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