INTERVIEW: Our Main Demand Is Press Freedom - PFUJ SG Nasir Zaidi

Islamabad-based media watchdog Freedom Network interviews veteran journalist Nasir Zaidi, who is also serving Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) as secretary-general, on eve of World Press Freedom Day being marked all over the world, including Pakistan, on May 3 every year to renew commitment to upholding Freedom of Expression. Nasir Zaidi explains how he and his companions continued struggle for free speech under military rule by late Gen. Ziaul Haq, who had overthrown prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto government on 5 July 1977. Nasir Zaidi was among three journalists who were awarded lashes by a military court for defending Free Speech when Pakistan was not governed through democracy. The lashes were administered inside Kot Lakhpat prison in Lahore, capital of Punjab province, on 13 May 1978 - the darkest day in Pakistani journalism history.