Search
Close this search box.

Freedom of Expression

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

Efforts afoot to get journalists safety bill approved

By: Noor Aftab ISLAMABAD: The representatives of mainstream political parties on Thursday vowed that draft of the bill would be prepared and get passed in the Parliament to provide complete security and protection to the journalists and their family members. Addressing the meeting of executive council of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) held at National Press Club, they said

Blasphemy sentence against TV channel will have chilling effect

The prison sentence for blasphemy handed down by a court in Pakistan against four people, including the owner of a major private TV channel and one of its star actresses, will have a chilling effect on freedom of expression and the media, Amnesty International said. The organization also noted serious concerns about the fairness of the trial. An anti-terrorism court

An Insider Account of Pakistani Censorship

Imran Khan, Tahir ul Qadri, and the ISI [Inter-Services Intelligence] are our best friends,” our weekly editorial meeting at Pakistan’s Express Tribune was (jokingly) told on Aug. 13, 2014, a day before the two political leaders began their separate long marches from Lahore to Islamabad, and plunged the country into crisis. “We know it’s not easy, but that’s the way

Pakistani schools network observes anti-Malala day

ISLAMABAD: An association of Pakistani schools held an “I am not Malala” day on Monday, condemning young Nobel peace laureate Malala Yousafzai for what it called her support for controversial novelist Salman Rushdie. Education campaigner Malala was shot in the head by the Taliban in October 2012 but recovered and went on to win this year’s Nobel peace prize. The

Breaking the Cycle of Impunity in the Killing of Journalists

The lack of justice in hundreds of murders of journalists around the world is one of the greatest threats to press freedom today. While international attention to the issue has grown over the past decade, there has been little progress in bringing down rates of impunity. States will have to demonstrate far more political will to implement international commitments to

Call for arrest of killers of media workers

QUETTA: Speakers at a condolence reference here on Sunday paid homage to two journalists and an accountant of a news agency murdered in an attack on their office and said journalists working in Balochistan would never surrender to violence. The reference was held by the Quetta Press Club for Online news agency’s bureau chief Irshad Mastoi, reporter Abdul Rasool and

Govt standing with the media, freedom of expression: Pervaiz

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Senator Pervaiz Rashid on Wednesday expressed solidarity with journalists injured during the coverage of the Azadi and Inqilab marches, saying that the government was standing with journalists, media workers and the freedom of expression. Talking to a private TV channel, he apologised over the act of the police torturing a private

Journalists make human-chain to mourn killings of colleagues

QUETTA: Journalists made a human-chain outside Balochistan High Court and Balochistan Assembly to mourn the killing of their colleagues on Monday evening. 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