KARACHl: The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has condemned the Sindh government for conducting a raid on the house of journalist Shabbar Aazmi.

`The police raid on the house of bedridden Shabbar Aazmi, who suffered a paralysis attack a few months ago and is wheelchairbound, is not only highly condemnable but also a shameless act,` said a joint statement issued by Afzal Butt, president of his own faction of PFUJ, and secretary general Ayub Jan Sarhandi.

They said the police raid was led by a man in plain clothes and appeared to be a part of the government`s plan to curb freedom of speech. `This is the second such action in Karachi during the last three days and speaks volumes about ill-intentions of the government,` the statement said.

The two leaders criticised the provincial government for failing to take any action against officials who are conducting such raids to harass the media. `We are surprised that a political pany which has always stood for freedom of expression and fought military dictators is now itself allowing such acts in its own province,` Mr Butt and Mr Sarhandi said.

`We call upon Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to seek an explanation from his party`s government in Sindh over these illegal actions and inform the journalist community about the forces which were behind these acts. `We reiterate that journalists across Pakistan cannot be cowed down by such tactics and that we will defend freedom of expression at all cost,` the joint statement said.

Meanwhile, a statement issued by Karachi police on Monday said they had not singled out Shabbar Aazmi`s house for any action.

Instead, it added, a combing operation of all the houses in a pan of Gulistan-i-Jauhar was carried out after the blast in that area last week.