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Journalists and civil society members across Pakistan held rallies on Monday to protest the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Carrying banners plastered with Khashoggi’s face and chanting slogans, journalists held rallies and demonstrations in capital Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Sukkur, and other cities on a call of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) -- an umbrella organization of several journalist unions.
Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, was killed shortly after he entered the Saudi Consulate General in Istanbul Oct. 2.
Saudi Arabia had offered shifting explanations for Khashoggi's disappearance before suggesting he was killed during a botched operation by rogue agents.
His body has yet to be returned to his family amid reports that it was chemically dissolved.
In Karachi, a large number of journalists carrying banners and placards with slogans against Khashoggi’s murder held a protest demonstration outside Karachi Press Club.
Addressing the demonstration, PFUJ General Secretary, G.M Jamali termed Khashoggi’s murder “vicious”, and another sequel of an ongoing campaign to gag free press in several countries.
U.S. President Donald Trump continues to defend Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amid mounting evidence that he is responsible for the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, The New York Times reported Monday.In an opinion piece, The Times wrote that Trump called Saudi Arabia a “truly spectacular ally” in direct contrast to his earlier criticism of the Kingdom for “the worst cover-up in history”.Even after the CIA released a report which concluded that bin Salman ordered the assassination, Trump said he would wait for his administration to deliver its own report before making any comments and assigning blame.Khashoggi case: Germany slaps travel ban on 18 Saudis"For Mr. Trump, it is enough that Prince Mohammed denied any involvement in the killing in phone calls with him," said The Times.The newspaper noted that Trump’s position on Khashoggi is becoming increasingly isolated, with the European Union demanding clear answers on what happened to the Saudi journalist, and even Israel, which has strategic ties with Saudi Arabia, not verbally defending the Crown Prince.Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, went missing after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.Saudi king makes no mention of Khashoggi case in first public comment since murderAfter initially saying he had left the consulate alive, the Saudi administration admitted weeks later that he was killed there.Trump's position on the matter is also being met with resistance in the U.S. legislature.“Everything points to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, MbS, ordering @washingtonpost journalist Jamal #Khashoggi’s killing,” said Bob Corker, head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.Saudi trolls take action as Ankara presses forward in Khashoggi caseThe president noted that Saudi Arabia’s pledge to buy $110 billion worth of weapons has created jobs for the American people. Yet The Times, citing defense analysts, said only around $14.5 billion in sales have been booked.Trump also noted that the U.S. has suspended air-to-air refueling of Saudi planes in the Yemen war and imposed sanctions on 17 Saudi nationals involved in the crime.“At the same time, we do have an ally, and I want to stick with an ally that in many ways has been very good,” he said.Trump wants Saudi Arabia as an ally despite 'vicious' Khashoggi murderThe Times wrote that despite Trump's defense of bin Salman, the White House will leverage the Khashoggi incident to curtail the war in Yemen, which would appease American legislators who have been calling for an end to the war.Yet Trump's commitment to bin Salman will not waver because the Crown Prince "has become the fulcrum of the administration’s strategy in the Middle East," according to The Times.“It’s very clear that what the administration wants is to buy off Congress with Yemen,” Bruce Riedel, an expert on Saudi Arabia and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told The Times.“But it doesn’t solve the underlying problem, which is that Mohammed bin Salman is a destabilizing force in the region.”
Trump defends Saudi prince despite Khashoggi murder
“We will not let this issue go down the drain. The world in general and the journalist fraternity in particular are shocked over the ruthless murder of Khashoggi, and dismemberment of his body. This is simply inhuman,” Jamali said.
“It has never happened in the world that a journalist is invited to a consulate and brutally murdered,”Jamali said, adding: "We strongly demand that Saudi government fulfill its promise for a fair investigation and bring the murderers to justice.”
He further said that the "Zionist state" had let lose a reign of terror against journalists who were exposing its crimes against humanity.
Condemning Khashoggi’s murder, Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) head Tariq Abul Hassan hailed the Turkish government for wisely handling and keeping the issue alive despite all odds.
“This [Khashoggi’s murder] is not an issue between some countries. Rather, it is the matter of life and death for the journalist community as if the murderers are given a safe passage, it will pave the way for more state-sponsored violence against journalists across the world,” he went on to say.
Welcoming Riyad’s assurance that it will bring Khashoggi’s killers to justice, he said: “ There must be a logical conclusion of the ongoing investigation into Khashoggi’s murder. We want the real culprits behind his murder be held accountable.”
In Lahore, the protest demonstration was held outside Lahore Press Club.
A protest rally was also taken out from National Press Club in Islamabad.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Monday said his country will impose sanctions on Saudi Arabia over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi."We will swiftly impose many sanctions [on Saudi Arabia] based on what we know [about Khashoggi]," Jean-Yves Le Drian said in an interview with Europe 1 Radio.Urging that details of the murder of Saudi journalist must be revealed, Le Drian said the culprits should be unmasked.Le Drian said France and Germany were cooperating on the issue.Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and columnist for The Washington Post, went missing after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.After initially saying he had left the consulate alive, the Saudi administration admitted weeks later he was killed inside the consulate.His body has yet to be returned to his family amid reports that it was chemically dissolved.'Khashoggi incident highlighted Yemen crisis'Khashoggi case: Germany slaps travel ban on 18 Saudis
France to impose sanctions on Saudi Arabia