NO one can justify what happened to the prominent journalist Asad Ali Toor but equally worrisome are attempts aimed at pointing fingers towards national institutions and that too in the absence of any credible evidence.
Three unidentified people physically assaulted Toor in Islamabad last week and the incident was widely condemned not just by the Opposition and the journalistic community but also relevant authorities of the Government.
The statement of the Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad that the Government was close to tracing one of the suspects involved in the incident confirms that the Government was also concerned over violence against journalists.
Its seriousness is also evident from the fact that the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and police were conducting an inquiry into the incident and it would be appropriate to wait for the outcome.
The reaction of the journalistic community was also understandable but emotional outburst would lead us to nowhere.
It is also a fact that famous anchor Hamid Mir is well-connected and well-informed but this places an additional burden of responsibility on him and others to ensure that their remarks do not, in any way, bring national institutions in negative light.
Pakistan defence forces and intelligence agencies are precious assets of the country and direct or indirect attack on them would harm interests of the country in the comity of nations.
We do hope that the Interior Minister would live up to the publicly made commitment to expose and identify those behind the attack on Asad Toor and bring them to book.
This would not only bring reprehensible assaults against journalists but also save national institutions from embarrassment.
