"Perhaps the government doesn't realize that you can't fight against civil society..." Afzal Butt

ARY NEWS

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00:00I have seen other people, they do protest but they are always optimistic.

00:05The government is bleeding.

00:07On 25th November, they were beaten up.

00:11Now they say, we have broken their back.

00:14When the 26th Amendment was passed, the lawyers threatened,

00:18we will do this, we will do that.

00:20They didn't do anything.

00:21They said, let them speak, let them cry, let them do nothing.

00:24I think the danger is that the journalists are also talking so much.

00:28One day they will come, they will wear black vests,

00:30one day they will take out a demonstration,

00:32two days they will take it out, then we will see.

00:34I am saying this so that the government gets used to using force,

00:40and if it can beat up a political party,

00:43we are in many groups, in many cities,

00:46and we are a trade body, we are not activists.

00:49Sir, it is easy to beat up a political party.

00:54Zia-ul-Haq also thought that I have done it.

00:57But you were a part of the struggle that the PFJ started,

01:01and we still follow it.

01:03And we were also a part of the movement against Parvez Musharraf.

01:07So when there was a movement against Parvez Musharraf,

01:10at that time, both the mainstream political parties were out of the country.

01:13We started it.

01:15So maybe the government doesn't realize

01:18that you cannot fight a civil society.

01:21Maybe it is easy to fight a political party.

01:25At that time, we also started the last movement.

01:28Now, as I told you earlier,

01:31we have named it the Press Freedom Movement.

01:34Within this week,

01:37we will have a meeting of Vukla,

01:40Human Rights Activists,

01:43Civil Society, and Trade Union,

01:46and we will onboard them with us.

01:49And on a daily basis, we will organize.

01:52And then we will go home and sleep.

01:55We are planning the next program.

01:58If the government doesn't realize it,

02:01then we will call all the political parties

02:04and put our flag in front of them.

02:07We will say that the PFJ Press Freedom Movement

02:10starts when the right to know of the people of Pakistan is snatched.

02:13But we will get to know about the People's Party.

02:16If the President signs it, then it is done.

02:19I am not talking about the people of the parliament.

02:22I am talking about the common man.

02:25The right to know of the people of Pakistan has been snatched.

02:28The law of Pakistan gives them the right

02:31to know what the courts are doing,

02:34what the parliament is doing,

02:37what the government is doing,

02:40what the establishment is doing,

02:43what the bureaucracy is doing.

02:46I want to explain to the common man

02:49that Malik's program will run,

02:52and you will get your salary.

02:55The restriction is that you have to keep your mouth shut.

02:58We are fighting for you.

03:01See, what Mr. Bhatt is saying,

03:04they didn't let us celebrate Eid in 2007.

03:07And we celebrated Eid on the streets.

03:10And in the three days of Eid,

03:13Ahmed Faraz, Minhaj Barna,

03:16and many other people came.

03:19So, basically, the government needs to understand

03:22that Nawaz Sharif knows

03:25what kind of movement we had against Musharraf.

03:28The People's Party knows, and the People's Party was a part of it

03:31when we had a movement against Zia-ul-Haq.

03:34So, the old people of Ayub Khan will remember

03:37that we had a movement against Ayub Khan.

03:40If we can have a movement against martial law,

03:43why can't we have a movement against civilian martial law?

03:46Thank you very much.

03:49I want to end on this.

03:52If we can have a movement against martial law,

03:55and successfully,

03:58then we will definitely be defeated by civilian martial law.

04:01And we are telling the government again and again

04:04that you are in the government today,

04:07and you will be in a good position.

04:10The laws that you are making, we are suffering today.

04:13If they are safe, then you will not be safe from them.

04:16As far as the journalist community is concerned,

04:19we will not back down from this.

04:22We will not surrender ourselves,

04:25nor will we surrender this country,

04:28nor will we allow the silence of the graveyard here.

04:31Arrest us, punish us, we are ready.

04:34If they arrest us, we will not even apply for bail.

04:37We are also telling you that we will not apply for bail.

04:40Let's see how strong they are.

04:43We can say the same about you.

04:46It's a business, but it's dirty.

04:49But we are very sincere about our business.

04:52May Allah protect you.

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