Iqbal Khattak, a senior journalist while in a conversation on ending impunity against violence against the journalists added, “it is not only the responsibility of the government to ensure the safety of journalists in the line of duty, the media houses are equally responsible to make certain safety measures”. Muhammad Aftab Alam, a legal expert added that “since Pakistan is a signatory of UN Plan of action on the safety of journalists, it has the responsibility of fulfilling its commitments.

Fazil Jamili, President Karachi Press Club while speaking at the concluding session of media conference said, “In order to facilitate the working journalists, personnel press clubs have been established all over Pakistan but unfortunately they are not operating effectively due to various reasons. There is a need to ensure that press clubs are functioning effectively and facilitating their members in all respects.”

Syed Asif Salah Uddin , CEO of Adgroup spoke in detail about the dynamics of media economy and said, “Advertising gets a lots of criticism but if there were no advertisements journalists would not get paid”. Mohsin Shah Nawaz Ranjha, Parliamentary Secretary Ministry of Information and Broadcasting while speaking at the concluding session said, “One can simply not ignore the role of media today. The issues raised by senior and experienced representatives of media at this platform identifies a clear gap that is present among the consumers of media also the gaps among media owners and working journalists. It is for the best interest of all that such gaps are reduced

Business Recorder

As is invariably the norm, the assailants in both instances escaped unchallenged after committing the crime. While it is too early to ascertain the motive of this second murder of a journalist within weeks (the first one was claimed by the Taliban), it is often the case that powerful groups, angry at being shown in a poor light for their wrongdoings, retaliate with violence.

Journalists have to come to grips with all sorts of pressures, from criminal elements, terrorists, government officials and even the law-enforcement apparatus, which is why theirs is such a perilous calling. A report on safety of Pakistani media professionals presents a bleak picture of level of insecurity faced by them and calls for serious efforts by governments and media to change the present situation where those who kill, injure, abduct and threaten journalists are almost never punished.

The Report on the Safety of Media Workers, released by Pakistan Press Foundation 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 died while covering dangerous assignments.

There have been convictions in only two cases out of 384 cases of violence against media. It should also be noted that Pakistan ranks ninth on the Committee to Protect Journalists’ global Impunity Index, which analyses countries where journalists are murdered and their killers roam free. The government needs to end its apathy and help change this dire situation. It needs to take action to ensure media workers carry out their professional duties in a less intimidating environment. They should enjoy the level of freedom necessary to work unhindered to report on matters of public interest.

Express Tribune

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

Media plays a crucial role in an open society. Pakistan, however, has turned into the most dangerous county for media persons. In a ranking of the states that do not investigate and prosecute murders of journalists, Pakistan is placed in the unenviable category of the top-most ten. The report pinpoints eight sources of threat to the journalists: Militants, political networks, religious parties, ethnic groups, tribal and feudal lords and law enforcement agencies. The threats include killing, unjustly detaining, abduction and torture. We are told that since 2001, 71 journalists and media workers have lost their lives in pursuit of their duties. Of these 47 have been deliberately targeted and murdered for independent reporting while others were killed when covering dangerous assignments. In only two cases have the murderers been convicted by the courts

The report, however, fails to take note of certain dark aspects of what it calls a vibrant, independent and fairly free media. A streak of intellectual backwardness charcterises a fairly large section of the media community. This includes narrow-mindedness, religious and sectarian prejudice and chauvinism. Media being an industry, the media owners sell everything which is in demand, including religiosity. The way clerics were shown blaming sins and lack of adherence to religion as a cause of the earthquakes is one of untold examples. There are self-imposed taboos and a suppression of bad reports about multinationals and state enterprises that provide lucrative ads. There is need to take note of this dark aspect to make media really free.

Pakistan Today

Private television channels have opened a new discourse in the society which for many years was monopolistic and one sided. Open and candid discussions on issues ranging from domestic politics to social and cultural matters have helped strengthen civil society and democratic process in the country. However, there are also certain areas where the media find their freedom heavily curtailed, most notably in coverage of security issues and religion. Because of their popularity, television channels have come under increased pressure from state, non-state and political groups.

Safety and security of media practitioners is one area where the situation has deteriorated markedly for media organisations and professionals. Pakistan is amongst the most dangerous countries of the world for journalists and it has become difficult for media personnel to work in a secure atmosphere. Pakistan has been a “frontline state” for almost four decades which has polarized society and destroyed people’s sense of security. Because of the Afghanistan war, the areas bordering Afghanistan; including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and FATA, are the most dangerous areas for journalists.

Pakistani journalists are not only targeted by militants but also by political, religious, ethnic and other pressure groups as well as the law enforcement agencies. Incidents of threats, attacks and killings of journalists in Pakistan are the clear evidence of how critical the situation is due to thriving culture of impunity. For every journalist who has been deliberately targeted and murdered, there are many others who have been injured, threatened and coerced into silence. Attackers and murderers of journalists enjoy impunity, which undermines the freedom of expression in the country.

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 some 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. The threat to journalists has grown dramatically in the past decade since the problem of militancy has grown. The Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups have posed an ever greater threat to journalists — and to all citizens – since 2002 when, in the wake of 9/11, the Pakistani government began to try to counter their rising influence.

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. For democratic development, Pakistan must have credible, professional and independent media.

According to research by PPF, since 2001, 71 journalists and media workers have lost their lives while pursuing their duties. Of these 47 have been deliberately targeted and murdered for practicing their profession, while others were killed while covering dangerous assignments. In only two cases have the murderers been convicted by the courts.

International press freedom and media safety watchdogs agree that Pakistan has become one of the deadliest countries for journalists. Pakistan ranks in the top 10 of the Impunity Index compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), of those countries that do not investigate and prosecute murders of journalists.

This reluctance to hold those who use violence against media professionals continues despite the damage to Pakistan’s reputation as an emerging democratic country. Even in high profile cases such as that of murderous attack on Hamid Mir in 2014, and the murders of 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 receiving six bullets. 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 commission needs to complete the work expeditiously and submit the report which should fix responsibility and be made public.

Cases that are not high profile are disposed of 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 of Sindh province of Pakistan. He was shot in his back and was taken to the hospital where he remained unattended until he succumbed to his injuries in the early hours of 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 reinvestigated, not action has been taken by the provincial or federal government.

Free media is essential to democracy in Pakistan as it promotes transparency and accountability, a prerequisite of sustained economic uplift. The impunity enjoyed by those who attack journalists is seriously hampering press freedom in Pakistan and all stakeholders, including media organisations, the government and civil society should join hands to devise some mechanisms for ensuring safety of working journalists.

Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), a non-governmental organization, is an independent, media documentation and training center, committed to promoting and defending freedom of expression recommends the following steps to control the alarming level of violence against media, and to end impunity for those who attack media practitioners and institutions.
1. Criminal cases should not only be registered but should also be properly investigated and prosecuted against the perpetrators of violence against media.

2. A special prosecutor on violence against media should be established at federal and provincial level to investigate cases of violence against media.

3. Media itself should take the lead in ensuring safety of media practitioners. Local, national and international print, electronic and online media should ensure long-term follow up of cases of assault on media organisations and workers

4. Journalists should be provided with safety and first aid trainings and guidance on how to report in hostile environment. Journalists working in conflict areas should also be provided with guidance in recognizing and dealing with stress and post-traumatic stress.

5. Safety equipments including bulletproof jackets and medical kits should be given to journalists covering the conflicts.

6. Threats and attacks can be reduced to some extent by adopting a professional approach and impartial and unbiased reporting. Journalists, especially those in rural areas, should be imparted trainings on writing skills, language proficiency, editing and interviewing techniques to enhance their capabilities.

7. Employers should provide journalists life and medical insurance and also compensation in case of death or injury related to their work. As Pakistani journalists are victims of circumstances that are both local and global in nature, the government should also compensate to the families of journalists, killed in the line of duty.

8. Proper medical treatment, including treatment abroad, should be provided to media workers who have been subjected to violence.

9. In addition to compensation by employers and government, funds should be set up for families of journalists who had been murdered or injured. These funds could be operated by the immediate families of the victimized journalists.

10. There is need to for media organisations to develop ‘operating procedures’ with law enforcement agencies that will allow journalists to cover the conflict situations with greater safety.

11. Arrangements should be made in all major cities to provide refuge and safe houses for the journalists who are forced to leave their homes so that they can live and work in safer cities.

12. Media organisations should interact with all stakeholders including government departments, political parties and groups and security agencies to develop strategies that promote safety of journalists and other media workers.

13. Employers should give journalists facing threats the option of transferring them to safer cities for extended periods of time. The remunerations during these periods should be based on the actual living expenses in these cities, which are generally higher than rural areas.

14. At times, insensitive and misinformed editors push their reporters and photojournalists into the situations where they have to put their life and well-being at risk for getting the stories. There is a need to create awareness and sensitizing the owners of the media organizations, as well as, those who are working on desk to realize the ground realities and threats being faced by the journalists working in fields especially in conflict areas.

15. Some international media organisations do provide proper safety trainings and equipment to their correspondents; however, journalists working for international media organisations as stringers or on freelance basis in remote areas of FATA, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan do not receive adequate training or support. As reporting for international media carries greater risk for these stringers, these organisations should provide security training and support, as well as, life and medical insurance for their stringers and freelancers working in conflict area.

Business Recorder

Journalists, editors and media representatives from Pakistan, international and regional organizations met at the International Media Conference held in Karachi which was organised by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ), to commemorate the World Press Freedom Day.

Journalists from 15 countries representing International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and other journalist unions took part and helped finalise the declaration. The conference was also attended by Federal Executive Council (FEC) members and editors and journalists from different newspapers.

They delegates recalled that there was a high number of violations against journalists in Pakistan, in particular the killing of journalists, which has reached over 100 in the last decade. Pakistan has been identified as one of the most dangerous places for journalists in the world.

The demanded that instruments on the protection of journalists be implemented within national laws and that the justice system be overhauled to end impunity.

The declaration urged the authorities to establish rights for families of killed journalists for compensation, directly or through media institutions, and the setting up of a solidarity fund for the victims.

Media organisations, they said, have a duty of care and moral responsibility for the safety of all their journalists, in particular news gatherers, staff or freelancers, to provide hostile-environment safety training and equipment, medical care and life insurance.

The declaration also noted that media editors have a responsibility to systematically publicise crimes against journalists, investigate them as thoroughly as possible and expose any failure of government to make the perpetrators account for their crimes.

In the declaration, primacy of quality training and education for journalists, was acknowledged.

Impunity

It was declared that, in view of journalists being killed every year while carrying out their jobs, most of those incidents of violence remain uninvestigated and unpunished, and that urgent action is required by authorities to put an end to them.

Recommendations

Place the issue of the safety and protection of journalists, at every opportunity, on the agenda of national, regional and international institutions; To work with the IFJ at international level, in particular through the relevant structures of UNESCO, the United Nations and the Human Rights monitoring mechanisms in the United Nations system; To seek the help of the IFJ’s expertise to establish detailed database of all the killed journalists with the view to take legal action whenever possible; Develop amongst its unions and members a culture of being responsible for their own safety and a duty of care towards each other; Continue monitoring the safety of journalists .

Finally, the participants expressed their appreciation and thanks to the Governor of Sindh, Dr Ishrat Ul Ebad Khan, for his efforts to help organise the Karachi International Media Conference.

Express Tribune

According to reports, Shehryar Mehsud, a columnist at the Urdu daily Akhbar-e-Khyber, was arrested on the orders of the political administration of South Waziristan allegedly for exposing the ‘corruption of political agents’ in development projects. Mehsud had received threatening calls from the administrators after he wrote a column on corruption.

The local journalists’ community believes that Mehsud’s arrest is an attempt to silence the journalists. Pakistan is quickly becoming one of the most dangerous countries for journalists, with 13 journalists killed this year so far. The culture of impunity in Pakistan, which includes threats like the ones Mehsud receive continue to weaken press freedom across the country. Mehsud was detained overnight and subsequently released.

The PFUJ said: “The PFUJ demands that Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, federal minister for state and frontiers region and federal government should intervene in the issue and hold inquiry into the case both corruption charges and illegal detention.”

IFJ acting director, Jane Worthington, said: “Journalists in Pakistan, especially in the tribal areas, face hostile condition to carry out their profession. It’s a matter of serious concern that state agencies that should be supporting journalists by ensuring their safety and security are detaining and threatening journalists.”

The IFJ further added: “The IFJ urge the Pakistan government to immediately launch an investigation on the detention so as to ensure free flow of information and opinion.”

PFUJ

A special report by the Committee to Protect Journalists:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. What Does Impunity Mean?

It isn’t just one story that ends with a journalist’s death; a climate of intimidation builds. If no one is punished, killers are emboldened, and violence repeats. Journalists have no choice but to censor themselves or even flee into exile. Targeted attacks on the media have kept the world from understanding the full dimension of violence in Syria, drug trafficking in Mexico, militant influence in Pakistan, and corruption in Russia.

2. Measuring Progress Against Stubborn Reality

International recognition of impunity as a global problem, including by the United Nations, is an important step. But outside of political corridors, progress is spotty; impunity rates have risen steadily over the past decade in most countries. One encouraging sign: convictions in journalist murders have been edging higher. One country, Colombia, embodies hope, but also shows the long road that must be traveled to reach justice.

3. Where Impunity Thrives

There are many ways that widespread, enduring impunity takes hold when it comes to attacks on journalists. In some cases, it is a lack of political will. In others, conflict or weak law enforcement keeps justice at bay. In most situations, it is a combination of these factors. Examining the environments in which impunity thrives is the first step to ending it.

Sidebar: The Unsolved Murder of Natalya Estemirova

4. Steps That Work and Those That Don’t

Years of intensive advocacy by press freedom groups, human rights organizations, and journalists have prompted some governments to pledge to fight anti-press violence. But many have failed to take action. Others have enacted legislation, created task forces, or appointed special prosecutors and commissions, with varying degrees of success. Some of these initiatives have led to progress; some were well conceived but poorly resourced; some appear to be little more than a means to deflect criticism.

Sidebar: A New Start on Old Murders in Serbia

5. Building Pressure, Enforcing Compliance

The United Nations has adopted resolutions addressing impunity and journalists’ safety and launched a plan of action. The plan is taking root in a couple of countries identified for early implementation—namely, Pakistan and Nepal—but has utterly failed in Iraq. To maintain momentum globally, U.N. agencies must increase engagement. Another tool gaining small ground in the fight against impunity is the network of regional courts, but their judgments are often flouted.

Sidebar: Raising the Cost of Impunity, in the Name of Magnitsky

Conclusion

The fight against impunity in the killing of journalists has reached an important juncture, where modest gains could give way to complacency. Efforts by relatives and colleagues, sustained media attention, diplomatic pressure, and litigation have pushed justice forward in rare cases. There are more steps governments can take, including moving trial venues, improving witness protection, reforming judiciaries, and creating independent bodies to scrutinize flawed investigations. Some solutions require extensive resources, but others do not. Meeting U.N. obligations to combat impunity must be paramount.

CPJ’s Recommendations

CPJ’s recommendations to national governments, the international community, and the news media.

Committee to Protect Journalists

The reference was held by the Quetta Press Club for Online news agency’s bureau chief Irshad Mastoi, reporter Abdul Rasool and accountant Mohammad Younus, who were shot dead in their office in the city on Aug 28. Rezaur Rehman, the president of the club, presided over the meeting and speakers included senior journalist Saleem Shahid and Irfan Saeed.

They condemned police failure to arrest the killers and said journalists would continue their struggle till the killers were caught and media personnel provided protection.

They said Irshad Mastoi was an outspoken and brave journalist who wrote on problems faced by people and added that he had been killed for his bold views.

They criticised the federal and Balochistan governments for their `lack of interest’ in investigation into the triple murder case.

Journalists had been staging rallies and observing token hunger strike for the past three weeks but the government was yet to take notice of their protest, they deplored.

The speakers said that although 40 journalists had been killed in Balochistan over the past few years, neither the killers had been identified nor the motive for the killing established.

“If telling the truth is our fault or crime, we want to make it clear that we will never abandon this practice come what may,” they said.

They criticised political parties for their failure to come up with a strong reaction to the killing of media workers and said only issuance of condemnation statements was not enough.

DAWN

The media representatives were carrying placards and banners inscribed with slogans demanding the arrest of perpetrators of journalists’ killings in Balochistan, Pakistan’s southwestern province.

Last month, armed men had barged into the Online news agency’s office and killed all three newsmen in Kabir Building area of Jinnah road Quetta. The incident sparked severe criticism of law enforcement agencies in the provincial capital.

Balochistan is considered to be one of the most sensitive areas for journalists. According to BUJ, during the last seven years, nearly 40 journalists have been killed in different incidents with the killers still at large.

The provincial government had announced the formation of a judicial commission six months back, but the judge probing the murder of journalists is yet to be nominated.

In today’s rally, the journalists chanted full-throated slogans “stop killing journalists they are your voice”, “long live freedom of expression” and “we want justice” among others.

“We will intensify our protest for the protection of journalists in Balochistan,” President Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Afzal Butt said while taking part in the demonstration.

Members of Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ), Hawkers community and the Quetta Press Club participated in the protest rally that turned into a human-chain in the high security zone of the city.

The journalist community has been protesting against the cold blooded murder of three colleagues in Quetta for the last fifteen days. “Journalists are in the line of fire in this part of the country,” Afzal Butt said.

The journalists demanded of the Balochistan government to step up efforts for the formation of a judicial commission to probe into the killings.

“We have lost around 40 colleagues during last seven years,” Irfan Saeed, the President BUJ lamented during the protest demonstration.

The journalists urged upon provincial and federal governments to ensure protection of the media men working in Balochistan and arrest those involved in the killings.

Pakistan is ranked as the world’s most dangerous country for journalists and reporters by rights groups and watchdogs.

According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), seven reporters lost their lives in the line of duty in 2013 in the country.

Placing Pakistan as the 158th country out of 180 on its Press Freedom Index, a report by the RSF had noted earlier this year: “The government appears powerless in the Taliban… and the military establishment, which is known as a ‘state within a state’ among many international observers.”

DAWN