Media safety – Page 50 – Pakistan Freedom of Expression Monitor

May 4, 2017

Facebook blocking blasphemous, anti-state content

1,864 pieces of content blocked so far on request
of Pakistan govt since 2013

WASHINGTON: Facebook, which has about 28 million users in the country, has admitted that it is carefully reviewing its content in Pakistan and cooperating with the government in blocking blasphemous and anti-state content.

A spokesman for the social media giant told The News in a written reply that the company is in regular contact with the government and helping to enforce the local law on blasphemy.According to official Facebook data, the company has so far blocked 1,864 pieces of content for blasphemy and local law violation on the request of Pakistani government since 2013.

The Pakistan government has requested data from Facebook about 3,963 accounts during last three years.In majority of these cases Facebook complied with the government and provided the user data to officials.

“Based on legal requests from the Pakistan Telecom Authority and Federal Investigation Agency, we restricted access to items that were alleged to violate local laws prohibiting blasphemy and condemnation of the country’s independence,” Facebook said in its government report.

According to fresh Facebook data, Pakistan has made 1,002 requests for information regarding 1,431 users of social media website during the last six month of 2016.The company complied with the two-thirds (67.5%) of these requests. Facebook also restricted six pieces of content for alleged blasphemy during these six month.

Data shows a steady rise in the Pakistan government’s request for data over last few years.During 2013, the PTA and FIA requested information about 210 user accounts. In response, the Facebook provided information on about half of the requests.

In 2014, the government sought data about 312 users but Facebook complied with less than half of those request.The compnay blocked 1827 pieces of content during this year which is highest in last four years.

In 2015, Pakistani government demanded data on 981 Facebook accounts and in over 60% cases the same was provided by the company. In addition, 60 pages were blocked for blasphemy and other offenses during the year.

In 2016, the government sought data about 2,460 users and in 66.4% cases the same was provided by Facebook. During the year, 31 pages were also blocked by Facebook for blasphemy and other offenses.

Pakistan is not the only country requesting data of users and restriction on content from Facebook.In fact, the country was ranked top 10 among those requesting such information as government around the world are putting pressure on social media network to provide user data.

During last six months of 2016, the highest such request came from the United States followed by India.

According to Facebook, the US government sought data of 41, 492 users from the company while India requested information about 9932 accounts.The US did not ask for blocking any content. India did make a request to block 719 content pieces on the basis of violation of its laws.

The Facebook defended its decision to cooperate with the governments saying: “We respond to valid requests relating to criminal cases. Each and every request we receive is checked for legal sufficiency and we reject or require greater specificity on requests that are overly broad or vague.”

“The vast majority of these requests relate to criminal cases, such as robberies or kidnappings. In many of these cases, the government is requesting basic subscriber information, such as name and length of service. Requests may also ask for IP address logs or account content,” the company said in its government report.

The spokesman told The News that company is educating people in Pakistan on its security tools to help keep their information secure.

The company said it was aware of feeling of insecurity among the Pakistani user about their possible fake profile especially after killing of a Mardan University student Mashal Khan last month over alleged blasphemy on Facebook.The company said it’s taking measures to provide a safe environment to its users in the country.

After the killing of Mashal Khan, a large number of Pakistanis had posted warning about their possible fake IDs that could be used to accuse them of blasphemy.

The spokesman said misrepresenting someone on Facebook was against the company policies, and the company had a dedicated team that’s tasked with helping to detect and block these kinds of scams.

The compnay has asked users to immediately report if they notice an impersonating profile.It directed users to use these links: ( https://www.facebook.com/help/181495968648557/ and https://www.facebook.com/help/www/207209825981040)

When contacted, a PTA official told The News that the authority receives public complaints about blasphemy and the same are forwarded to Facebook for restriction.“We are only regulators, we don’t undertake criminal proceedings against accounts found violating law. The criminal proceedings are carried out by FIA,” he said.

Shahzad Ahmad, country director of “Byets for All, Pakistan, an organization working for digital rights, criticized Facebook for blocking some legitimate political expression.“We understand that Facebook do have their own policies and principles but due to business dynamics, at times they cave in to state pressures.

Right now, we are witnessing the same in Pakistan, where several pages of legitimate political expression are being taken down, which had absolutely nothing to do with blasphemous content,” he said.

Ahmad believes Facebook should work with a multi stakeholder group in Pakistan to ensure that take down requests are dealt as per global human rights principles and standards and voices of dissent are not silenced and marginalized communities are not targeted.

The News International

May 4, 2017

Pemra revokes Bol TV licences

ISLAMABAD: As the interior ministry has turned down the security clearance of directors of Labbaik Pvt Ltd, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority has cancelled the satellite TV licences of Bol News and Bol Entertainment.

The interior ministry refused security clearance of the company’s directors Shoaib A. Shaikh, Ayesha Shoaib Sheikh, Viqas Atiq and Sarwat Bashir, and the decision was conveyed to Pemra.

A recent meeting, presided over by Pemra Chairman Absar Alam, took up the issue and made the decision in the light of the recommendations by the Council of Complaints, Sindh. The council had rendered its opinion after hearing the channel.

Pemra has directed Bol News and Bol Entertainment (Pak News) to surrender the original licences and clear all the outstanding dues.

The regulator has also issued instructions to PakSat, other distribution networks and cable operators to stop transmission of Bol News and Bol Entertainment (Pak News).

The meeting was attended by member Sindh, Sarfaraz Khan Jatoi, member KP, Shaheen Habibullah, member Punjab, Nargis Nasir, Information Secretary Sardar Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Chairman Dr Syed Ismail Shah.

The Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) expressed “satisfaction” over the decision by Pemra to revoke the licences of Bol TV being run by “crime proceeds,” said a statement on Wednesday.

“The PBA was shocked at the revelation that the proceeds of crime were being channelled to launch and finance media channels to buy influence and blackmail anyone who threatens to expose this criminal scam,” it said. “Hence the PBA decided to get involved to protect the integrity and sanctity of the media industry which is regarded as the fourth pillar of the state.”

The statement recalled the PBA move when it approached the Islamabad High Court for revocation of licences of Axact-backed channels and had since been “fighting” to prevent entry of “criminal money” into Pakistan media industry.

“Finally, today, on behalf of all electronic media industry of Pakistan, the PBA expresses satisfaction over the step finally taken by Pemra to revoke the licences being held by individuals who supervised fraud and extortion on an international scale,” the PBA statement said.

Dawn

The Express Tribune : PBA satisfied with revocation of Bol’s license

The Express Tribune :PEMRA revokes Bol News licence, operators asked to take channel off air

The News International: Testing times for media freedom

Dawn : World Press Freedom Day observed

The News International :Press Freedom Day observed across Pakistan

The Express Tribune : Right to awareness: Journalists mark Press Freedom Day

Business Recorder :World Press Freedom Day observed in Hyderabad

April 20, 2017

After one year of reinvestigation, no progress in the case of Shan Dahar’s killing

On 19 April 2016 Sindh Police announced they would reopen the investigation of the killing of Abb Takk Television journalist Shan Dahar at the urging of his family and local press groups, including IFEX member the Pakistan Press Foundation. A year later the investigation remains at a stand still, while threats against the family hint at efforts to obstruct progress. Shan Dahar’s story is an emblematic case for the IFEX No Impunity campaign 19 April 2017

TO:

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
President Mamnoon Hussain

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah
Governor of Sindh Muhammad Zubair Umar
Inspector General of Sindh Police Allah Dino Khawaja

Your Excellency,

IFEX, the global network of 110 organisations promoting and defending freedom of expression worldwide, writes to you on the occasion of the one year anniversary of the reinvestigation into the killing of AbbTakk television journalist Zakir Ali alias Shan Dahar, which occurred on 1 January 2014.

We are concerned with the fact that since the opening of the reinvestigation, little progress has been made and justice for Shan Dahar’s killing is no closer than when the investigation first launched. On the contrary, efforts to discover the true circumstances of the journalist’s death seem to have ground to a halt, while actions aimed at obstructing the investigation have increased.

Accordingly, the IFEX network calls on the relevant Pakistani authorities to ensure that the investigation is promptly restarted and conducted according to internationally recognised standards of transparency and impartiality.

Pakistan has become one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. Local IFEX member Pakistan Press Foundation has noted that since 2002, 73 journalists and media workers have been killed in the line of duty. Of these cases, only 5 have concluded with a conviction.

Crimes against journalists are particularly problematic, as they have a ripple effect that extends beyond silencing the individual, to suppressing societal truths essential for an informed citizenry and a healthy democracy. While some tentatively positive steps have been taken in recent years, including naming Pakistan as a pilot country for the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity and the draft bill for Journalists’ Protection and Welfare, the fact remains that the vast majority of these cases have gone unpunished.

This impunity perpetuates the cycle of threats, violence and intimidation in Pakistan and creates an environment where accountability for the perpetrators, as well as corrupt officials and private actors exposed by adversarial reporting, is absent. As a result, freedom of expression is restricted and the rule of law suffers.

The case of Shan Dahar provides Pakistan with a chance to change this bleak record and start holding perpetrators accountable for their crimes. Shan’s family members and local media groups have highlighted compelling evidence that his death was more than a mere accident, and likely a targeted killing linked to his journalistic reporting on the illicit sale of donated medicine in Larkana district. Additionally, there are indications that the initial investigation, which found Shan’s death to be accidental, was flawed and may have been influenced by external forces.

Recent events seem to confirm that powerful individuals may be actively seeking to ensure that the investigation does not progress. Of particular concern is the fact that the family of Shan Dahar has reported experiencing threats and harassment aimed at intimidating them from pursuing Shan’s case. The sister of Shan Dahar, Fauzia Sultana has also highlighted with irony that, “The police officer who conducted [the] flawed inquiry was appointed for reinvestigation and our concerns turned true when even after one year, no concrete report has been prepared or shared with us.”

Given these circumstances, we call on the relevant Pakistani authorities to resume the investigation and ensure that it is conducted in a thorough and impartial manner, free from outside influence. In addition, we request that they investigate any individuals responsible for the obstruction of justice, including those that threaten and harass concerned journalists, activists and the victim’s family members.

Such measures are the explicit responsibility of state authorities and have been reiterated in multiple UN resolutions, most recently in the Human Rights Council Resolution on the Safety of Journalists (A/HRC/33/L.6), passed in September 2016. The same resolution recommends a number of best practices for combatting impunity. Pakistan would be well served to take these into consideration to address this endemic issue in the country.

On the anniversary of the reinvestigation, we again urge officials to make this pursuit of justice an urgent priority for Sindh Police. The family of Shan Dahar deserves long-awaited answers and the cycle of impunity for the killings of journalists in Pakistan must come to an end.

IFEX

March 25, 2017

Journalists’ killings: Pakistan stands sixth among 20 deadliest countries

WASHINGTON: A recent report from the Committee to Protect Journalists has said 40 journalists have been killed in India and 60 in Pakistan in the last 25 years, reports foreign media.

These numbers merely indicate cases that have been reported. All in all, the report says 1,234 journalists have been killed worldwide since 1992. The highest number of casualties has been reported from Iraq, with killings of 179 journalists until February 2017.

India stands ninth on the 20 deadliest countries list as far as journalists’ killings are concerned. Pakistan stands at the sixth place.

The CPJ report states that the latest killing of a journalist was reported from the Philippines where Joaquin Briones from Remate was killed on March 13. One hundred and eight journalists have been killed in Syria so far. In this year alone, Taimoor Khan from Samaa TV was killed on February 12 in Karachi and Abdul Hakim Shimul from Samakal was killed on February 3 in Shahjadpur, Bangladesh. The report states that of the journalists killed, about 41 percent were war correspondents and 46pc were political correspondents. Twenty-one per cent of the slain journalists covered human rights and 20 percent covered corruption. Four per cent of the killed included business correspondents and two per cent sports journalists. Twenty percent covered culture and 16 percent crime.

The News

March 17, 2017

Pakistan Press Foundation concern over the criminal charges on Canadian Journalist

Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) in a letter to Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada has expressed serious concern over the criminal charges on Justin Brake, reporter and editor for The Independent.ca, for his reporting on the Indigenous occupation of the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric construction project in October 2016.

PPF Secretary General Owais Aslam Ali in his letter urged the government of Canada to end the prosecution of Brake for performing his professional duties; and to create a climate in the Canada where freedom of expression thrives.

According to Canadian Journalist For Free Expression (CJFE), Brake although reported the protest as a journalist and court had ordered specifying that protesters face legal action if they did not leave the site.

Brake left the site after being named in October 24, 2016, court order, issued by the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador that compelled authorities to arrest him if he remained at the mentioned site.

The allegations against Brake, are press freedom violations in Canada, and are a piece of a troubling pattern of legal action against media practitioner and journalists by police and security powers.

Brake faces up to 10 years in detention on punishment in these criminal charges.

Brake was the only journalist to cover the story from inside the occupied camp, bringing information of local, national and international importance to tens of thousands of readers and viewers.

November 27, 2015

Move to document threats to journalists

PESHAWAR: Media Matters for Democracy, an NGO, has planned to launch digital solution net ‘Muhafiz’ for media safety to avert possible life threats to journalists across the country.

Sharing details with mediapersons at Peshawar Press Club (PPC) on Thursday, the NGO’s executive director Asad Baig said that about 111 mediapersons had been killed in parts of the country so far and 74 of them were targeted in the line of duty.

He said that in most of the cases the victims had not shared information about life threats with anyone.

“In 70 cases no one has been nominated and data is not available in this regard,” he said. Flanked by PPC president Syed Bukhar Shah, Mr Baig said that the pilot project of the net would be launched in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in January 2016.

He said that‘Muhafiz’ was a Unesco-funded project which was initiated in collaboration with the National Press Club, Islamabad, and PPC to impart training to the media workers about digital solution to media safety.

The initiative, he said, was meant to introduce an easy, effective and secure way to document threats, threat actors and trends affecting media safety in the country.

During the training sessions, he said media workers would be sensitised to keep close liaison with respective bodies of journalists, local police and media houses through SOS messages.

Dawn

October 29, 2015

PPF report on safety of media workers paints sad picture

Over the last decade, media in Pakistan have experienced a remarkable growth and transformation in its role, however, safety and security of media practitioners continues to deteriorate.

According to research by PPF, since 2001, 70 journalists and media workers have lost their lives while pursuing their duties. Of these 45 have been deliberately targeted and murdered for practicing their profession, while others were killed while covering dangerous assignments. In only two cases have the murderers been convicted by the courts.

International press freedom and media safety watchdogs agree that Pakistan has become one of the deadliest countries for journalists. Pakistan ranks in the top 10 of the Impunity Index compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), of those countries that do not investigate and prosecute murders of journalists.

This reluctance to hold those who use violence against media professionals continues despite the damage to Pakistan’s reputation as a democratic country. Even in high profile cases such as that of murderous attack on Hamid Mir in 2014, and the murders of Saleem Shahzad in 2011 and Hayatullah Khan in 2006. In all three cases, high profile commissions were set up but the result has been nil.

Free media is essential to democracy in Pakistan as it promotes transparency and accountability, a prerequisite of sustained economic uplift. The impunity enjoyed by those who attack journalists is seriously hampering press freedom in Pakistan and all stakeholders, including media organisations, the government, and civil society should join hands to devise some mechanisms for ensuring safety of working journalists.

Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), a non-governmental organization, is an independent, media documentation and training centre, committed to promoting and defending freedom of expression recommends the following steps to control the alarming level of violence against media, and to end impunity for those who attack media practitioners and institutions.

Pakistan Today

April 30, 2015April 30, 2015

Under Threat: Journalism has never been more dangerous according to major new INSI report on media safety

April 29 – Journalism has never been more dangerous and journalists have never felt more unsafe, according to the findings of a major report published today by the International News Safety Institute.

Under Threat: The Changing State of Media Safety provides an in-depth, multi-media look at the main changes in the journalistic safety landscape over the past decade. It does this through more than 30 interviews with journalists who work in some of the world’s most dangerous places and the news executives who make the difficult decisions to deploy them.

These interviews were supplemented by a survey of nearly 200 media workers around the world and 10 years of INSI statistics on journalist casualties, revealing the most deadly countries to be a media worker.

“In 2003 we published Dying to Tell the Story, which paid tribute to those journalists killed in the early stages of the Iraq war. After witnessing the horrific murders of our colleagues in places like Syria and Iraq, the insecurity in Ukraine, and the rampant impunity that accompanies the killings of most journalists, INSI felt compelled to look at how different media safety was from a decade ago,” said INSI Director Hannah Storm.

“In an industry under threat from so many different sides, we wanted to know what the main changes and challenges were and what if anything had stayed the same. The results of our research were substantial and deeply sobering.”

The INSI report reveals that:

Journalism has never been more dangerous, and journalists have never felt so unsafe.

Terror groups are using new technologies to control the “information battlefield” and have declared war on journalists.

The frontlines in places like Syria and Iraq have become unclear, meaning journalists don’t know who to trust and where they can go safely.

For their part, news executives aren’t sure who to turn to for information and help when reporters go missing or get hurt in today’s chaotic conflicts.

Technology helps journalists deliver their messages, and in some situations is keeping them safer, but makes them increasingly vulnerable to the powerful entities that seek to track and harm them.

The advent of user-generated content has blurred the role of journalists and confused the industry and general public alike.

Audiences more than ever expect to be instantly and accurately informed about even the remotest corners of our world – pushing journalists into ever more dangerous places.

Please click here for the complete report.

November 19, 2014November 19, 2014

NA body seeks proposals to help families of slain journalists

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly standing committee on information and broadcasting on Tuesday directed the ministry to prepare proposals for the allocation of funds to help the families of journalists who lost their lives in the line of duty. The meeting of the committee was presided over by Marvi Memon.

Secretary Information Mohammad Azam informed the meeting that the ministry was planning to work on a proposal to allocate Rs200 million for the families of the journalists who received injuries or were killed in the line of duty.

“The government has not paid a single penny to the families of the journalists who were killed or injured while performing their duties,” the secretary said in reply to a question by Ms Memon. The members expressed concerns over the role of the ministry which they said had failed to compensate the families of the victims.

Mr Azam said the government had already abolished the secret fund which was also used to support the journalists’ community to overcome their health-related issues in the past.

Secretary information says no compensation has been paid so far to families of mediapersons

“We have a proposal for the allocation of funds in this regard and have already discussed it with the government’s financial adviser to process in this regard,” he added.

Ms Memon directed the officials to finalise the proposals as soon as possible, adding the committee would fully support the proposals.

On Monday, the secretary had also informed the Senate standing committee on information and broadcasting that the ministry had already forward a summary to the ministry of finance to allocate Rs200 million for this purpose.

The secretary told the NA committee that the ministry was also planning to arrange workshops for journalists working in conflict zones.

“We have allocated Rs100 million for the training of journalists covering development activities. The mediapersons will be trained on the standards of economic reporting,” he added. Ms Memon later said a separate meeting would be convened to discuss issues related to the rating system of private TV channels.

The committee directed the ministry to improve the quality of press releases being issued by the Press Information Department (PID) and its regional offices.

It also recommended deputing more cameramen/reporters on the foreign visits of the prime minister.

Iqbal Khattak, a Peshawar-based senior journalist and media safety expert, told Dawn that nine mediapersons and four assistants attached with different media organisations lost their lives so far in the current year.

“It is unfortunate that the government has failed to allocate funds at the federal level for the families of the journalists who were killed in the line of duty.”

He said the government provided financial support to the families of the police and military personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty.

“The government is not serious in punishing the killers of the journalists. The culprits target journalists due to the slim chances of being convicted and punished,” he said.

Mr Khattak demanded the government establish a special public prosecutor to investigate and proceed against the attackers on journalists across the country.

DAWN