In a special report, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) describes how journalists in this country are pulled back by an undertow of violence and pressures from multiple sources. Since 2000, as many as 57 media persons have been killed in retaliation for their work. Although following the counter-terrorism operations, overall violence and murder of journalists have gone down, the threat of violence remains. Consequently, the climate for press freedom has been deteriorating. The report further notes that Pakistan Protection Ordinance, a counter-terrorism law, which allows people to be detained for 90 days without being charged, could also be used to punish critical reporting. No wonder the journalists interviewed by CPJ “painted a picture of a media under siege”.

Restrictions on media freedom are not something new. In the past, they came in the naked form of press advice and the notorious Press and Publications Ordinance. But now newer more subtle and dangerous ways are used to control the media. Papers that insist on taking a dissenting line are punished through interference in the sale and distribution network and the uncompromising TV channels by forcing cable operators to disrupt their placement order or at times put them off air. And as a respected veteran journalist, I. A. Rehman, pointed at the unveiling of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s report on “Curbs on Freedom of Expression in Pakistan”, ‘advice’ now is given even during live TV programmes. There is fear in the environment due to which, he aptly averred, not only people will stop speaking but they will also stop thinking. In fact as the CPJ report found, journalists and editors across the country had resorted to self-censorship due to a widespread sense of intimidation. Enforced self-censorship, needless to say, stifles dissent, an essential ingredient of a democratic order, and also prevents the people from getting a proper picture of issues confronting the country and affecting their lives.

In a much welcome step, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry recently announced lifting of censorship from the state-owned PTV. The government must also pay attention to the issues the CPJ report has raised. The atmosphere of fear and intimidation must be brought to an end. In that the media organisations, like the CPNE, APNS, PFUJ and PBA also need to play a proactive role. Unfortunately, they seem to be in disarray. Things are unlikely to change for the better unless and until these media bodies joined hands to defend freedom of expression with one voice.

Business Recorder

At a seminar organised by the Pakistan Coalition on Media Safety here on Saturday Adnan Rehmat and Iqbal Khattak, representatives of the advocacy group, said a study had revealed that of the 622 journalists killed across the world between 2002 and 2014, as many as 110 belonged to Pakistan. Even then no effort was made to enact a law to deal with the matter.

They said the government had no mechanism to help it implement the UN Action Plan for Safety of Journalists.

They said media organisations had not adopted adequate security strategies, protocols and procedures to reduce the risks to which journalists were exposed.

They advised journalists to motivate legislators, political parties and parliamentary committees to introduce laws on safety of journalists.

Balochistan Minister for Information Abdul Raheem Ziaratwal said militant groups and criminal mafias which came into existence because of the Afghan war were involved in targeted killing of journalists.

Tahir Hussain of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said FIRs were registered under anti-terrorism laws against some Quetta journalists during the tenure of the previous provincial government and alleged that the present government was reluctant to withdraw the cases.

The senior vice-president of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, Saleem Shahid, said a majority of journalists killed in the country belonged to Baloch­istan but their employers did not even bother to pay compensation to their families.

DAWN

Till a few years ago, no one in the Pakistani media could believe that a journalist’s handcuffed and tortured body would be found one day. But Fata journalist Hayatullah Khan’s body was found in just that condition in 2005, almost five months after his disappearance.

The families of journalists have also come under attack. Hayatullah’s wife was not only attacked – after she identified the alleged kidnappers of her husband in her testimony before a judicial commission – but killed. What followed was a string of killings of journalists in Fata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Once it would have been hard to believe that a journalist would be picked up from Islamabad, our most protected city, and his body would be found in a Punjab town. But that happened to Saleem Shahzad, who was under threat for his bold writing and sensitive disclosures.

Once it was impossible for anyone to believe that a journalist would be found dead just 30 minutes after giving a live beeper on TV.

But this too happened with Musa Khankhel, a correspondent for Geo News in Swat, who was killed soon after he reported on the procession of Sufi Mohammad, the head of the Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi.

Another journalist, Mohammad Ibrahim, was shot dead along with his camera man after interviewing the head of an outlawed group in Fata.

Once it would have been unthinkable that a columnist would be killed simply because of a misleading headline. But Dr Chishty Mujahid was. A group claimed responsibility, signalling the beginning of dangerous times ahead for journalists in Balochistan, once the safest province for journalists.

Dozens of journalists have been killed there since then. The latest case was of the kidnapping and murder of Abdul Razzaq Baloch. His family was not able to get justice despite a petition filed in March after his disappearance.

In Karachi, journalists are threatened and killed by ethnic and political groups. Wali Khan Babar’s case still haunts journalists in Karachi. In that case, all the witnesses – including investigating officers – were killed.

What is common in all these cases is the state’s failure to protect journalists. Many journalists have migrated from Fata and Balochistan to safe houses in other cities.

Journalists in Fata find it most difficult to report on the ongoing conflict and anything relating to the Taliban or army operations.

With the massive rise in the number of militant groups – whether ethnic, sectarian, jihadi, political or with underworld connections, as well as state intelligence agencies – a journalist’s work has become more and more hazardous in Pakistan.

The failure of the state to provide safety and the failure of media houses to provide training have led to huge risks and Pakistan has come to be ranked among the three most dangerous countries in the world for journalists.

Pakistani journalists and the media must keep in mind that more difficult days may lie ahead.

No training or protection can give you 100 percent guarantee of safety, but proper training can certainly give reporters the strength to cover a story with courage if they get insurance cover and appropriate equipment to protect themselves.

The writer is a senior journalist. Email: abbas.mazhar@gmail.com

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