KARACHI: Several journalists’ organisations and journalists’ groups in Sindh strongly condemned M/s Maersk Shipping Lines’ threat to media houses and different news channels.
All Karachi Journalist Ittehad Chairman Amjad Ahmed Khan, Editor-in-Chief, AAP News Mujahid Ali Khan, Editor Daily Hurriyat Asad Ali , Assignment Editor Nawa-i-Waqt Amjad Qadri, Chief Editor Daily Jiddat Karachi, journalists’ organizations of Nawab Shah, Gharoo, and others highly condemned threats to media houses.
All Karachi Journalist Ittehad Chairman Amjad Ahmed Khan exclusively talked to Customs Today on the issue. He said, ”Our media highlighted a main issue in the favor of importers, but some Maersk shipping company is directly or indirectly threatening them, which we condemn”. He said customs’ higher authorities should take action against the shipping company.
Assignment Editor Nawai Waqt Amjad Qadri said that Maersk Shipping Line and its subsidiary in Pakistan, M/s Maersk Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd are robbing traders of billions of rupees through criminal breach of trust, cheating and threatening.
He said Maersk line is blackmailing them through illegal holding & blocking of their imported goods for the sake of demanding additional demurrage and detention charges, and then media is publishing the news against this corruption but these corrupt elements start threatening them, ”which I highly condemn”.
The president of Gawadar press club, Bahram Baloch said, he totally disapproved the blackmailing and threatening by the shipping line Maersk and its subsidiary M/s Maersk Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd and demanding heavy amounts of illegal demurrage and detention charges from genuine importers. ”It is not a right thing, we condemn this matter, we demand custom high-ups and other authorities to take action against this shipping line,” he added.
Secretary Journalist organization of Nawab Shah M. Shaikh said that the government is claiming that press and media are free but threats are being issued to journalists.
On other hand, Editor-in-Chief AAP News Mujahid Ali Khan, Editor Daily Huryat Asad Ali Khan, Chief Editor Daily Jiddat Karachi, Journalist organization of Nawab Shah, Journalist Organization of Gharoo, and others highly condemned threat to media houses.
It is pertinent to mention here that more than 30 media houses including TV channels and newspapers, a large number of chambers of commerce and leading businessmen have raised the issue of blackmailing and threatening by the shipping line Maersk and its subsidiary M/s Maersk Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd and demanding heavy amounts of illegal demurrage and detention charges from genuine importers.
After the media and chambers expressed their concern on sheer violation of rules and regulations by the shipping line, Maersk started threatening media through unscrupulous persons and letters written by unknown persons, without signatures and proper designations but put on Maersk letter heads, to hush up the Rs 15 billion demurrage and detention scam.
