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Press Freedom

A sad spectacle

“… when Taliban gunmen killed nine people at the Serena Hotel, among them a member of the Kabul press corps, Sardar Ahmad, along with his wife and two of their young children… (the) attack shocked journalists here and they issued a collective statement saying they would boycott coverage of all Taliban statements and news releases for 15 days. In that

Attack on Hamid Mir damaged press freedom

Hamid Mir and the state

Hamid Mir and the stateThe outrageous attempt to murder Hamid Mir, arguably Pakistan’s most prominent TV anchor today, is just one more exposure of the utter breakdown of governance throughout Pakistan which, not to put too fine a point on it, is tantamount to the ultimate disaster of state failure. This is not because of this one outrage alone. Nor

Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir victim of attempted murder

VIENNA, April 21, 2014 – Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir, a renowned television presenter with the country’s Geo TV, was the victim of yet another attack on Saturday evening, which left him seriously wounded. Unidentified gunmen opened fire on Mir’s car as the journalist was driving on his way from the Karachi airport to the studios of Geo TV. Mir, who

World Congress opens with calls for more press freedom

CAPE TOWN (South Africa): International Press Institute (IPI), one of the world’s oldest global press freedom organisations, has expressed grave concern over recent threats to Pakistani media persons including senior journalists of The News and has urged the government to ensure protection of free speech in the country. “The recent threats to newsman will have chilling effects on media’s functioning.

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Brave journalists on the frontline

JOURNALISTS have always faced extreme danger in war zones. It’s a risk that comes with the job. ‘Wrong time, wrong place’ is an unavoidable hazard for frontline journalists. But recent years have seen a frightening escalation in targeted attacks against journalists. Many more journalists die every year in trouble spots making one pause, even worry. It is more heart-wrenching when

US deplores increasing attacks on journalists

ISLAMABAD: US Ambassador Richard Olson Tuesday met with a group of nine American journalists from the East-West Centre’s Pakistan-US Journalists Exchange programme. According to a statement of the US embassy, Olson discussed issues of press freedom and dangers to journalists in Pakistan. In his remarks to the group, Ambassador Olson said, “We are alarmed and deplore the increased attacks on

media freedom

Reporting under threat

If there is a bomb blast, there will be two kinds of people running towards the bombsite rather than away from it: the police and the media. Both have lost their lives due to the nature of their jobs. While the Pakistani police are still unsung and uncared for, the dangers to the Pakistani media we keep reading and hearing

In Pakistan, six convicted in Wali Khan Babar murder

In Pakistan, six convicted in Wali Khan Babar murderNew York, March 3, 2014–A Pakistani court on Saturday convicted six defendants for their roles in the murder of Wali Khan Babar, a Geo TV journalist who was shot dead in Karachi in January 2011, according to news

Putting Press Freedom at the Heart of Anti-Poverty Efforts

Umar Cheema, a Pakistani journalist, wrote often about the military. Then one night masked men hauled him from his car and during six hours of torture, sexual humiliation, and threats, they made it clear that the reporting should stop. Cheema not only refused to stop writing, he went public with his ordeal. “I wanted to send a message that I