A friend remembers Saleem Shahzad
When I received an unexpected call early Monday morning from Saleem Shahzad’s wife, I knew I was in for some bad news.”Saleem has not come home since Sunday evening, when he was on his way to a television studio,” she said. She told me that she then remained as composed as possible until she received…
Sethi: Pakistani media challenging military
Pakistani journalist Najam Sethi was in the United States last week to talk about the challenges facing his country at a critical moment. Ever the contrarian, he also sees opportunities. “For the first time the media is challenging the military,” he told an audience of friends and colleagues at CPJ offices in New York. “That’s…
After bin Laden, a warning to foreign journalists
Security is always risky in Kabul, as it is in the entire Afghanistan-Pakistan theater. But the May 2 U.S. raid into Pakistan and killing of Osama bin Laden has raised the risk of retaliation against international representatives, including journalists.
A week after Pakistan justice pledge, journalist murdered
New York, May 10, 2011–The death of a journalist apparently targeted by militants in Pakistan today highlights the country’s entrenched climate of impunity for anti-press attacks, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari told a CPJ delegation on World Press Freedom Day that he would pursue justice for journalists killed on…
Mission Journal: CPJ tackles impunity in Pakistan
After months of planning and preparation, our CPJ team had assembled in Islamabad with an ambitious plan. On May 3, we had a meeting scheduled with President Asif Ali Zardari to discuss the country’s failure to investigate the killings of journalists. We also had positive indications that our delegation would be able to meet with…
Pakistan vows to pursue justice in journalist murders
Islamabad, Pakistan, May 3, 2011–Pakistan’s president committed to pursue justice for journalists killed in the line of duty, pledging to take steps to reverse the country’s rising record of impunity. A delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists met with President Asif Ali Zardari today to discuss the growing number of targeted attacks on journalists…
Another journalist targeted in Karachi as violence surges
New York, April 21, 2011–An outburst of violence took the lives of at least 20 people in a bomb blast and targeted attacks in Karachi on Wednesday and Thursday. The huge port city of more than 13 million people is caught in a gangland-style turf war made worse by sectarian and political conflict, according to…
Umar Cheema: ‘Their efforts to intimidate me backfired’
On September 4, 2010, Pakistani journalist Umar Cheema was abducted as he was going home after a dinner with friends near Islamabad. He was held captive for more than six hours, during which he was tortured by masked individuals. He was told to stop criticizing the government in the articles he wrote for the English-language…
Arrests made in Pakistani journalist’s January murder
New York, April 8, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes movement in the case of the murder of Geo TV reporter Wali Khan Babar in Karachi, and calls for a full prosecution to break a longstanding pattern of impunity in journalist murders in Pakistan. Police arrested five men they say carried out the killing in…