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Raza Rumi

Media in the crosshairs

By: Kamila Hyat Media in the crosshairsThe media remained the target of attack through 2014, caught in the crosshairs of guns wielded by militants, political and criminal elements and even professional rivals throughout 2014. The country was declared the world’s most dangerous place for journalists by the International Federation of Journalists, ahead of war-torn Syria. Fourteen journalists were killed during

The rivalries must go one – Pakistan media bitterly divided

The rivalries must go one – Pakistan media bitterly divided2014 has been one of the most difficult years for the Pakistani media. Due to the alarming, yet familiar, threats from militant groups, law enforcement agencies, and political parties, the Pakistani media remained bitterly divided. The

Beware of Watchdog: Transparency International — I

The amazement started around the fall of 2010. The venue was Bangkok. The event was the International Anti-Corruption Conference, the annual Woodstock of whistleblowers and due diligence die-hards. I was there because I had been nominated as a Young Journalist Fellow for Transparency International, the IACC’s host and the world’s most respected and powerful transparency watchdog. Or so they said.

Pakistan’s complicated media freedom threats

In March 2014, Pakistani columnist Raza Rumi was injured in a gun attack that killed his driver. Weeks later, Hamid Mir, star journalist of Geo TV, Pakistan’s biggest TV station, was shot six times. Luckily, both survived, and managed to avoid becoming part of a bleak statistic. Since 1992, 30 journalists have been murdered in Pakistan; 28 with impunity. Against

Journalist’s home bombed in Pakistan

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) in strongly condemning the bomb attack on the home of a journalist in Peshawar, Pakistan on July 2, 2014 – the third attack on the journalist’s home this year. This week’s incident saw unidentified attackers placed a bomb in the home of Jamshed Baghwan,

Pakistani TV journalist suffers third bomb attack in four months

A Pakistani journalist escaped unhurt when a bomb exploded outside their home in Peshawar on Wednesday (2 July). It was the third attack on Jamshed Baghwan, the bureau chief of Express News, in four months. He saw men who arrived on a motorcycle planting the bomb, enabling him and his wife enough time to take cover before the bomb went

NA body to take up threats to media persons

ISLAMABAD: A National Assembly committee gets a detailed briefing next Wednesday on investigations into all attacks and killing of media persons over the past three years. The one-point agenda of the sub-committee of the Standing Committee on Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage is: detailed briefing on the investigation of all attacks/martyred/killing on media persons since 2011 to date from each

Altaf expresses concern over threats against journalists

LONDON: Founder of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Altaf Hussain has expressed concern over threats made against journalists. He has demanded that the government should take a serious notice of the threats and provide protection to senior journalists and anchor-persons. In a statement issued from London, Hussain said, “It is on the record that the banned outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban has prepared

Freedom of expression

The murderous attack on Raza Rumi in Lahore in which his driver died was claimed by militant extremists, as was the subsequent threat to veteran media personality Imtiaz Alam. While the motive and responsibility for the dastardly assault on Hamid Mir in Karachi is still a matter of speculation, the threat to the freedom of expression in Pakistan is nothing