Press beaten by Pakistan police

Musharraf speaking at Sunday's rally

FAISALABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- A rally for Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf ended in violence when baton-wielding police attacked journalists covering the event.

At least 22 members of the press were beaten as they left the rally on Sunday.

"I was roughed up by the police," said Mayed Ali of the Daily News, the largest English-language newspaper in Pakistan.

"It was done at the behest of the government through the machinery of the government," he added. Six of the 22 were seriously wounded, he said, including an elderly man.

Unrest began when Khalid Maqbool, the governor of Punjab province, which contains Faisalabad, criticised the news media for not giving Musharraf positive coverage and said journalists should be ashamed of themselves. Maqbool then led the crowd in a chant of "Shame! Shame!"

When journalists rose to leave the event in protest of the governor's statement, police began beating them with batons.

The rally, which Ali estimated drew 30,000 - 35,000 people, was held to support Musharraf's bid to extend his rule another five years.

A statement released Sunday by the Pakistani government news agency said Musharraf has ordered an "immediate and full investigation," and asked the local government "to complete the inquiry expeditiously and take prompt action against all those officers who transgressed the law."

"All those found guilty will be punished," Information Minister Nisar A. Memon said.

Pakistanis will vote April 30 on a referendum that would reinforce Musharraf's re-election bid.

He is running unopposed. Many involved in Pakistani politics say the referendum is unconstitutional.

The general, who took control of Pakistan in a bloodless coup in 1999, began his campaign Tuesday in Lahore. Since then, columnists throughout Pakistan have written editorials opposing the referendum.

Ali said those factors led to the anti-journalist sentiment Sunday.

"He was unhappy with realistic reporting of earlier meetings and editorials," he said.

Ali, who was not seriously hurt, said that later that a lower-level Punjabi official apologized to him.

-- CNN Producer Syed Mohsin contributed to this report.