After five years of working in Pakistan documenting the intimate daily lives of women and children, the London-based NOOR photographer has now become the target of death threats after her work was published in a national British newspaper. “This weekend, some of these stories were published for the first time in The Guardian magazine and online. I received a lot of hate mail and I’ve seen a lot of people erode my credibility on social media. They were intent on trying to destroy me.”

Fazzina was due to travel to Pakistan on Nov. 20, but she has since received warnings from diplomatic sources about “a credible and direct threat against my life,” she says. “I’ve taken risks in Pakistan, but they were very weighted up risks,” she says. “I don’t want to kill myself for a story.” Now, she feels, fear has caught up to her in London.

Fazzina started her career as a frontline photographer covering under reported conflicts in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Northern Uganda. “Over the years, my work has changed” she says, “It’s gone on instead to look at the consequences and fallout of wars.”

In 2008, after working on a long-term project in Somalia, she moved to Pakistan. “When I arrived, the effects of extremism were really starting to hit home,” she says. “One of the first things I did was to cover what was essentially Pakistan’s first frontline in the tribal areas. It was the first time that Pakistan’s military had engaged and began an operation against the Taliban there.”

Pakistan has been facing conflicts on multiple fronts – from separatist movements in Balochistan to homegrown Pakistani Taliban factions spreading violence across the country and all the way to Karachi – in June, 28 people were killed in a coordinated attack at Jinnah International Airport in the country’s economic capital.

Fazzina’s ambition was to document the consequences of these conflicts. “What I want to get across is how much civilians suffer and to try and tell their stories, to show what the real effects of war are away from the frontlines,” she says. “Millions of people in Pakistan are still suffering now, and they’re not getting any assistance.”

In her photographs, Fazzina has tried to avoid pointing the finger at one particular culprit, instead putting the blame on all participants. “I’ve covered victims of collateral damage, victims of airstrikes, victims of drone strikes. I covered people suffering from the military, from foreign intervention in region and also from the Taliban. I’ve tried to cover victims of war from all sides because I believe that in any theater of war, all players are responsible.”

After diplomatic sources in Islamabad warned her of the threat on her life from local extremist groups, Fazzina has been forced to cancel a planned trip to Pakistan where she was to report on maternal health. “I take this threat very seriously. There is a strong possibility if I return I will be killed simply for having documented what are realities on the ground” she says. “But, I won’t be silenced by this threat.”

Fazzina’s situation isn’t unique, she explains, as Pakistani journalists and photographers constantly risk their lives to document their country. “It’s extremely difficult for journalists to report without facing some kind of a risk – be it threats, harassment, or even expulsion from the country by the state,” says Mustafa Qadri, a researcher at Amnesty International. “We’ve certainly seen this year a number of high-profile attacks on journalists, which seems to be in response to their work being critical of the government, Taliban, or political parties. What brings all of these cases together is the fact that there’s no justice, there’s no accountability. That basically sends a signal that if you’re not happy with what journalists are reporting, you can literally get away with murder.”

Since 2008, Amnesty International has documented 36 cases of journalists who were killed in response to their work, with many more cases of harassment remaining undocumented. The Committee to Protect Journalists has been trying to fight this problem, says Bob Dietz, the Asian program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists. “Everyone feels that they have total impunity to direct a threat towards a journalist. Foreign journalists aren’t the largest targets for these things; it’s really the local Pakistani journalists who bear the brunt of it. A Pakistani journalist awakes in the morning, opens his phone and check for messages and there might well be a string of threats in there. It’s a way of life. It’s a reality that people are dealing with.”

“We’ve tried to combat it,” Dietz adds. “[We’ve asked] journalists not to hide these threats, and instead to bring them out in public as a way to disarm them.” Yet, the CPJ and Amnesty International don’t expect such menaces to subside, including those against Fazzina. “We really welcome the work that she did,” says Qadri. “We feel that not enough is done to expose the condition of women and girls in Pakistan; what ordinary life is for them. It’s really sad that in trying to do that, she’s now facing these kinds of threats.”

For the 40-year-old photographer, these threats are indicative of a massive shift in war reporting. “The landscape has really changed from fundamentalist groups wanting to tell their stories to journalists becoming actual targets of these groups,” says Fazzina. “In some way, the voices that can speak out against human rights abuses are slowly being silenced. And people would rather shoot the messenger than acknowledged the actual state of [affairs].”

Alixandra Fazzina is a London-based photographer represented by NOOR.

Olivier Laurent is the editor of TIME LightBox. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @olivierclaurent

Source: TIME

Jamshed Baghwan, as I know him for the past 15 years, is a brave and self-made journalist. He is among those who have balanced views and encourage unbiased reporting. He researches thoroughly, making sure never to air any kind of story without multiple credibility checks. He is a strictly professional journalist and is liked by everyone inside his community, which is why he remains the general-secretary of the Peshawar Press Club and the vice president of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists. While being committed to ethics, he maintains friendly relations with his fellow journalists at the Express News bureau in Peshawar.

If Baghwan can be attacked, so can other journalists in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Its no wonder that Amnesty International deemed Pakistan to be the most dangerous place for journalists. Pakistani journalists face multiple threats from all sides. They are not free to think freely and write freely. He/she is always threatened, always feeling stifled and stressed.

In the past eight years, I have seen 13 journalists being killed in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Majority of the journalists in this area have imposed self-censorship. Many are found saying that their lives are more precious than media ethics.
Journalists get no support from the federal or provincial authorities. The injured get no monetary compensation. Families of those dead are not extended any support either.

The other sad side of his story is the rivalry and jealousy between media organisations. While reporting Baghwan’s attack, his name and his media group’s name was not even mentioned in the bulletins. When Hamid Mir was attacked, there was country-wide outrage. But when Baghwan was attacked, that too for the third time, his predicament was largely under-reported and even ignored. He was ignored like those dozens of journalists who lose their lives or are paralysed in FATA and Balochistan, as if they are not citizens of the state, but some unwanted aliens.

Express Tribune

People are deeply upset as they are not able to watch their favourite and popular channels, Geo News, Geo Entertainment, Geo Tez and Geo Kahani in 90 percent of the country. Geo News and the group’s other channels were also forcibly shut down during the previous two regimes.

All these channels were being disrupted for the last 30 days and in a majority of the areas, the position of the channels was changed and shifted to the last few numbers (mostly above 80) on the cable networks. A vast majority of viewers are unable to watch any channel at a number beyond 45 or 50 because of the limited channel capacity of their TV sets.

During the last 10 days, Geo News was off air in more than 70 percent of Pakistan but what proves Geo as the most favourite channel of the nation is the fact that despite this massive countrywide blackout of the channel, Geo News remained the number one channel according to the official data of independent auditors. This was despite the fact that the organisation and its employees were being termed as ‘Ghaddars’ (traitors).

It was being accused of doing wrong, making big mistakes, and was termed a channel of ‘thieves and dacoits’, a channel of those who work on anti-Pakistan agendas. Despite the propaganda, the people of Pakistan gave their verdict in favour of Geo News, which was a referendum of sorts in its favour.

Meanwhile, people are being fed with one-sided allegations on other TV channels without presenting the viewpoint of Geo.Geo News has suffered losses of around Rs1 billion since April 19, the day when miscreants attacked the channel’s lead anchorperson Hamid Mir in Karachi. Geo has already suffered losses of Rs6.5 billion during a previous regime only because of its efforts to get democracy restored.

Geo was the leader of the Pakistani media which fought and defeated unconstitutional forces and the people of Pakistan today not only enjoy the fruits of democracy but also free, independent and impartial institutions because of these great sacrifices rendered, among others, by Geo and the Jang Group and its staff.

Not only did Geo News maintain its position and the number one news channel of the country according to three different independent auditors, but its entertainment channels are also at number one in their category. This continuous and top position of Geo is because of the channel’s policy under which it tries its best to give complete independence to its professionals and workers and because of the following of basic principles of professionalism and strict adherence to media ethics.There is no channel in the country which has sacrificed this much while fighting and defending Pakistanis’ right to know and access to information.

The management of Geo has been consistently complaining and five complaints have so far been registered by the channel management with Pemra. However, Pemra and the government have either deliberately engineered a complete shutdown of Geo through the cable operators or are mysteriously silent and haven’t even initiated any legal action in accordance with Pemra law and rules against the cable operators who have illegally and unconstitutionally put the channel off air on the orders of hidden hands.

Geo has, however, collected a large amount of evidence and has recorded thousands of testimonies of citizens of Pakistan residing in all parts of the country in more than 30 towns and cities revealing how and when Geo News and other Geo channels were put off air from their areas. Cable operators have also recorded their testimonies giving details as to who was ordering them to put Geo off air by using direct or indirect threats. In some cases, the phone numbers used to order the shutdown of Geo are also available.

The most interesting point of the whole story is that these cable operators clearly stated that they were not being pressurised to shut Geo down because of a recent morning show hosted by Shaista Lodhi after which Geo and the Jang Group have tendered unconditional apologies. Rather, this pressure was coming from different forces, which also include banned organisations, terrorist groups and some extremist organisations. Geo and the Jang Group will present this whole record and evidence before the nation at some appropriate time.

One member of a cable operators’ organisation, Khalid Arain, is playing major role in this shutdown of Geo. Arain is known for his close terms and business relations with a known media group owner and also runs this media owners’ front cable company. This media house owner is running a baseless campaign against the Geo/Jang Group because of vested interests and is being used by the ‘angels’. Arain has a history of acting against Geo and had played a key role in disrupting the Geo Super signal during the transmission of the 2011 Cricket World Cup and putting Pakistan’s first sports channel off air later illegally in contemptuous disregard and violation of Supreme Court orders.

According to some senior people of the cable industry, Khalid Arain has a mysterious character and is known for taking contracts in return for money to inflict losses on professional media institutions. According to senior people in the cable industry, owners of some media groups who have started their media business to gain more and more influence, use him for this purpose because of his influence on cable operators across the country. Khalid Arain, however, always denies these allegations and has taken an oath on the Holy Quran that he never remained involved in this activity.

Journalists belonging to the Geo/Jang Group are extremely upset and anxious because of the ongoing situation as the group has already announced the downsizing of working journalists because of the great financial burden the group is facing. It has suffered severe losses in the last two regimes because of doing independent journalism. Workers, journalists are also gearing up for big protests against the present government and hidden forces.

Top journalist and victim of the horrible April 19 attack Hamid Mir has also given a call to all journalists to get united. The foreign media and independent journalists organisations have also shown great concerns over the situation in Pakistan and are in touch with Pakistani journalists and media workers to fight a joint war against the forces of oppression.

The News

The Karachi Union of Journalists held a meeting of senior journalists to discuss and find a solution to the prevailing precarious situation faced by journalists following the media crisis that has arisen recently.

Senior journalists, including Abdul Hameed Chhapra, Tahir Najmi, Habib Khan Ghauri, Shahid Hussain, Faysal Aziz Khan, KUJ President GM Jamali, KUJ General Secretary Wajid Raza Isfahani and PFUJ Secretary General Amin Yousuf, were also present at this event, says a press release.

The members of the meeting were of the opinion that the act of disconnecting of any channel or changing its position on the cable is against Pemra laws and is also against the freedom of press and freedom of opinion as enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan.

The meeting was of the opinion that some channels ran some video clips which antagonised the sentiments of a large section of society. But some other channels aired those clips again and again which resulted in further aggravating the situation, inciting people and thus putting the lives of journalists under threat.

The meeting agreed that on the issue of a particular video clip, a host and Geo TV Network have already tendered an unconditional apology, and this apology was being aired constantly.Most of the Ulema and religious scholars have said that after this apology, the matter should be defused and shelved. The meeting also endorsed this opinion.

A resolution was passed that no media organisation or channel will be allowed to be banned; PFUJ and KUJ will resist any such move and will hold countrywide demonstrations.It was also strongly reiterated that the KUJ and PFUJ stood by all working journalist, especially of Jang and Geo, who were vulnerable. Steps should be put into place to protect the lives and property of all journalists across the media.

The participants also decided that a committee headed by Habib Ghauri and six journalists, comprising the KUJ President GM Jamali, General Secretary Wajid Isfahani, PFUJ General Secretary Amin Yousuf, Bureau Chief Geo Faisal Aziz Khan, Senior Journalist Syed Safdar Ali and Senior Journalist Shahid Hussain, be formed which will seek the opinion of the Ulema and will also stress to the channels to work within journalists ethics.

On the other side, the advisory session of senior journalists, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), National Press Club (NPC), Rawalpindi Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ) and Supreme Court Reporters Association was held at the Supreme Court press room.

In the meeting, all the leaders asserted that any decision to impose curbs on the freedom of opinion would not be accepted, nor any idea of closing down a TV channel, newspaper would be seconded.

Condemning the timid act of an assault on Hamid Mir in the strongest terms, all the journalists said that the attack was tantamount to a blow to journalism, democracy and personal freedom. PFUJ President Afzal Butt said that there is no divide among the Pakistani journalists as every journalist represents Hamid Mir.

NPC President Sheheryar Khan, RIUJ President Ali Raza Alvi, General Secretary Bilal Dar, senior journalist and anchorperson Matiullah Jan, Khudayaar Mohla, Rashid Habib, Khalid Azeem, Rana Masood, Ehsan Haqqani, Wahid Murad, Shahzad Khan Abdush Shakoor, Tariq Chaudhry, Tahir A Khan and senior journalists were present on the occasion.

The participants remarked that in democratic societies, journalists were considered as the eye and ear of the society. They added that they would keep rendering sacrifices for the freedom of expression of the masses.They added that the unpleasant voices labelling others as traitors and demanding closure of certain organisations were not among the characteristics of civilised societies.

The journalists, denouncing the controversial programme aired on television channels, termed them against the social values. They also noted that the apology made by Geo and the act of sacking entire team of the programme was a good omen. They proposed that a special committee, comprising senior journalists, should be formed to play a role in the backdrop of the prevailing circumstances.

The News

Approaching the third anniversary of the murder of Saleem Shahzad, a Pakistani journalist killed as he investigated the murky relationship between the ISI and Al-Qaeda, little progress has been made with the investigation.

In many ways, Shahzad’s case signifies the challenge in Pakistan: brave journalists who face threats from non-state and state actors, and a system that is unable to provide them with the protection urgently required.

“Pakistani journalists are facing a conglomeration of threats and threats from so many different sides,” said Bob Dietz, coordinator of the Asia Program at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists throughout the world.

At least 34 Pakistani journalists have been killed as a direct result of their work since 2008, when democracy was restored in the country, according to a recent report by Amnesty International titled “A Bullet Has Been Chosen for You.”

While journalists around the world usually face threats from a specific source, such increasingly authoritarian governments in Turkey and Egypt, journalists in Pakistan must overcome threats from both state and non-state actors.

One non-state threat facing Pakistani journalists throughout the country is militant organizations, including the Tehreek-i-Taliban.

“The Taliban have made their intention very clear, they want to dictate terms to the media at the point of a gun,” said Khurram Husain, a business and economy journalist in Pakistan who writes a column in Dawn, one of Pakistan’s leading English language newspapers.

Threats by militant organizations became an unfortunate reality for Raza Rumi, a columnist and TV anchor for Express News, when gunmen sprayed his car with bullets as he left work on the night of March 28 in Lahore.

While Rumi survived and has since fled to the United States for his own safety, he said his coverage of Shia and Ahmadis might have led to the attack, following the arrest of six people who are believed to be associated with the sectarian militant organization, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).

The threat from militant groups has become so serious that it was brought up with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during a recent trip by CPJ to the country, according to Kati Marton, the organization’s board member and former chair.

She said the committee had reminded the prime minister that if peace talks with the Taliban continued, the issue of protection of journalists must be brought up.

“The issue will be taken up with the Taliban,” the prime minister told the CPJ delegation.

Non-state threats are not exclusively from militant organizations such as the LEJ and TTP, but also come from separatist in Balochistan as well, according to Dietz.

Since 2002, 79 journalists have been reported killed in Pakistan, a significant number of them at the hands of non-state actors, according to data provided by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), an independent non-governmental organization committed to promoting and defending freedom of expression.

However, another threat is posed by the state, and in particular the military.

“There is not a generalized fear, like there is with the Taliban, that you will be targeted if you talk about the army, but journalists in the past who have examined very closely the militant nexus with the armed forces have been targeted,” said Husain.

Reporting on the military in Pakistan is considered to be a “red line” and in order to remain safe, important issues are sometimes ignored by the media, according to Rumi.

While no one has been convicted for the abduction and murder of Saleem Shahzad, who had published a report on the relationship between the military and Al-Qaeda, the role of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has once again come up in the Amnesty International report.

The report said that the ISI had a “tendency to send veiled threats against those who displeased them” such as journalists receiving anonymous calls and threats, or otherwise being intimidated.

Historically, the military establishment has not targeted high-profile journalists, but rather more vulnerable and small-town reporters, according to Michael Kugelman, senior program associate for South and Southeast Asia at the Woodrow Wilson Center.

Data collected by PPF and mapped show that most of the attacks on journalists have been outside the larger cities.

A Check on the Military

The media has acted as a check on the military, still the most powerful institution in the country, and has exposed its weaknesses, “making it seem less invincible,” Kugelman said.

Blaming the military and the ISI so openly would not have been possible in the late 1990s and early part of this century, when most of the news was disseminated through the state funded Pakistan Television (PTV), he added.

In many ways, press freedom and journalism in the country is paradox between a “quest for freedom of expression” and threats from “elements within the state and non-state actors,” according to Rumi.

“The media itself is emblematic of the democratization process in Pakistan in the sense that you’ve had a huge proliferation of private television channels over the last two years, they’re private and not controlled by the state, and they tend to be quite critical of the state,” Kugelman said.

The 2008 elections saw a return of democracy in the country and 2013 marked the first time a democratically elected government passed power to another democratically elected government, a process in which the media played a critical role.

“People, like Raza [Rumi], who risk their lives on an almost daily basis to cover events in Pakistan are what stand between a purely authoritarian government and an aspiring democracy,” said Marton.

Another silver lining from an otherwise ugly incident could be the lessons learned from the coverage of the attack on April 19 on Hamid Mir, a news anchor who hosts the popular political talk show Capital Talk on Geo TV.

Within hours of the attack on Mir, Geo TV, owned by the Jang group, flashed pictures of the Director General of ISI Lt. Gen. Zaheerul Islam accusing the ISI of the attack, without verifying the claims.

Soon after, the defense ministry filed a complaint with the nation’s media regulator, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA).

“The telecast in question/campaign was aimed at undermining the integrity and tarnishing the image of state institutions and its officers and falsely linking it with the terrorist outfits/activities,” read the complaint.

While condemned by press freedom groups, the incident has brought the issue of sensationalist reporting to the front, and could create a standard for reporting news in a country where no code of ethics exists, said Saim Saeed, a sub-editor at The Express Tribune, an English language newspaper.

“Wouldn’t it be great if something emerged from this? Let’s go slower on this [making accusation], let’s have rules and regulation,” said Dietz.

“Take this period, it will be over soon, and use it as a learning lesson,” he said.

A recent letter of joint solidarity, signed by more than 70 high-level journalists, called on media owners to create a code of ethics that incorporate best practices on ethical journalism, reducing the risks that journalists face, according to Owais Aslam Ali, chairman of the Pakistan Press Foundation and one of the signatories.

Despite all these problems and the growing risks facing journalists in the country, Saeed is optimistic about the future of journalism in the country that is still in its infancy.

Saeed added that the power of news in Pakistan, a country where politics directly affects almost every citizen, gives journalists the ability to shape the public debate. For that reason, young people are still attracted to the profession, despite the risks.

To ensure that journalism and press freedom in the country develops, there is a need for “a public response, international response, and political pressure from within,” Dietz said.

The sentiment amongst some journalists and analysts is that pressure from the international community, in particular, may be the most effective tool.

“The prime minister understands that Pakistan’s global image has suffered because of the impunity [with which journalists are killed],” said Marton from CPJ.

What this means for everyday journalists, Marton added, is a more responsible media ownership culture, which might include training journalists and providing them with measures such as life insurance policies, a norm for reporters working in dangerous countries

What may ultimately decide the future of journalism in Pakistan however, is how the attacks and threats are handled, said Joel Simon, executive director for the Committee to Protect Journalists.

“The questions is, can Nawaz Sharif do anything about this [the threats]?” he said.

Idrees Ali is the Washington D.C. Correspondent for Pakistan Press International. Follow him on Twitter at @idreesali114.

The Diplomat

In a recent report titled “A bullet has been chosen for you – attacks on journalists in Pakistan” the Amnesty said that members of Pakistan’s spy outfits, the MQM, the PPP and Taleban affiliated sectarian outfits were involved in the widespread torture and harassment of journalists in Pakistan.

MQM leaders Dr Farooq Sattar, Mustafa Azizabadi, Babar Ghauri, Saleem Danish and several others led the protest outside the Amnesty International’s London headquarters. MQM workers carried placards saying: “why Amnesty International is silent on MQM’s missing persons”, “Amnesty stop negative propaganda against MQM”, “Amnesty International – substandard reporting is damaging its reputation”.

The MQM leader said that they had gathered outside the Amnesty headquarters to peacefully demonstrate their anger and frustration on the publication of Amnesty’s report about threats to journalists in Pakistan. They said that the allegations against the MQM that it was involved in harassment, torture and killings of journalists was “highly objectionable and baseless”. They said that the contents of the report showed that the credibility of the Amnesty has been brought under serious question in the eyes of the people of Pakistan, “particularly people of urban areas of Sindh province”.

The speakers said that the MQM is “opposed to all forms of exploitation” and is “committed to eradicating the medieval feudal system and hereditary politics in Pakistan which have bled the country since its inception”. They speaker said the MQM had nothing to do with the killing of Geo reporter Wali Khan Babar and his murder was being used by the opponents of the party to malign it.

A petition presented to Amnesty International’s secretary general Shalil Shetty said: “The reference made to para 31 of the judgment in the Karachi Law and Order case for the point that the Supreme Court of Pakistan has linked the killings of 92 policemen with MQM. This amounts to misleading the world, as neither in the said para 31 nor anywhere in the judgment it has been observed that the killing of the said 92 policemen was linked to MQM. The reference made to the judgment of the Anti-Terrorism Court, Kashmore and Kandkot dated 1st March 2014. It has been claimed in the subject report, with reference to the said judgment, that the six accused were found to be target killers associated with the MQM. This is totally false as there is no such portion in the said judgment.”

The MQM strongly denied that it is linked to issuing threats to journalists from the print and electronic media, including Geo’s “Aapis ki Baat” host Najam Sethi. Speaking to Geo News, the MQM leaders demanded that the Amnesty should amend its report and also include the killing and enforced disappearances of hundreds of its workers from Karachi. It said that hundreds of MQM workers remained missing but not a word has been said about them by the Amnesty. They said that the Amnesty contacted the MQM in London for its version only after having completed the report. They said that the report was allegedly written with help from those in the media who are known for putting the MQM on trial all the time.

The MQM petition called on the Amnesty to form a “fact finding committee to visit Pakistan, particularly Karachi, to meet the victims and their relatives to witness firsthand the tale of atrocities committed against the MQM workers and their family members” and that the MQM should take “appropriate actions” to rescue and repair the damage caused to the reputation of the MQM and its leadership as a result of publication and distribution of the said report”.

The News

Addressing a gathering of woman journalists and anchors here at the Lahore Press Club, the PFUJ board members announced the declaration, written after two days of APWJC sessions at a local hotel and parallel PFUJ sessions at the press club.

The declaration, on behalf of the PFUJ and participating journalists, condemns the attacks on media persons and cameramen in Pakistan. It calls for special security measures to protect journalists reporting in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), Balochistan and Karachi. It also condemns infighting between media outlets and notes the killing of 134 journalists in Pakistan since 1992. The declaration demands of media outlets to ensure that economic rights of employees, including decent wages and insurance cover, are respected, compensation to employees including cameramen and reporters in case of injuries is paid, insurance of cameras belonging to Pakistani cameramen is guaranteed. Other demands include complete freedom of speech for all Pakistani journalists, withdrawal of criminal charges levelled against Baloch journalists, implementation of the 8th Wage Board Award for newspaper workers, trade unions in media outlets, endowment fund for all Pakistani journalists and media workers, and investigation into the verbal and written death threats facing Pakistani journalists.

Another session titled ‘Women Journalists’ Role in Trade Unions and Press Clubs’ was held with PFUJ President Afzal Butt in the chair, under the auspices of the APWJC. A large number of journalists participated in the session.

Afzal Butt told the gathering that he would move a constitutional amendment in the National Press Club, Islamabad, to reserve four senior seats in the press council for woman journalists. These include the post of vice-president, assistant secretary general, and two positions in the governing body.

Butt said the country was passing through a critical phase currently. He said the journalist bodies were making all-out efforts for winning rights for the print and electronic media workers and getting their jobs regularised. He said he was really happy to see such a large number of woman journalists at the convention. He promised that today’s demands would be made part of the PFUJ charter.

Afzal Butt suggested forming harassment committees in all media organisations, offices and press clubs. He said separate committees would be set up in offices and CBA. After consultation with press club governing bodies, committees would be formed and more women would be given representation in those committees.

He mentioned the incident of a female anchor whose salary was reduced by a television channel when she availed leave after the death of her husband. He condemned this kind of inconsiderate attitude of the male bosses in the media outlets.

Afzal Butt said that despite a severe shortage of funds, the convention was organised successfully and at least Rs 60-70 lakh were spent on the event. He praised the LPC for hosting such a historic event.

The PFUJ president also praised Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) senior member Hussain Naqi for contributing towards the fight for press freedom in the country. Lahore Press Club President Arshad Ansari said it was heartening to note that the first woman journalists’ convention was being held in Lahore. He said such a large number of journalists had never gathered at one place in the history of Pakistan. He termed Saturday’s rally historic. He said the rally footage in TV bulletins showed participation of such a large number of journalists as if a big political party had been holding a rally. He said the journalists bodies were not fighting for any particular media organisation but for the rights of all journalists and media workers. He said that clean and good journalism was directly linked to the economic prosperity of journalists.

Arshad Ansari said that during 2012, the largest number of woman journalists were given LPC membership, which was a historic event.

The woman journalists congratulated the PFUJ for addressing the concerns of women in the media and hosting the first convention for them. The PFUJ former vice president and board member, Fauzia Rana, expressed her hope for an effective implementation of the recommendations regarding working woman journalists in Pakistan. Shazia Mansoor, a female anchorperson who was barred from attending the convention by her bureau chief, attended Sunday’s session and said all woman journalists must assert themselves both within and outside their offices.

Friedrich Naumann Foundation representative Dr Almut Besold said the world was aware of the problems facing Pakistan currently. She said Pakistani journalists’ sacrifices for freedom of press were commendable.

LPC Joint Secretary Farzana Chaudhry said on the occasion women journalists should gather courage and raise their voice for their rights. She said women’s representation in press clubs and journalist bodies was a welcome sign. However, women should not be restricted to only reserved seats and they should be encouraged to contest on open seats. Farzana said woman journalists should also contest for press club president and secretary seats and they should be provided better opportunities in this regard.

Prominent personalities attending Sunday’s session included PFUJ General Secretary Khurshid Abbasi, LPC General Secretary Shahbaz Mian, Karachi Press Club President Imtiaz Ahmed Faraan, All Pakistan Newspaper Employees Confederation (APNEC) Chairman Shafi Uddin Ashraf, senior journalists Nasira Zubairi, Farida Hafeez and Muhammad Saleem Chaudhry, Balochistan Union of Journalists President Irfan Saeed, and Punjab Union of Journalists President Waseem Farooq. Visiting female journalist delegations departed for their cities after the conference programme concluded.

Later, prominent journalists were given awards for their services. Senior journalist Hussain Naqi distributed shields among media persons.

The News

ISLAMABAD: The attempted assassination of one of Pakistan’s best-known journalists demands purposeful action at all levels of government, law, police and community – and revived Commonwealth and international action, said Commonwealth Journalists Association (CJA) in a statement released Thursday.

It said: “It’s time for all authority to say “Stop. We’re sick of this. And we won’t take it any more.”This weekend Geo TV anchor Hamid Mir was shot and seriously injured when his car was ambushed in Karachi. That alone deserves decisive action.

Hospital doctors said major surgery has made his condition stable. That, at least is one blessing. But Mir is just the latest in a wave of attacks against the profession – in Pakistan and far beyond.

Pakistani journalists have paraded in protest, but sincere as their passions are, it’s not enough. A special judicial commission is being assembled to bring the attackers to justice – and finally, it is hoped, to address the impunity associated with these repeated brutal, fear-building, society-wrecking crimes.

The impunity enjoyed by the criminals and killers is a Commonwealth-wide issue, varying only in degree of horror and disgrace. There should be attention to that in every country where this news is heard.

In the United States, the Committee to Protect Journalists expressed its alarm at the pattern of brutality directed at those in the media. In Britain and Canada the Commonwealth Journalists Associations have echoed their horror. But civic voices are not enough. It’s time for hard meaningful action to stop this festering of civilization. It needs top down treatment.

The brutal, threatening and too often deadly treatment of journalists, compounded by intemperate religious rifts, is intensifying with devastating dangers to democracy and more specifically, to innocent citizens. It is time to stop it.

Many Commonwealth journalists – too many of our own in nations claiming to be democracies – are forced to do their vital work in savage circumstances. Disappearances, assassinations, crippling injuries, arbitrary arrests, anonymous thuggery and indefinite imprisonment occur too often without rebuff.

Subtler media silencers focus on “action” against journalists’ family members, or applied destitution. In any of its many forms this must be challenged with vigour by enlightened politicians in government, their civil servants, police systems and legal communities. All must be held accountable, be they perpetrators, promoters or excusers turning a blind eye.

Failure to address this grievous shortcoming of civilization demands exposure, censure and punishment of individual perpetrators and those empowering them in government. Continued perpetuation by venal elements at higher levels in Commonwealth governments should draw censure from the Commonwealth Secretariat and invite serious consequences. After fair examination, corrective action should range through severance of aid at corporate and/or national levels, suspension of Commonwealth membership or, in extremis, national expulsion, in the absence of verifiable remedy. The world should be ashamed in the face of this injustice and impunity.

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The report highlighted that despite six people being convicted in the case, justice is far from complete as two convicts are still at large and mastermind of the killing is yet to be identified. The report also mentions that during the trial, five more people linked to the case were also murdered including witnesses, informants, and investigators.

The conviction seems to have had scant impact on those who are targeting the media in Pakistan. Three staffers of Express Media group were killed in January, while analyst and anchor of Express News show “Khabar Se Agay” Raza Rumi, came under a gun attack in Lahore on March 28, 2014, in which his driver, Mustafa, was killed and his guard injured.

Separately, Express News bureau chief in Peshawar Jamshed Baghwan was targeted twice within the span of one month. First a bomb was found outside his house on March 21, while on April 7 a hand grenade was hurled at his residence in Peshawar. Perpetrators in all the attacks are yet to be apprehended.

The rate of unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants in Pakistan has improved from 0.130 unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants previous year to 0.123 this year.

Impunity high in conflict region

With 100 journalists murdered in the last decade and 100 per cent impunity, Iraq remains the worst offender on the Impunity Index, a spot it has held since 2008. The two year silence in fatal anti-press violence was broke with the nine new murders in late 2013. The rate of unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants has increased from 2.818 to 3.067.

Somalia and Philippines have also retained their spots on the Impunity Index, second and third slots respectively. Somalia’s rating worsened for the sixth year in a row. Although the anti-press violence has moved slightly down from its record high in 2012, with four new murders in 2013, journalists continue to be targeted.

Battle hit Syria has joined the ranks of Iraq and Somalia for the first time this year. Syria has been dubbed as the most dangerous country for the journalists with more than 60 media persons been killed in the cross fire and unprecedented number of abductions. Now deliberate murders of journalists have made it a worst, at least seven journalists have been targeted in Syria since 2012, with all complete impunity. The perpetrators come from all sides—non-Syrian militant groups, rebels targeting pro-government media, and President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. Syria is placed fifth on the impunity index at the rate of 0.313 unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants.

CPJ’s 2014 Global Impunity Index

Express Tribune

Anders who killed 77 people in July 2011 through bombing in Oslo and firing at an island, planned of attacking annual gathering of journalists hosted by SKUP, a volunteer group promoting investigative journalism in Norway that holds its conference each spring drawing over 500 participants.

Pro-immigrants political parties and 99 percent journalists, he believes, are responsible for bringing Muslims in Europe and allowing them commit excess with Europeans through crimes like rape and murder.

Although he is behind bars serving life imprisonment for mass murder in a country where death penalty has been abolished, his plans continue to perturb the intelligentsia. As the efforts are in progress to discourage hate speech, mere a thought of the likes of Anders shivers as the fringe right can jeopardise the liberal values with multi-culturalism that is integral part of their society allowing people of different nationalities and religions to migrate and settle in Europe.

While a 29-page ‘fatwa’ (edict) by Pakistani Taliban had accused journalists of siding with ‘disbelievers’ against Muslims, Anders’s 1500-page manifesto “2083: A European Declaration of Independence” declares Western journalists as ‘category B traitors’ and holds them responsible for “Islamic colonisation” of Europe.

Anders’ manifesto portrays European journalists as part of problem saying that 99 per cent of them support multiculturalism and are “therefore supporters of the ongoing Islamic colonisation of Europe”, also declaring them as part of a “Western European cultural Marxist/multi-culturalist intellectual elite”.

A section of the manifesto headed “Category A, B and C traitors’ concentrations”, says that annual gatherings of journalists are “considered the most attractive targets for large scale shock attacks due to the amount and quality of category B traitors”.

Although Anders is in jail now in crime of mass murder, his plan of attacking the gathering of journalists is still resonated with the media persons. As SKUP’s 2014 conference progresses in this oldest city of Norway (Tonsberg), also being attended by journalists from other countries, the police have tightened invisible security to address the security concerns.

Referring SKUP conference as an example for attack, Anders writes that “the most notable journalists/editors from all the nations media/news companies attend” the conference, and says its “light or non-existent security” make it a “perfect target”.

The manifesto, which is frequently critical of journalists, is also critical of literary conferences and festivals, claiming that they are populated by writers, journalists and editors that support multiculturalism.

In its section entitled “Dealing with journalists”, he writes that they should be approached with “extreme prejudice” and considered as “multi-culturalist political warriors and overwhelmingly left wing political activists”.

Bracketing journalists with pro-immigrant politicians, Anders blames them for the atrocities committed on Europeans by immigrant Muslims. “It is not the free peoples of Europe but the cultural Marxists/multi-culturalist category A, B, C traitors alone who have invited and allowed Muslims to stay in Europe and have therefore indirectly as primary enabler” of the crimes like rape and murders etc of the Europeans in the hands of Muslims.

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