KARACHI:During one of his recent trips to the United States, Prime\u00a0Minister\u00a0Imran Khan said Pakistan\u2019s media was freer than in Britain. US President Donald Trump, too, around the same time, expressed envy, saying that Pakistan\u2019s premier was fortunate to have such a positive press.<\/p>\n

One of the reasons for this \u201cfreer\u201d press is believed to be the emphasis placed by the government and the state apparatus on \u201cpositive reporting\u201d. But another, more sinister, reason is that journalists are well aware of the consequences of not parroting the state narrative.<\/p>\n

Pakistan, which ranks\u00a0142 on the World Press Freedom index, is among the 13 countries where journalists are murdered and their killers go free due to \u201cunchecked corruption, ineffective institutions, and lack of political will to pursue robust investigations,\u201d the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has found.<\/p>\n

The\u00a02019 Global Impunity Index\u00a0examined journalists\u2019 murders that were carried out with complete impunity between September 1, 2009 and August 31, 2019. At least 16 such cases were found in Pakistan, and the country has regularly featured on the index since its inception twelve years ago.<\/p>\n

Of the murdered Pakistani journalists mentioned in the\u00a0CPJ database, seven belonged to TV channels, seven were associated with print and online editions whereas one of them was a freelancer.<\/p>\n

As for their provincial affiliation, seven of them were killed in Balochistan as compared to five in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and two each in Sindh and Punjab.<\/p>\n

This is because, senior journalist Hamid Mir said, in most cases, some powerful people were involved and the state failed to pursue them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe followed the kidnapping and murder of Hayatullah Khan [his body was found in 2006 from K-P] \u2026 a commission was formed and his wife recorded her statement\u2026 but then she was killed. His younger brother, who followed up the case, was also slain. Hence, I requested his only surviving brother to escape with his family,\u201d he told\u00a0The Express Tribune<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The anchorperson said he advised and suggested multiple governments on ensuring protection to journalists, including formation of a journalist\u2019s safety council and carry out legislation, but to no avail.<\/p>\n

CPJ\u2019s Steven Butler echoed similar sentiments, saying the foremost reason behind the lack of conviction for murder victims was lack of commitment on the part of investigative authorities to solve and prosecute the murderers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is often a result of attitudes at the local government level, but there\u2019s no pressure for resolution from provincial or federal authorities. Sometimes this may be due to suspicions of official involvement in the murders,\u201d Asia coordinator of\u00a0the New York-based group told\u00a0The Express Tribune<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn other cases, Pakistan\u2019s practice of essentially, buying off the victim\u2019s family with \u2018blood money\u2019 get in the way of court prosecution and conviction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Butler said the CPJ had recommended the appointment of a federal prosecutor to compel investigations.<\/p>\n

Asked if the newly-proposed media tribunals, which have been unanimously rejected by the media fraternity, could address the issue, he said, \u201cIt seems unlikely\u2026 the fear is that these tribunals would put further pressure on journalists to self-censor and have nothing to do with protecting journalists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mir agreed with Butler and said that \u201cit was just an arm-twisting tool, and cannot resolve the concerns regarding safety of journalists\u201d.<\/p>\n

Others on the list<\/strong><\/p>\n

The countries, which accounted for 222 of the 318 deaths in the last 10 years, \u201crepresent a mix of conflict-ridden regions and more stable countries where criminal groups, politicians, government officials and other powerful actors resort to violence to silence critical and investigative reporting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Somalia was the worst country for the fifth year in a row in the ranking based on deaths as a percentage of each country\u2019s population \u2013 25\u00a0unsolved\u00a0killings in a country of 15 million people.<\/p>\n

Syria was second and Iraq third on the list; the country with the largest number of unsolved killings was the Philippines with 41, followed by Mexico with 30.<\/p>\n

Other countries making up the 13 worst were India, Afghanistan, Brazil, Bangladesh, Russia, Nigeria and South Sudan.<\/p>\n