Blacklisted in Baluchistan
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made a series of commitments to safeguard press freedom during a meeting with a CPJ delegation last week. Among them was a pledge to speak out in support of media freedom and against attacks on journalists, particularly in high-conflict areas like Baluchistan.
CPJ condemns attack on Pakistani journalist Raza Rumi
New York, March 28, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalist condemns today’s attack on the senior Pakistani journalist Raza Rumi in Lahore, which killed his driver. Unidentified gunmen fired on Rumi’s car near the Raja Market neighborhood after he left the studio following his TV show. Rumi and his guard were injured, according to news reports.…
Mission Journal: Hope in Pakistan
For the last decade, Pakistan has been one of the world’s most dangerous countries for the media. At least 46 journalists have been killed, 24 of them murdered for the “crime” of covering the intelligence services, the Taliban, separatists in Baluchistan, or the criminal underworld. The result is a legacy of self-censorship and fear among…
Prime minister pledges justice, security for journalists in Pakistan
Islamabad, March 19, 2014 — In a wide-ranging meeting today with a delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif pledged to continue to expand Pakistan’s media freedoms and address the insecurity plaguing the country’s journalists. He also promised to ease visa and travel restrictions on foreign journalists working in the county.
Editor attacked in Pakistan-administered Kashmir
On March 7, 2014, at least 20 assailants stormed the offices of Chingari, an Urdu-language daily based in Mirpur, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, according to local reports and local press freedom groups, including the Freedom Network and the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists.
In Pakistan, six convicted in Wali Khan Babar murder
New 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 reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the convictions–the first in the murder of a Pakistani journalist–but…
Attacks on the Press in 2013: Pakistan
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif won general elections in May, though the vote was marred by violence, including bomb blasts targeting polling stations. The Pakistani media’s nonstop election coverage made news organizations full-fledged partners in the democratic process, intrinsic to the first civilian transfer of power after the completion of a five-year term by a democratically elected…