts, a substantial gathering of journalists and individuals from civil society embarked on a march from the Karachi Press Club (KPC) to the Sindh Governor House. They passionately chanted slogans and proudly waved Palestinian flags during the march.
The demonstrators were also carrying banners and placards engraved with slogans such as “Stop targeting journalists,” “You can’t hide the truth by killing journalists,” and “Hold Israel accountable for journalists’ killing in Gaza”.
Speaking to the protesters, Saeed Sarbazi, the President of the Karachi Press Club (KPC), emphasized that both Israel and the United States (US) bear equal responsibility for the tragic loss of journalists in Gaza.
Sarbazi stated, “It’s the US and certain self-proclaimed Muslim nations whose tacit approval has given Israel the audacity to harm unarmed Palestinians.”
Pakistan, a country without diplomatic ties to Israel, has consistently advocated for an independent homeland for the Palestinian people, based on the pre-1967 borders, with Al Quds Al Sharif/Jerusalem as its capital.
