Cop beats senior journalist in NW Pakistan

A senior journalist was brutally beaten by a policeman with a gun inside the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly complex in this northwestern Pakistani city, prompting reporters to boycott proceedings of the House.
Mohammad Naeem, vice president of Khyber Union of Journalists, was seriously injured due to "police torture and highhandedness", his colleagues said today.
The incident occurred yesterday after a policeman exchanged angry words with Naeem while he was parking his car inside the assembly complex.
The policeman hit Naeem with his gun when the journalist asked him to remove barbed wire from the parking area reserved for the media.
The policeman broke Naeem's arm and inflicted severe injuries to his head, nose and mouth. Naeem claimed the policeman also tried to shoot him with his rifle but another journalist snatched the weapon from him.

Naeem was admitted to a nearby hospital. After news of the incident spread, a large number of journalists boycotted proceedings of the House.

The journalists decided to continue their boycott till an FIR is registered against the policeman and he is dismissed from service.
Authorities said they had suspended the policeman and launched a probe but journalists insisted that he should be dismissed from service.
A committee of legislators will meet on Monday to examine CCTV footage of the incident and record statements of witnesses. It will also submit a report to the Speaker for necessary action.