Sacrifices of political activists never recognised: Rabbani

ISLAMABAD: Sacrifices made by students, political activists and farmers have kept Pakistani society intact but have never been acknowledged by the state, Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani remarked at the inauguration ceremony of a monument dedicated to the memory of journalists killed in the line of duty at the National Press Club (NPC) in Islamabad on Monday. "Before this, monuments were constructed only in the memory of those who had laid their lives for the country on the front-lines," the ideologue said.

The lawmaker paid rich tributes to journalists killed in the line of duty, saying: "In a country with weak institutions and politics marred by chaos, the role of journalists becomes more prominent".

He said that the political leadership could not be complacent in the circumstances which Pakistani society currently faces. "Our politics will exist only if the federation remains," he warned. "If attempts to control the society are made, neither will your institution remain nor will the parliament," Rabbani said; not naming anyone in particular, but apparently referring to recent attacks on journalists and the abduction of bloggers critical of the so-called 'establishment'. "The people will have to stop this intrusion," he urged. A monument in the memory of martyred journalists was inaugurated in NPC on Nov 20.