He was speaking to roundtable dialogue on “Dynamics of the Middle East crisis” at the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs.

Jabbar said that Saudia Arabia has made disproportionate investment in its defence, devoting 10 percent of its GDP to the military.

He said the Saudi-led coalition against Qatar—the UAE, Bahrian and Egypt—is posing the crisis and threatening regional peace.

However, he said that the sanctions imposed on it by its four adversaries would cause no adverse impact on Qatar’s economy in the immediate future. He said the invasion on Yemen by Saudia Arabia’s coalition forces was tragic and ill-considered, and that it had created human catastrophe. He said that the Yemen war was a venture initiated by the Saudi crown prince.

He said the demand for imposition of a ban on Aljazeera TV and other Qatari media houses was unjust and unfair.

Business Recorder

In a letter, Game also asked the Prime Minister to take measures to promote the safety of journalists in mainstream and online media, and to combat impunity.

The Executive Director of IFEX,  the global network working to promote and defend freedom of expression worldwide, said the UNESCO Director-General’s biennial report was a way for states to demonstrate their commitment to addressing crimes against journalists and media workers by providing detailed information on the steps being taken to achieve justice and end impunity.

The report is expected to serve as a monitoring mechanism for tracking progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 16.10 on access to information and fundamental freedoms, which UN member states unanimously adopted. It has been observed that the report’s value would be further strengthened through the collection of information on good practices.

The IFEX Executive Director applauded Pakistan’s responses given in the years 2014 and 2016 on the Director-General’s request and asked him to further improve this trend of accountability by submitting a detailed and updated information on journalists killing cases to UNESCO, besides granting them permission to make it publicly available.

She hoped that the Prime Minister would assist UNESCO in the collection of good practices by providing information on general safeguards implemented for the protection of journalists and also end impunity issue in Pakistan.  She said responses by Pakistan would be included in the upcoming 2017 World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development report and the 2018 report on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity.

Game informed Sharif that since 2006, over 800 journalists and media workers had been killed worldwide and in more than 90% of those cases, the perpetrators had gone unpunished and such type of extreme unchecked violence was the ultimate form of censorship that severely curtailed the flow of information necessary for a peaceful, prosperous and democratic society to flourish.

“The culture of impunity that has developed around this issue only makes it more likely that such crimes will continue to occur. For this reason, the issue of impunity for killing of journalists is one of the greatest threats to freedom of expression and information worldwide,” she further said.

The IFEX Executive Director urged the Prime Minister to ensure that Pakistan’s efforts are documented in the relevant reports and the government demonstrates accountability by making the submission to UNESCO before 30 May 2017.

“In doing so, you will be helping to improve political will to address violence, building a global repertoire of best legal practices, and showing that attacks on freedom of expression in Pakistan will not be tolerated. We look forward to your response to this letter and to seeing updated information on the cases mentioned above made public in the relevant reports and on the UNESCO website,” Game concluded.

ISLAMABAD: The Censorship Committee on Defence Planning (CCDP) has been revived by the government after 18 years to protect the “national interest” being threatened, particularly by the unregulated and unchecked electronic media of the country.

Sources said that the CCDP, which met on Dec 16, 2015, after a long gap of 18 years, decided to regulate the selling of airtime by local TV and radio channels to foreign media. This was the CCDP’s first meeting after 1997.

“Many TV channels and radio stations are airing foreign programmes/ content, which could be detrimental to the national interest,” an official document relating to the last CCDP meeting says.

During emergencies and war situations, the committee decided to have an effective monitoring mechanism of these private channels. For this purpose, a media monitoring cell was set up that would monitor private TV and radio channels during emergencies and war.

The Dec 16 meeting — which was chaired by secretary information and attended by officials of civil, military and intelligence officials — observed that the during the last 18 years, technological advancement in the media and communication sectors had changed the media and communication landscape of the country.

In view of the present ground realities, the committee decided to bring its own role in line with the modern challenges, particularly from electronic and social media. The committee decided to revise its own formation to ensure the inclusion of officials from all relevant civil, military and security agencies.

The meeting also decided that there should be uniformity in the CCDP at federal and provincial levels to evolve a mechanism to review the censorship regulations and procedures having a bearing on “National Interest/ Defence Planning”.

The provincial CCDPs will be approached by the federal committee through respective chief secretaries so that the same procedures and parameters are followed at the federal and provincial levels.

The committee also discussed the issues concerning telecommunication sector and private courier services and decided to replace sub-committee of Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Censorship Committee with the Telecommunication Systems Censorship sub-committee.

Regarding the private courier services, it was decided that these services should be regulated through a regulatory authority formed for this very purpose. The committee also reviewed the proposed changes suggested by the Central Board of Films Censors in the existing censorship code after the 18th Amendment.

According to sources, the electronic media’s madness for rating over the past several years have badly compromised the national interest, dented social and religious values of the society besides defaming all and sundry even judges. Mostly, the media houses have no mechanism to check what is being aired in violation of the law and the Constitution and even against religious teachings and the national interest.

Only recently, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) for the first time started showing its muscles to regulate the TV channels. It is believed that the revival of the CCDP will help the electronic media to operate within the limits set by law and the Constitution.

The News

He was speaking at a day-long paralegal workshop titled ‘Communicating rights at work’, organised by IRADA – a not for profit organisation – in collaboration with Solidarity Centre.

Advocate Aftab Alam, the trainer of the workshop, said the number of journalists in Pakistan had increased from 2,000 to over 18,000, whereas the number of other media industry workers from 7,000 to over 300,000 within a period of 13 years.

The rapid growth in the industry was, however, accompanied with a decrease in respect for journalists’ basic labour rights, including fair wages, decent employment conditions, trade union rights and physical safety while on job, he added.

Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) President Afsar Imran opined that existing laws were sufficient to ensure rights, but serious efforts were needed to see that they were implemented in letter and spirit.

All Pakistan Newspapers Employees Confederation (APNEC) chairman Shafiuddin Ashraf observed, “It is us journalists who are to be blamed for the violations of our rights. We have to stand united to ensure we were given our due rights.

Alam called for understanding laws of the media industry in order to make efforts for their implementation.

The participants observed that journalists’ unions had no role in educating media personnel with respect to their rights and neither do they provide any assistance in case of victimisation.

A need for local unions to work in close coordination with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) was also highlighted.

The workshop was attended by senior representatives of APNEC, PFUJ, KUJ and journalists from all media houses.

The News

The Report on Safety of Media Workers released by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) on the International Day on Impunity documents that since 2001, 47 media workers have been murdered, 164 injured, 88 assaulted, 21 abducted and 40 detained. In addition 24 media professionals were died while covering dangerous assignments. There have been convictions in only two cases out of 384 cases of violence against media.

In Pakistan, journalists are killed, unjustly detained, abducted, beaten and threatened by law enforcement and intelligence agencies, militants, tribal and feudal lords, as well as by religious groups and political parties that claim to promote democracy and the rule of law. Adding to the gravity of the situation is the fact that the perpetrators of violence against journalists and media workers enjoy almost absolute impunity from prosecution in Pakistan.

Because of conflicts and insurgencies the number of murders and killings in the highest in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA. Since 2001, 21 journalists and media workers were killed in Balochistan, 19 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 9 in FATA and 15 in Sindh, 4 in Punjab and 3 in Islamabad.

Threats and violence have forced many journalists to move from these danger zones and to leave the profession or to resort to self-censorship, particularly in conflict areas. As a consequence, news reports from conflict areas are based on press releases, not on observations by independent journalists. Thus, new reports that are published or broadcast lack credibility and do not inform the public in an objective manner.

The two convictions by courts were in Sindh for the murder of Daniel Pearl of Wall Street Journal and Wali Babar of Geo Television. In both the cases the federal and provincial governments seriously perused the cases because of pressure from the media organisations of the murdered journalists. The report thus recommends that criminal cases should not only be registered but should also be properly investigated and prosecuted against the perpetrators of violence against media. The report also calls on media itself to take the lead in ensuring safety of media practitioners and to ensure long-term follow up of cases of assault on media organisations and workers.

Apart from murders and killings, the largest number of cases of violence against media occurred in the province of Sindh. Out of a total of 164 journalists and media workers injured and assaulted since 2001, 91 were in Sindh. Surprisingly the second place in these categories with 70 assaults was Islamabad, which was largely due to the assault on large number of media practitioners by supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) during the Dharna in 2014. Forty Eight media practitioners were injured and assaulted in Punjab, 23 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 14 in Balochistan.

This reluctance to hold those who use violence against media professionals exists even in high profile cases such as that of murderous attack on Hamid Mir in 2014, and the murders of journalists Saleem Shahzad in 2011 and Hayatullah Khan in 2006. In all three cases high profile commissions were set up but the result has been nil.

Hamid Mir of Geo Television received six bullet wounds when he was attacked in Karachi in April 2014. The government set up a judicial commission in response to national and international furor over the attack. The commission was supposed to submit a report in 21 days. However, eighteen months have passed and the commission has still not submitted the report. Meanwhile, Mir and other journalists continue to receive threats and face a sense of increasing insecurity. The report calls for the early completions of the commission report which should fix responsibility and be made public.

Cases that are not high profile are covered up at the local level. One such example is that of the fatal shooting of Shan Dahar, reporter of “Abb Takk” TV channel on the night of December 31, 2013 in Badh, in Larkana district. He was shot in his back and was taken to the hospital where he remained unattended until he succumbed to his injuries many hours later on January 1, 2014. The local police, in an investigation that his family believes to be flawed and motivated, termed the death as an accidental death as a result of shooting on New Year’s Eve. However, the family believes he was targeted because of his stories on use of fake medicines in local hospitals. Despite repeated promises, including those by Minister of Information and Broadcasting Pervez Rashid, to have the case re-investigated, no action has been taken by the provincial or federal governments.

The report emphasizes that free media is essential to democracy in Pakistan and for promoting transparency and accountability, a prerequisite of sustained economic uplift and that the impunity enjoyed by those who attack Pakistani media is seriously hampering independent journalism in Pakistan.

Complete report is available in English at: http://www.pakistanpressfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Report-on-Safety-of-Media-Workers.pdf

In Urdu at: http://www.pakistanpressfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Report-on-Safety-for-Media-Workers-Urdu-2.pdf

Jaffery received seven bullets to his chest, neck and upper body, while Chauhan was struck by a bullet in the shoulder and is in stable condition.

The Geo News van was parked outside while two of the employees had gone inside a store; Jaffery and Chauhan were waiting for them by the roadside.

Three men on a motorbike approached the TV station van. One of them got off the bike, fired multiple shots at the van and then fled from the scene.

The injured driver drove the vehicle to a private hospital where Jaffery was pronounced dead.

Munir Ahmed Shaikh, Deputy Inspector General (head of police) in the region, said police found nine bullet shells from a 9mm pistol at the crime scene and were checking the CCTV footage.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Azhar Abbas, head of Geo News, said, “Police have to determine the motive behind the attack, but obviously we see it as a targeted attack not only on Geo and its team but also on the country’s free media. We strongly condemn this attack, but at the same time rely on police who have assured us of a thorough, speedy and transparent investigation into the incident. We expect them to bring the masterminds and attackers to justice.”

The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) condemned the attack and called it an attempt to harass and suppress the media. They demanded a thorough and transparent investigation of the incident and also urged the government to provide security to the journalist community and media organizations.

There were two more separate attacks within 24 hours for which the motives are not yet clear. In another case of a targeted killing in Karachi, senior journalist Aftab Alam was shot by unknown men who fired at him outside his house on September 9 and then fled from the scene.

He was shot in his head and was rushed to the hospital but he died on the way.

Alam had previously worked for Geo News television channel but had not been working there for over a year because of health reasons.

Meanwhile in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakthunkhwa province, Abdul Azam Shinwari received gunshot wounds but managed to escape from his assailant.

According to Mr. Safdar Dawar, former president of the Tribal Union of Journalists, the reason for the attack is not known but Azam had recently moved from the town of Landikotal in the tribal areas as he was receiving threats there.

Pakistan Press Foundation

Hakim Abro, a journalist from Ghotki was abducted on April 22nd, incidentally while he was travelling with a police constable. Despite the passage of over 3 months since his abduction, there has been no reported progress in his case. Hakim was associated with Dharti TV. Another journalist, Shahid Ali, went missing from Sukkur on June 2nd. Ali was working with Bol News and has previously been associated with Geo News. Despite continued protests from journalist bodies, there has been no known development to recover these journalists from their abductors.

PCOMS members condemned this callous attitude of the authorities in these cases and called the lack of action deplorable. PCOMS members also condemned the killing of Baloch journalist Zafarullah Jattak, and once again stressed the need to end impunity in journalist killings. Jattak was killed on June 28th at his home in Quetta.

The meeting expressed concern over the lack of transparency in the investigations of journalists’ killings. The committee urged the government to make public the report of judicial commission investigating the attack on senior journalist Hamid Mir.

The meeting also endorsed and welcomed UN Resolution 22/22 passed in May 2015, focusing on journalist safety. Members talked about the need to share the resolution further and capitalise upon its potential. Members requested UNESCO, the UN Agency with the mandate of journalist safety to facilitate a national consultation on the resolution.

The steering committee members welcomed the progress made by PCOMS and called for proactive action by PCOMS in developing a consolidated and comprehensive action plan and mechanisms for safety of journalists.

A group of journalists from Sukkar have started a train march from Sukkar to Peshawar against the abduction of Hakim Ali Abru and Shahid Ali and demand their early recovery. President of the Sukkar Press Club Lala Asad Pathan and President of the Sukkar Union of Journalists (SUJ) Shaukat led the protest.

They reached the Peshawar Press Club where they staged a protest. President Peshawar Press Club Syed Bukhar Shah, President of the Khyber Union of Journalists, Nisar Mehmood, and other local journalists also participated in the protest.The speakers said Hakim Ali Abru and Shahid Ali Khan had been abducted some two months ago but the authorities did not take any practical step for their safe recovery.

The News

Speaking on the occasion, participants said journalists from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas have been performing their professional duties with unflinching resolve and under dangerous conditions. However, they have not been appreciated for their commitment and hard work. They urged the relevant authorities to ensure journalists from Fata are treated fairly.

According to the speakers, most journalists in Fata have worked consistently to highlight the problems faced by the people of the tribal areas on a national and an international level. They demanded the government put an end to the discriminatory attitude towards journalists of the tribal areas. Speakers asked the government to provide facilities to journalists who work in the war-torn belt and to address the challenges they encounter on a day-to-day basis.

One participant stated, “Countries with an independent media will strengthen democratic principles and ensure prosperity.” The event was attended by journalists, lawyers and members of various political parties.

Express Tribune

Gunmen on a motorcycle attacked activist Sabeen Mahmud, the director of The Second Floor (T2F) on April 24 in the Defence area, as she was leaving her cafe, where she held art exhibitions and talks, just after hosting a discussion on disappearances in Balochistan.

The investigators found spent bullet casings at the scene but drew a blank.

“That suggests that a new group or new weapon has been used in the killing,” said a law enforcement official, requesting anonymity.

Police said their only witness is Ms Mahmud’s mother, who was with her and was wounded.

The investigators suspected that the killers had a back-up team of two men on a motorcycle and the police were examining the CCTV footage.

Desperate for clues, they were monitoring social media in hopes that loose talk could provide a lead, said another senior law enforcement official.

Ms Mahmud had told friends that officials of the Inter-Services Intelligence visited her in 2013 to ask about her work and finances, the law enforcement official said.

She had recently asked friends if she should go ahead with the Balochistan talk, he added.

The army condemned her killing, saying its intelligence agents would help in the investigation.

Human rights workers have not been reassured.

“There’s a lot of fear among the people, about whoever speaks out about Balochistan, what’s going to happen,” said Rukhsana Shama of the rights group Bedari. “It’s easy to point fingers at the agencies but no one knows.”

Third party

The first law enforcement official said her killers might have taken advantage of the tension between the authorities and Ms Mahmud over her Balochistan activism.

“Our hunch is that some third party exploited the standoff,” he said, suggesting India.

The case was unlikely to be solved if any security agency was behind it, the first official said.

Suspicion that Pakistan’s intelligence community was somehow responsible for the killing, in a bid to silence dissent, is dangerous to national security, said political commentator Moeed Pirzada.

“It is of vital importance that intelligence agencies work hard to expose the murderers, to restore trust between the state and its most aware citizens,” Pirzada added.

Series of protests from Thursday

Civil society on Tuesday decided to organise a series of protests from Thursday against Ms Mahmud’s killing, adds our staff reporter.

Participants in a meeting held at the Karachi Press Club decided to campaign for the fair and speedy investigation into Ms Mahmud’s murder.

“We the concerned citizens for peace held a meeting at the KPC in protest over the assassination of Sabeen Mahmud, a champion for love, peace and free speech,” said a statement. “The participants at the meeting also decided to hold a series of protests, first of which will be held on April 30 outside the KPC at 4pm.”

The people demanded justice for Ms Mahmud and that her killers be arrested and brought to trial, said the statement.

It added that a series of protests would take place every evening from 8-9pm at Clifton’s Teen Talwar.

“We appeal to all those who believe in justice and peace and are concerned about the violence in the city to participate in large numbers,” it said.

Daily Dawn