A delegation led by PFUJ former president Pervaiz Shaukat handed over an open letter from the IFJ and the South Asia Media Solidarity Network (SAMSN) to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat and the United Nations in Pakistan on Sunday, November 2 – the inaugural International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists. The IFJ and SAMSN as well as a list of international activists and organisations, wrote to Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, calling on him to recognise November 2 as a National Day Against Impunity in Pakistan and to make concerted efforts to bring to an end to the country’s entrenched culture of impunity for journalist killings.

The PFUJ and its affiliates across Pakistan also held rallies, awareness lectures, and candle vigils in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta, Hyderabad, DG Khan, Bahawalpur, Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Gujrat and Abbottabad.

The PFUJ also marked November 3 as a day to condemn the illegitimate act of imposing emergency rule under former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf and reiterated its pledge to defend the independence of media and democracy in future.

Over the past decade, Pakistan has consistently been ranked one of the most dangerous places on the planet to practice journalism. The targeting of journalists, including verbal and written threats, physical attacks, kidnappings and killings have been alarmingly high in Pakistan. The United Nations has listed Pakistan as a country needing special attention and supportive action to combat impunity against journalists, when it was included among the five pilot countries for implementation of its ‘UN Action Plan on Attacks on Journalists and Issues of Impunity.

See the IFJ’s infographic on Pakistan here.

The PFUJ said: “We will keep on raising voice against the crimes and unjust done with the journalists and put pressure on the government to end impunity against the journalists of the country and make efforts to provide a safe atmosphere to work and enjoy freedom of expression in the country.”

This year, 13 journalists and media workers have been killed in Pakistan and many more threatened, intimidated and attacked. Nearly 60 journalists have been killed in the last six years and more than 100 since 2000.

The IFJ Asia Pacific acting director Jane Worthington said: “Pakistan is the most dangerous country in the world right now for journalists and the situation has undoubtedly worsened due to high level of impunity for crimes against media workers. Pakistan must respond to global calls and make immediate efforts to bring an end to the culture of impunity that leaves so many media workers exposed and in doing so threatens the future integrity of a free and independent media.”

International Federation of Journalists

Pakistan was one of the many countries that adopted the United Nations Convention on Torture in 1984. And Amnesty International (AI) has accused those very governments around the world, including Pakistan, of betraying their commitments to stamp out torture made when they adopted the convention three decades ago.

As part of its two-year Stop Torture campaign launched earlier this week, it also released a media briefing, Torture in 2014: 30 Years of Broken Promises, which provides an overview of the use of torture in the world today. Pakistan’s law enforcers and spy agencies are featured in the report.

“In Pakistan, we have documented widespread use of torture by the police and other security forces in many different contexts and regions. Security laws enable state security forces to commit human rights violations like torture with impunity beyond the reach of the law. From Karachi to Balochistan, thousands of men and boys have been arbitrarily detained,” said AI’s Pakistan researcher Mustafa Qadri.

“Many victims and their relatives allege they have been subjected to torture, are held in secret places of detention. Some are never seen alive again and are later recovered dead with their bodies bearing marks of torture. Investigations into such cases are extremely rare and ineffective even when they do take place.”

However, a sad reality is that torture is more or less accepted in Pakistan as a legitimate – and needed – means of interrogation.

In Amnesty International’s “Stop Torture Global Survey: Attitudes to Torture”, 56% of those surveyed think torture is sometimes necessary and acceptable to gain information that may protect the public. This number was one of the highest in Asia, but it was lower in comparison to the survey of a similar sample in China and India, respectively.

Akmal Wasim, the head of litigation and research at the Karachi Legal Aid Office, believes that there is acceptance of torture because there is a misconception prevalent among the people. “People confuse torture with violence. Torture is something that definitely or temporarily for a long period destroys the personality and alters the character of the victim,” he told The Express Tribune. “Unless the grey areas around torture are cleared up, people, legislators and judges cannot understand the horrendous consequences of torture.”

There is a need to bring in the definition of torture in the penal code or the General Clauses Act, 1897, Wasim argued. “We should import the entire text of Article 1 of the Convention on Torture into the prohibition. Only then we can move towards legislation and other ways to stamp out torture.”

However, he does not see a law on torture anytime soon. “The Ministry of Human Rights has prepared its own law on torture, but we have reservations against it.”

Express Tribune

This he said while answering to various questions asked by Ifex in connection with its International Day to End Impunity campaign. Two other A. Rehman, Secretary General of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and Shahzad Ahmad, the Country Director of Bytes for All Pakistan also shared thoughts and experiences regarding impunity in Pakistan.

Owais Aslam Ali said that according to figures, 55 journalists have been killed in Pakistan in the last ten years, and 36 of them were deliberately targeted and murdered because of their work. For every journalist who has been deliberately targeted and murdered, there are many others who have been injured, threatened and coerced into silence. He added that many journalists have been forced to migrate from danger zones due to alarming increase in violence and threats, moreover intimidation has forced others to self-censor, particularly in the conflict areas. Security issues remain the biggest threat for journalists in Pakistan.

Replying to a question about women reporters facing different types of risks, Owais Aslam said that reporting remained almost exclusively a male domain especially in rural and conflict areas. However,
situation in the newly emerging television sector is slightly better, as women reporters are accompanied by a team including cameramen and producers, which provides more security. Still the public sexual harassment or molestation of women by men is endemic in Pakistani society, and no steps have been taken by the media employers, unions or press clubs, except mere lip service, to encourage women to enter the field of reporting in substantial numbers.

Owais Aslam said that in March 2013, PPF played its due role at the International Conference on Safety and Security of Pakistani Journalists: Promoting Collaborative Approaches to Combat Impunity, which resulted in the formation of the Pakistan Coalition on Media Safety (PCOMS). PCOMS supports the UN Action Plan Against Impunity as well as its focus on Pakistan as one of the pilot countries, and aims to help, support and reinforce its implementation. PPF also agreed to host the Secretariat of PCOMS.

A. Rehman said that impunity poses one of the most serious challenges to the rule of law in Pakistan and to citizens’ basic rights. Officials almost always get away with extra-judicial killings. Enforced disappearances are a major issue in Pakistan, and no state functionary has been prosecuted. He said that HR defenders face serious challenges in Pakistan and three activists working for the HRCP have been killed. Two have had to be relocated.

Shahzad Ahmad said that many state authorities as well as non-state actors in Pakistan enjoy impunity, and nearly all of them are opposed to the ideals of freedom of expression, whereas vague laws, court jurisdiction issues and weakening writ of the government in several conflict areas contribute to their impunity. Expression in digital spaces is curtailed by the authorities, using excuses like national security, morality and religious harmony.

Owais Aslam said that registration, investigation and prosecution of criminal cases against the perpetrators of violence against media; establishment of an independent commission for monitoring of cases of violence and intimidation; imparting training to journalists especially those in rural areas; development of “operating procedures” by media organizations and sensitization of the owners and editors to the realities and threats being faced by journalists would help ending the culture of impunity in Pakistan.

These experts were of the opinion that ending impunity in Pakistan is a big challenge and UN Plan of Action can prove effective only if the government is forced to abide by it. Sensitization of all stakeholders including the government, law enforcement agencies, media organizations, civil society organizations etc is necessary to end the culture of impunity.

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INTERNATIONAL DAY TO END IMPUNITY