Pakistan – Pakistan Freedom of Expression Monitor

Cruel year for the media

Web Desk — Mon, 31 Dec 2018 07:54:07 +0000

The year gone by has been a cruel year for the media. In a country where more than 40 TV news channels fight for ratings and a limited advertising pie, the industry finally went into a correction mode. This was also prompted by the government which not only slashed its advertising budget but also re-negotiated rates with different media houses.

It was possibly the last nail in the coffin. Already there were rumblings of discontent. New channels were being launched at a time when the market was expected to see closures, given the large amount of money that was being lost.

But some of these channels were being helped by cross-subsidy from other media outfits in the same group. And yet it was an unsustainable situation.

If the government move was the catalyst, one cannot ignore several other factors that have also come into play. Media houses, to begin with, are also using the opportunity to clean their stables. Most, in a bid to compete for ratings and revenue, had over-reached themselves. It was time to make amends.

They had hired anchors and others well above market rates. Some channels that were launched in the past few years were done without taking into account the economics of the industry or the state of the economy of the country. Both were suffering.

To add to this is the fact that a number of outlets in Pakistan are run on non-commercial lines. In other words, profit is not the only motive. This makes it difficult to compete for those channels and media outlets who have to watch the bottom line to make a profit and pay their expenses.

Looking back, one can say that the media industry in Pakistan was bound to go into correction mode. One can only wonder why it was not done sooner. There are too many channels competing for too limited an audience and advertising pie. In other countries with similar conditions, the number of channels do not go into double digits. Competition is healthy, and expenses and expectations are realistic.

Not so in Pakistan. Television is an expensive business. But irresistible. In Greek mythology, the Sirens were dangerous creatures, who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and singing voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. Same is the case with the proposal of opening a news channel in Pakistan. Given the low literacy rate in the country, it is an irresistible proposal which brings audience, power and prestige. People and organisations are lured into this. But if not managed well, it is also a recipe for disaster. As we can see, many ships have crashed in the process.

Hundreds of journalists have lost their jobs. Many of them were let go owing to market considerations. It is not an unusual situation, the same has happened, and continues to happen, in a number of countries where the media is run on commercial, and not ideological, lines. It is only where the media is tightly regulated that the state ensures that journalists are kept employed.

In Pakistan, journalism is re-inventing itself. The challenges are great. Not only are there new limitations on what to write, but a larger issue is the taste and demands of the audience. Social media, which was once considered non-serious by most mainstream journalists, has started to eat into the share of the audience.

The number of people using smartphones now exceeds the number of TV screens in the country. So, it’s not just economics that is affecting the industry. Audiences are turning away. Younger people are looking at other platforms for information and entertainment.

Both the newsroom and the journalist will have to change to meet this new challenge. Newsrooms cannot restrict themselves to one medium or language. Neither can journalists. Most journalists will now have to improve their skills to be able to report for different platforms. They will have to immerse themselves in social media in a bid to connect to their new audiences. News will change in the manner it is made and delivered.

Sadly, most journalists in Pakistan are not equipped for this new challenge. Worse is that they are not willing to wake up to the new realities. The year 2018 has been the wakeup call for many in the profession. Let us hope for better times.

The Express Tribune

Pakistan’s journalists complain of increasing censorship

Web Desk — Wed, 26 Dec 2018 05:53:21 +0000

Pakistani journalists, who have taken on military leaders and been beaten and jailed in the pursuit of a free press, say they now face a form of censorship that is more subtle but no less chilling, one spearheaded by the security services.

Journalists and press freedom advocates say the military and the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) are pressuring media outlets to quash critical coverage.

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s newly-elected government is meanwhile slashing its advertising budget, squeezing a key source of revenue for private newspapers and TV stations.

Qazi Salauddin, a veteran Pakistani journalist who has witnessed successive periods of directmilitary rule, said today’s censorship is the worst it’s ever been.

“Today we don’t know what will annoy them,” he said of the military. “Today we have to do self-censorship and that is the worst kind of censorship, because it is done out of fear.

Websites have been shut down, including the Urdu website of the US State Department’s Voice of America, after it reported on a tribal movement critical of military operations in regions bordering Afghanistan. Mashaal Radio, affiliated with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, has also been shut down.

Journalist Cyril Almeida was charged with treason after he published an interview with Nawaz Sharif in which the former prime minister accused the Pakistani military of aiding the armed group that carried out the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Authorities are also targeting social media, asking Twitter to suspend accounts and submitting thousands of requests to Facebook to take down pages for a variety of reasons, ranging from criticism of the military to propagating hate and insulting Islam.

Taha Siddiqui, a blogger and journalist who is critical of the security services, lives in self-imposed exile in France after an attempt on his life earlier this year, which he blamed on the ISI.

He said Twitter suspended his account twice in 72 hours, telling him it was because of “objectionable content that was in violation of Pakistani law”, without elaborating.

Journalist Matiullah Jan, labelled “anti-state” by the military for his criticism of the judiciary and army, called the crackdown “a systematic attempt by the military and its intelligence agency to assert control with a facade of a democratically elected government”.

New legislation regulating print and online media has also alarmed press freedom advocates, who fear it will grant authorities even more censorship tools.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry denies the government is cracking down on press freedoms, saying it only acts to prevent incitement to violence.

Pakistan has banned coverage of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik movement after it held violent protests and threatened to kill a Christian woman who was acquitted of blasphemy charges after years spent on death row.

Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan, and the mere accusation can prompt deadly mob violence.

“Pakistan has the freest media possible, and powerful media criticise the government and even agencies and (the) army establishment at their will,” Chaudhry told the Associated Press news agency.

“Incitement of hatred is the only area that we interfere.”

But journalists say the interference goes much further, and has worsened since July’s national elections.

They say intelligence agents have called reporters to demand that opinion pieces be withdrawn and to quash investigative reports on allegations that the military intervened in the vote to help elect Prime Minister Khan.

‘Aggressive crackdown’

The security establishment is especially sensitive about coverage of the Pashtun Tahafaz (Protection) Movement, or PTM, which has criticised the military’s actions in the tribal regions.

Pakistan has long been accused of covertly supporting the Afghan Taliban while waging a scorched-earth campaign against homegrown “extremists” who threaten the state, allegations denied by the government.

“We have been facing a media blackout since the very first day,” said Mohsin Dawar, a parliamentarian and founding member of the PTM.

“The military now is enjoying unquestioned power in the country, and the PTM questioned their power.”

Dawar said newspapers have refused to carry their statements or cover their press conferences.

Chaudhry said coverage of PTM is restricted because “we have fought a war in that area.”

“The population is in process of settling down, (and a) narrative that creates hatred cannot be allowed,” he said.

Steven Butler, Asia programme coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said Pakistan has waged an “aggressive crackdown” on the media.

“The crackdown comes behind the scenes and is increasingly exerted through the owners of media properties,” he said.

There are currently 89 private television channels licensed by the government.

Most of the privately-owned channels emerged in the last 15 years and are owned by big businesses, said Mohammad Ziauddin of the Pakistan Press Foundation, a free press advocacy group.

“The new entrants in the media are business people. They got into the media industry not to make money, not to serve the public, but to have clout,” he said, making them vulnerable to intimidation and financial coercion.

In the last two months, hundreds of journalists have been laid off as government advertising – a key source of revenue – has been drastically reduced.

A rate schedule seen by the AP shows the government was until recently paying upward of $2,500 for a 60-second spot, which has now been reduced to $400 to $500.

“While reliance on government revenues is not a healthy model for press freedom, the sudden cutbacks have imposed extreme hardship on the media, which has had basically no time to adjust business models,” Butler said.

Chaudhry defends the new rate schedule, saying previous governments paid well above the market rate in return for positive coverage.

“The last government used television advertising as a tool to bribe media,” he said.

Aljazeera

251 journalists imprisoned for 3rd consecutive year: CPJ

Web Desk — Sat, 15 Dec 2018 06:54:06 +0000

ISLAMABAD: For the third consecutive year at least 251 journalists are behind bars for their work, as authoritarian regimes increasingly use imprisonment to silence dissent, the Committee to Protect Journalists found.

As of December 1, 2018, CPJ found 251 journalists are in jail for their work. China, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia imprisoned more journalists than last year as they intensified their repression of local journalists, and Turkey remained the world’s worst jailer for the third year in a row, with at least 68 journalists behind bars. Amid global anti-press rhetoric, the CPJ’s census found 70 per cent of journalists jailed on anti-state charges and 28 charged with “false news” — the latter is an increase from nine in 2016.

Politics was the most dangerous beat for journalists, followed by human rights. The number of female journalists behind bars increased with 33 imprisoned globally including four in Saudi Arabia who wrote about women’s rights.

An increase in the overall number of journalists jailed in China this year is the result in part of Beijing’s persecution of the Uighur ethnic minority.

“The terrible global assault on journalists that has intensified in the past few years shows no sign of abating. It is unacceptable that 251 journalists are in jail around the world just for covering the news,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon.

“The broader cost is being borne by all those who care about the flow of news and information. The tyrants who use imprisonment to impose censorship cannot be allowed to get away with it.”

The prison census accounts only for journalists in government custody and does not include those who have disappeared or are held captive by non-state actors.

Cases including journalists held by Houthi rebels in Yemen and a Ukrainian journalist held by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine are classified as “missing” or “abducted.”

In the US, no journalists were in jail for their work on December 1, although in the past 18 months CPJ has documented or assisted with the cases of at least seven foreign journalists who were held in prolonged detention by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after fleeing threats in their home countries.

CPJ’s list is a snapshot of those incarcerated at 12:01am on December 1, 2018. It does not include the many journalists imprisoned and released throughout the year. Learn more under our methodology.

The Nation

Voice of America protests Pakistan move to block its content

Web Desk — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 05:28:38 +0000

US public radio Voice of America (VOA) on Thursday called for Pakistan to lift a block on two of its websites, in Urdu and Pashto, as concerns grow over freedom of speech in the country.

“In the interest of press freedom, VOA calls upon those responsible for blocking our content to immediately remove these constraints,” said Amanda Bennett, the director of VOA, in a statement to AFP.

“Any attempt to block our websites deprives Urdu and Pashto speakers in the region access to a trusted news source,” she continued, adding that the organisation was “troubled” by the block.

The VOA Urdu website has been partially or fully blocked since early December and the site for VOA Deewa, the Pashto language service, since late October, she said.

The websites have been irregularly accessible in Islamabad in recent days. Pakistani information minister Fawad Chaudhry told VOA the block was in place due to “false and prejudiced reporting”.

“The stories they were doing were only projecting a particular narrative without any impartial view,” he said, according to a story published by VOA on its English language site.

“There are many things happening in our country and most are positive.”

In the article VOA blamed the penalty on its coverage of the Pashtun Protection Movement (PTM), a civil rights group which has rattled the powerful Pakistani military with its claims of army abuses and accusations of ties to the Afghan Taliban.

Recently, the military warned the PTM that it will use force against them if they “cross the line”. Coverage of the group in local mainstream media is muted.

There have been growing concerns about what is seen as a clampdown on media in Pakistan in recent months, with a series of high-profile attacks on journalists leading to fears the shadowy military establishment is seeking to shrink the space for dissent and free speech.

Local media have complained about pressure in the run-up to a general election in July which resulted in self-censorship tilted towards the eventual victor, cricketer-turned-prime-minister Imran Khan.

In January, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Pashto-language station — Radio Mashaal, or Torch — was closed for airing content “against the interest of Pakistan”.

Business Standard

Journalists in tribal districts continue to face threats

Web Desk — Mon, 10 Dec 2018 08:20:03 +0000

PESHAWAR: The hall echoed with applause of anxious parents while distinguished students were getting photographed on the stage with the chief guest giving away prizes.

Students with distinguished positions would wave their hands to the parents from the stage and get appreciation in thundering applause.

Then a girl’s name is announced, a woman at back row of seats stands and cries out in Pashto, “Bahadra bachai mae da (My brave girl).” She was the widow of slain Journalist Hayat Ullah Shaheed, who was kidnapped from Ex-Fata district of North Waziristan, tortured and later killed by unidentified people.

The widow is now left alone taking care of their seven children. Hayat Ullah was among those journalists of the soil, who paid the highest price for expressing their freedom of expression, their lives.

Journalism a dangerous profession in Pakistan

At least 71 journalists and media workers have lost their lives since 2001 while pursuing their duties in Pakistan. A recently published report on the state of media stated.

In total, some 163 cases of direct attacks on media took place in Pakistan only in 2009 including murders, assaults, kidnappings, explicit threats, censorship cases and attacks on media properties and establishments, Punjab bore the brunt of these attacks with 54 cases and NWFP a close behind with 52. Islamabad was the third biggest victim of attacks on media with 28 cases. In those cases against media workers, only two cases have the murderers been convicted by the courts.

The worst kind of targeting of the media workers were recorded in Ex-Fata districts. Tribal journalists were abducted by non-state actors, tortured and released only on the surety of the local elders.

Most of the cases were not reported in media. The security threat was such that the political administration had locked up the North Waziristan Press Club and opened on assurances and protest from the journalist community.

Even the watchman of the Ex-Khyber agency Press Club was seriously injured when the building of the press club was blown up with IEDs. In recent pass, the security agencies had warned the Bajaur Press Club president of security threats. The club had asked the Khyber tribal district administration for protection.

Who care for families of the fallen?

Whenever a media person is killed, the government issues formal condolence messages, there is a rush of dignitaries at the deceased’s homes where ministers make ritual announcements of compensation packages worth hundreds and thousands of rupees for the martyred journalists along with promises of free education facilities for the children of the victim.

These promises don’t go beyond the next day’s news. The families of the slain journalists end up pleading for the money announced by competent authorities at his burial ceremonies, leading tribal journalist, Zahid Wazir said.

Malik Mumtaz a journalist from North Waziristan was shot dead in Miranmshah in February 2013. The then president Asif Ali Zardari had promised a RS1 million compensation to the deceased’s family, but till date they have not received a single rupee from the announced package.

The case of Hayat Ullah is different, his family was initially supported by the Canadian journalist who he worked for, and then by the former president of Peshawar Press club, both men refused to disclose their names. Presently, another top journalist of Pakistan was supporting Hayat’s two children.

Not every martyred journalist gets such support. Haroon Khan of Swabi was shot dead in October 2017. The local Taliban had claimed killing Haroon. However, his widow had to take refuge with her two children at her parents’ home. They never got any compensation from the government.

Threats still exist

A non-governmental organization “Freedom Network” in its report stated that threat level has increased. In the last five years 26 journalists were killed in Pakistan, only 16 cases went to courts, trial of only six cases was completed and only one conviction was awarded but no one was punished, said Iqbal Khattak of Freedom Network.

“If the threat sources are not jailed and penalised, they will continue to create havoc in the days to come for Journalist community” Zahid Wazir.

But generally the environment is growing unsecured each day past, media practitioners going to press from state institution as well non-state actors in the country.

Displacement

Half of the journalists from tribal areas have moved out of the area. They are reporting from distance for the respective media outlets for which they work for. The media houses allow their reporters in tribal district to get news on telephone from local sources instead of being on the ground like professionals in any other area where there is no threat to life and limb, said Abuzar Afridi a journalist from the Khyber district.

Most of the reporters and media persons from tribal districts of Khyber, North and South Waziristan, Kurram and Orakzai have been displaced due to pressure from both sides.

“Abdul Azam was shot four times in front of my home, while Mehbob was blown in the blast at Karhano Market and Nasrullah has lost his breath in front of PA house Peshawar Saddar six years ago,” Afridi said recalling the colleagues he had lost to terrorism.

Beside militants, narcotics mafia also attacked them if they report on the issues, therefore most of the tribal journalists are either living in provincial capital Peshawar or Islamabad, he said. Government needs to formulate a policy for the protection of media workers from militants as well as the state institutions, and provide them a safe working environment.

The Express Tribune

APNS terms ad policy draft against freedom of expression

Web Desk — Tue, 04 Dec 2018 11:51:15 +0000

ISLAMABAD: The All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) termed the draft of advertisement policy of the government as against the freedom of expression and tantamount to controlling and limiting the media freedom by killing small news outlets financially. It also said the new draft is aimed at subduing the freedom of expression to the government through centralisation

According to the statement, the APNS meeting on Monday was held to discuss the draft of the government’s advertisements’ policy. The Special Advisor to the PM, Iftikhar Durrani, attended the meeting at the APNS request. The president of the APNS, Hameed Haroon, Secretary General Sarmad Ali, Vice-President Mehtab Khan, Mujeeb ur Rehman Shami, Rameeza Majeed Nazami and others expressed their reservations over the draft. The Adviser to the PM, Iftikhar Durrani, assured the APNS that the government would take all possible steps for the progress of the media and to safeguard the freedom of expression. On this account, he added that all concerns of the newspapers and magazines would be addressed through mutual understanding. He said the draft was only forwarded to the APNS to elicit their opinion which would only be finalised after mutual consultations.

President APNS Hameed Haroon, Vice-President Mehtab Khan, Secretary General Sarmad Ali, Joint-Secretary Bilal Mehmood, Finance Secretary Waseem Ahmed, Mumtaz A Tahir (Daily Aftab), Rehmat Ali Raazi (Weekly Azm/Daily Taqat), Humayun Tariq (Daily Business Report, Faisal), Naveed Chaudhry (Daily City 42), Syed Akbar Tahir ( Daily Jasarat), Javed Mehr Shamsi (Daily Kaleem), Abdul Jabbar (Daily Kawish), Syed Ayaz Badshah (Daily Mashriq Peshawar), Syed Mumtaz Ahmed Shah (Daily Mashriq Quetta), Sardar Khan Niazi (Monthly Nea Rukh), Rukhsana Saulat Saleemi (Weekly Nikhar), Syed Muhammad Munir Jillani (Daily Paigham), and Gohar Zahid Malik (Daily Pakistan Observer) attended the meeting.

The News

SHC restrains TV channel from defaming Bahria Town

Web Desk — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 08:21:04 +0000

The Sindh High Court has restrained Channel 92 and its anchorperson from airing any defamatory programmes and false statements against Bahria Town Chief Executive Officer Malik Riaz, summoning them on November 8, 2018, The Express Tribune has learnt.

The Bahria Town CEO and others filed a Suit No 1967 in the SHC against the channel and its anchorperson Muhammad Malick in which the plaintiffs stated that many things had been attributed against them, which were incorrect and false.

While hearing the suit, SHC Justice Junaid Ghaffar restrained Channel 92 and its anchorperson from airing any defamatory and false statements against the plaintiffs.

Bahria Town lawyers argued, “Freedom of speech and freedom of press is a fundamental right but same is subject to law and reasonable restrictions. Therefore, anyone is free to express his views and make fair comments on any matter of public importance but assertion of a fact defaming any person, without evidence, is not permissible.”

They further argued that the allegations were not only false and frivolous but extremely defamatory to the plaintiffs; hence, they filed the suit.

The court, while issuing notice to Channel 92 and Malick for November 8, 2018, passed an order restraining them from airing any false and defamatory statement against the plaintiffs.

The Express Tribune

CPJ troubled by report US spied on Al-Jazeera journalist in Pakistan

Web Desk — Sat, 09 May 2015 08:58:54 +0000

New York, May 8, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by a report that the U.S. National Security Agency carried out intensive surveillance of Al Jazeera’s Islamabad bureau chief, Ahmad Muaffaq Zaidan, based on suspicion that he was a member of Al-Qaeda. The Intercept reported today that the NSA’s information supporting its claim appears to reflect the normal behavior of a journalist maintaining contact with sources.

“Coloring the legitimate newsgathering activities of a respected journalist as evidence of international terrorism risks chilling the vital work of the media, especially in Pakistan where journalists routinely interview Taliban and other militant groups as part of their coverage,” said Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator.

“The NSA has once again brought the dangers of mass surveillance into sharp relief,” said CPJ Internet Advocacy Coordinator Geoffrey King from San Francisco. “Given a big enough pool of data, anyone can end up fitting a ‘suspicious’ pattern. Journalists who traverse many sectors of society to bring the public the news are particularly vulnerable.”

Zaidan and Al-Jazeera strongly defended the journalist’s reporting and rejected the U.S.’s suspicions, The Intercept reported.

Committee to Protect Journalists

Sixty-one journalists, support staff killed in first half of 2014

Web Desk — Sun, 20 Jul 2014 13:12:40 +0000

Ukraine was the most dangerous country for journalists in the first six months of 2014 with seven members of the news media killed, according to the International News Safety Institute’s biannual survey of news media casualties, Killing the Messenger.

This was Ukraine’s first time in the top five since INSI began keeping casualty records over a decade ago.

Eastern Ukraine has been gripped by violence after protests in the capital Kiev toppled Moscow-backed president Viktor Yanukovich earlier this year, sparking fighting between nationalists and pro-Russia separatists.

At least five members of the news media have been killed in the country’s east over the past two months. Veteran Russian cameraman Anatoly Klyan was killed when the bus he was travelling in, headed towards a Ukrainian military base, came under attack just north of Donetsk. Russian television journalist Igor Kornelyuk and sound engineer Anton Voloshin died after being hit by mortar fire while they were reporting near Lugansk. Italian journalist Andrea Ronchelli was killed alongside his Russian interpreter Andrey Mironov in May as they covered fighting between government forces and pro-Russian insurgents near Slaviansk.

Countless other journalists in the region have been threatened, attacked and kidnapped.

Six journalists have also died in Iraq where government forces and their allies has been battling an insurgency spearheaded by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS).

Iraq has consistently been among the most dangerous countries for journalists, who are victims of threats and violence from security forces and armed groups. However, the security situation has deteriorated considerably since ISIS began a major offensive in June. Cameraman Khalid Ali of Al-Ahad TV and freelance photographer Kamran Najm Ibrahim both lost their lives in June while covering the fighting between pro-government forces and militants in Diyala province and Kirkuk.

Syria and Pakistan were the third and fourth most dangerous places for journalists, with five members of the news media killed in each country. Syria was the most dangerous country in 2013 and 2012.

Four journalists were killed in Afghanistan in the first six months of the year and three in the Philippines.

The biannual Killing the Messenger report, carried out for INSI by the Cardiff School of Journalism and compiled in cooperation with INSI’s regional contacts, is an analysis of media casualties around the globe. INSI records all deaths, whether deliberate, accidental or health-related, of journalists, media workers and support staff who are killed while on assignment or as a result of an attack on their news organisation.

According to our research, 61 journalists have died carrying out their work so far this year – a worrying rise in the global death toll, as 40 journalists had died by this time in 2013. This latest figure is a conservative estimate as INSI has identified 14 journalists and support staff who also died this year, though it is unclear if their deaths were related to their work in the media.

According to the report, 36 journalists lost their lives in armed conflict situations, with 25 killed in peacetime covering issues such as crime and corruption.

Local journalists bore the brunt of the deadly violence aimed at news media, with 49 killed covering their own country.

Most of the killers of journalists enjoyed complete impunity with suspects identified and arrests made in just seven cases.

INSI calls on all parties in these countries to respect the safety of journalists and allow them to go about their business free from harm or threat of harm.

MOST DANGEROUS COUNTRIES
UKRAINE: 7
IRAQ: 6
SYRIA: 5
PAKISTAN: 5
AFGHANISTAN: 4
PHILIPPINES: 3

EMPLOYER/COMMISSIONER
TV: 23
RADIO: 16
PRESS: 14
NEWS AGENCY: 6
ONLINE: 1
UNKNOWN: 1

STATUS IN COUNTRY
LOCAL: 49
FOREIGN: 12

Other journalist support groups that are members of INSI maintain separate casualty records based on their own criteria including the International Press Institute, the Committee to Protect Journalists and the World Association of Newspapers.

International News Safety Institute

CPJ wants Wali Babar murder masterminds held

PPF Editor — Wed, 05 Mar 2014 06:47:35 +0000

KARACHI: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CJP) on Wednesday welcomed the conviction of Geo News reporter, Wali Khan Babar’s killers, Geo News reported.

Wail Babar, 28, covered the seamy side of Karachi, a sweltering port mega city of 18 million people. He reported on drugs, crime, militancy and deadly turf struggles between the city’s main political parties. He was shot dead on January 13, 2011 as he left work.

Talking exclusively to Geo News, Bob Dietz, coordinator of CPJ’s Asia Program, said that it was a significant development in terms of serving justice but convicting merely the “hands” was not enough as the “heads” who masterminded Babar’s murder were yet free to continue with their murderous intrigues.

“Netting the small fry won’t help until the big fish were harpooned”, said he.

He also lauded the police, who, despite a lot of political pressure, performed their duty honestly.

“Though, there were many a legal lacuna in the way the case was pled, however, the final judgment turned out to be a milestone for Pakistan”, Deitz said further.

He said the government and the Supreme Court of Pakistan were serious about safeguarding journalists.

“It is evident from their sincere efforts in Babar’s murder case. I must say it speaks volumes for their bona fide intent for the cause.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists is an American independent nonprofit organization, based in New York City, New York, that promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists.

Geo News