PAKISTAN: World Press Freedom Day 57

journalists killed during te last !5 years

May 3, 2014
The United States, the United Kingdom and a delegation of the European Union on Friday
alled upon the !o"ernment of #a$istan to resolutely defend media freedom in the ountry,
adding that gags on the media and atta$s on %ournalists &ere not aepta'le(
)hile mar$ing the )orld #ress Freedom *ay today, May 3, the European Union *elegation, in
agreement &ith the EU +eads of Mission in #a$istan, e,pressed in a statement its deep onern
o"er the steadily deteriorating en"ironment for media freedom in #a$istan( The EU delegation
said that #a$istan is one of the most dangerous ountries in the &orld for %ournalists(
May 3, &as prolaimed )orld #ress Freedom *ay 'y the U- !eneral .ssem'ly in 1//3( This
year0s theme for this day, as delared 'y the U-, is 1Media Freedom for a 2etter Future3
Shaping the post42015 *e"elopment .genda6(
.mnesty 7nternational in its statement of .pril 30 said that %ournalists in #a$istan li"e under the
onstant threat of death, harassment and other "iolene from all sides, inluding the intelligene
ser"ies, politial parties and armed groups li$e the Tali'an( #a$istan0s media ommunity is
effeti"ely under siege( 8ournalists, in partiular those o"ering national seurity issues or
human rights, are targeted from all sides in a distur'ing pattern of a'uses arried out to silene
their reporting( The spy ageny has 'een impliated in numerous a'dutions, torture and
$illings of %ournalists, 'ut no ser"ing 7S7 offiials has e"er 'een held to aount &hih
effeti"ely allo&s it to ontinue to operate 'eyond the reah of the la&( +uman rights "iolations
against %ournalists 'y the 7S7 often follo& a familiar pattern that starts &ith threatening phone
alls and esalates into a'dutions, torture and other ill4treatment, and in some ases
e,tra%udiial $illings(
The )orld #ress Freedom 7nde, 2014, issued 'y the international non4go"ernmental
organisation 19eporters &ithout 2orders6 earlier this year, termed #a$istan 1:(( the &orld0s
deadliest ountry for media personnel6, adding that for the seond year running, the 7ndian su'4
ontinent is the .sian region &ith the 'iggest rise in "iolene for %ournalists( The inde, alls the
targeted nature of the "iolene 1the most distur'ing de"elopment6( The report ran$ed #a$istan
at the 15;th position out of 1;0 ountries(
7t is e"idently true, as far as the go"ernment is onerned that #a$istan is not the deadliest
ountry in the &orld for %ournalists( They laim that do<ens of media houses are operating
freely and that the media has ne"er en%oyed suh freedom in its history( +o&e"er, e"ery year on
a"erage a do<en %ournalists are $illed and many are in%ured 'y the atta$s from Muslim 'anned
organisations, e,tremists and seret spy agenies run 'y the military esta'lishment( Many
%ournalists ha"e told "arious =uarters that they &ould 'e atta$ed or $illed 'y state intelligene
agenies partiularly 'y the notorious 7S7( The Tali'an and other Muslim fundamentalist0s
organisations are operating freely and they monitor the 'roadasting of e"ery tele"ision hannel
and try to ditate their poliies( 7n most ases the o&ners of the media houses follo& their
instrutions( 2ut the li"es of indi"idual %ournalist remain at the mery of the militant
organisations &ithout protetion e"en from their employers( The go"ernments al&ays &ant to
remain as silent spetators as if the protetion of %ournalists or media houses is not their
responsi'ility(
The year 2014 started &ith the $illing and atta$ on %ournalists( >n 8anuary 1, Mr( Shan *ahar,
the reporter of .'' Ta$$ tele"ision &as shot dead &hile filming near a pharmay in ?ar$ana(
+e had already produed one story on presription drugs 'eing illegally resold in the to&n, and
&as ta$ing "ideo of a pa$age 'earing a 1not for resale6 la'el on it shortly 'efore he &as shot
dead(
>n 8anuary 1@, !unmen riding on motoryles shot dead three E,press -e&s &or$ers on Friay
after am'ushing a stationary *S-! "an in a 'usy neigh'ourhood of Karahi( This &as the
third and most lethal stri$e on E,press Media !roup and its staff in the spae of fi"e months( 7n
t&o pre"ious atta$s, the main offies of E,press Media !roup, &ere targeted( The 8anuary
1@0s am'ush too$ the li"es of a tehniian, seurity guard and a dri"er, all of &hom &ere seated
in the front of the "an( The Tehree$4e4Tali'an #a$istan ATT#B laimed responsi'ility for the
latest atta$ in a li"e telephone all from .fghanistan to E,press -e&s(
From 8anuary 2013 to date, 1@ %ournalists &ere atta$ed and in%ured either 'y the intelligene
agenies, 'eaten and tortured 'y polie or 'y in%ured 'y "iolent people &hile o"ering
proessions and rallies( >ther %ournalists mentioned in the report are li"ing under the dangling
s&ords of life threats( The authorities &ere least 'othered a'out onduting in"estigation in the
matter e,ept in the ase of +amid Mir, &ho &as atta$ed 'y un$no&n persons &hile he &as
oming from Karahi airport during the tight seurity arrangements for former military ruler
!eneral #er"e< Musharraf(
>n Marh 2;, 9a<a 9umi, a prominent %ournalist and anhorperson from E,press -e&s
hannel has sur"i"ed an assassination attempt 'ut his dri"er &as $illed( +e left the ountry as
he found no seurity or protetion from the go"ernment( The Tali'an has aepted the
responsi'ility for the atta$ &hih has gi"en a good e,use to the go"ernment that they an not
pro"ide protetion as the Tali'an is 'eyond the reah of the la& enforement agenies inluding
the military intelligene agenies(
>n .pril C, 8amshed 2agh&an, #esha&ar 'ureau hief of E,press -e&s &as 'een targeted for
the seond time this year( . 'ag &ith 2(5$g of e,plosi"es &as found outside his house, and on
.pril C, grenades &ere thro&n at his residene( 2agh&an says e"ery day his mother and
olleagues tell him to lea"e the ountry as they do not find any protetion from the la&
enforement agenies(
>n .pril 1/, a prominent %ournalist and anhorperson of !eo TD &as atta$ed 'y un$no&n
persons and he &as ritially in%ured 'y si, 'ullets( +e and his family mem'ers aused the 7S7
and its hief general Eaheerul 7slam for the attempt to $ill him( The military esta'lishment,
instead of, onduting in=uiries against the allegations rather file a petition 'efore the #a$istan
Eletroni Media 9egulatory .uthority A#EM9.B to anel the liense of !eo TD for hurling
the 'lame on 7S7( The 7S7 and military esta'lishment are using 'anned Muslim terrorists
organisations and its paid politiians to agitate on the streets in fa"our of military and the 7S7(
>n May 2, a !eo TD -e&s ameraman &as su'%eted to thrashing and a 'id &as made to
snath his amera( !eo -e&s ameraman .sif Ka'ir &as going to the hannel0s offie loated
in Model To&n ., 2aha&alpur, #un%a', &hen three 'i$e riders &earing helmets interepted
him( The three men alled him a traitor and an 7ndian agent and assaulted him( They in%ured
'adly 'ut no ase has 'een filed 'y the loal polie(
*uring the year 2013, the .sian +uman 9ights Fommission A.+9FB doumented that 13
%ournalists &ere $illed &hile performing their duties( 55 %ournalists ha"e 'een $illed in the line
of duty in #a$istan in the last ten years, and 3C of them &ere deli'erately targeted and
murdered 'eause of their &or$, says the #a$istan #ress Foundation A##FB in its latest report(
The ##F say, for e"ery %ournalist &ho has 'een deli'erately targeted and murdered, there are
many others &ho ha"e 'een in%ured, threatened and oered into silene( Sadly, the perpetrators
of "iolene against %ournalists and media &or$ers en%oy almost a'solute impunity in #a$istan(
This is seriously hampering press freedom in the ountry(
7n the ountry the media freedom is fragile( 8ournalists are 'eing harassed or $illed for doing
their &or$, pu'liations are 'eing ensored or shut do&n, and la&s are 'eing passed &hih
riminalise free speeh( This reality does not hange on the 7nternet( .long &ith the %o's
offered 'y the net&or$, ne& o'stales emerge3 ontent filtering, monitoring and suspension of
7nternet aess, often &ithout due regard to indi"iduals0 fundamental rights(
The %udiiary, &hih is al&ays loo$ing for the politial ases to shut up the demoratially
eleted go"ernments 'y using Suou Moto ations &hile the go"ernment fail to ontrol the spy
agenies and its ronies for the atta$s on %ournalists and esape from their responsi'ilities for
the protetion and suita'ility of the freedom of e,pression &hih is the 'asis of a demorati
soiety(
The .+9F alls upon the military esta'lishment to halt the use of oeri"e ations on the
freedom of e,pression and press as if it is ontinued it &ould lead to the defeat of the military
in the hands of unarmed media persons( The !o"ernment of #a$istan must ensure that all
a'uses ommitted against %ournalists are duly in"estigated and that appropriate ation is ta$en
against perpetrators &hile the pu'li is pro"ided &ith information on the outome of en=uiries(
The go"ernment must defend media freedom, this 'eing an important omponent of the
freedom of e,pression as defined in .rtile 1/ of the 7nternational Fo"enant on Fi"il and
#olitial 9ights A7FF#9B and in the .rtile 1/ of the Fonstitution of #a$istan(