Chishti abducted, beaten: Challenge for Pakistan
Ali Chishti, who writes for The Friday Times, has gone public in Islamabad with details of his abduction and beating last Friday, August 30. Chishti is making the rounds of TV talk shows describing how he was picked up in Karachi by uniformed police driving a police vehicle, blindfolded, switched to another police vehicle, taken…
Pakistan Prime Minister should address abuse of journalists
New York, September 6, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Pakistani government to ensure that there is a full investigation into the abduction and beating of a journalist for The Friday Times. Ali Chishti, who writes on national security and counter-terrorism, told CPJ and local news outlets that he was abducted and beaten…
A fine and shifting line for Pakistan’s media
The government of Balochistan, the troubled southwestern province of Pakistan, registered a case against national television news channel ARY on Monday, August 26, after it aired a video clip of the destruction of the residence of Pakistan’s founder, Muhammed Ali Jinnah. The case was filed under Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorist Act of 1997, claiming that airing the…
Missing Baluch journalist found dead in Karachi
New York, August 22, 2013– Authorities in Pakistan should immediately investigate the murder of a Baluch journalist whose body was found in Karachi on Wednesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Haji Abdul Razzaq Baloch had been missing since March, according to news reports.
Pakistan should allow access for foreign journalists
Dear Prime Minister Sharif: We are writing to express our deep concern about the expulsion of at least three foreign journalists from Pakistan. While Pakistan remains a dangerous country for journalists, we are concerned that it is also fast becoming inhospitable to international correspondents.
Colleagues call for Walsh’s return to Pakistan
In our report, “Roots of Impunity: Pakistan’s Endangered Press and the Perilous Web of Militancy, Security, and Politics,” we included a long list of recommendations for the new government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to undertake to combat assaults on journalists and impunity in their murders. But there is a step Sharif could take immediately…
Sharif’s challenge: Work with Pakistani press, not against it
Pakistan’s general elections in May, though marred by violence that left more than 100 dead, was a reaffirmation of the people’s commitment to the democratic process. Voters proved once again that they can make decisions based on their own political interests–and not because of intimidation by those who would perpetrate violence. The media, with their…
Justice consistently eludes slain Pakistani journalists
May 30, 2013–On the second anniversary of the murder of Pakistani journalist Saleem Shahzad, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities to continue investigating and find his killers. An official commission of inquiry concluded in January 2012 that the perpetrators in Shazahd’s case were unknown, and there has been no further movement in the…