Journalist and activist Muhammad Zada Agra fatally shot in Pakistan
Washington, D.C., November 16, 2021– Pakistan authorities must thoroughly and impartially investigate the killing of Muhammad Zada Agra and hold the perpetrators accountable, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On November 8, two unidentified men fatally shot Agra, who covered politics, corruption, and the activities of local drug cartels and criminal groups on his…
Killers of journalists still get away with murder
No one has been held to account in 81% of journalist murders during the last 10 years, CPJ’s 2021 Global Impunity Index has found. By Jennifer Dunham/CPJ Deputy Editorial Director Published October 28, 2021 Somalia remains the world’s worst country for unsolved killings of journalists, according to CPJ’s annual Global Impunity Index, which spotlights countries…
Pakistani journalist Shahid Zehri killed in targeted car explosion
Washington, D.C., October 12, 2021– Pakistan authorities must thoroughly and swiftly investigate the killing of Shahid Zehri, hold those responsible to account, and do everything in their power to protect the safety of members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On October 10, Zehri, a reporter for the privately owned news…
Pakistan authorities detain, investigate journalists Amir Mir and Imran Shafqat
Washington, D.C., August 10, 2021 — Pakistan authorities should immediately drop their investigations into journalists Amir Mir and Imran Shafqat, and cease harassing members of the press in retaliation for their coverage of public institutions, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 7, officers with the Federal Investigation Agency arrested Mir, CEO of…
Pakistani journalists with BOL News assaulted covering hotel gathering during COVID-19 lockdown
On July 31, 2021, employees at the Peshawari Chapli Kebab Hotel, a hotel and restaurant in the Shah Faysal colony of Karachi city in the southern Sindh province assaulted, harassed, and obstructed the work of four journalists and media workers with privately owned news channel BOL News, according to a BOL report and a video…
Pakistan’s Punjab Provincial Assembly passes bill targeting journalists
Washington, D.C., July 9, 2021 — Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar and Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi should amend proposed legislation that threatens press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On June 29, the Punjab Provincial Assembly passed the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab Privileges (Amendment) Act, 2021, a bill that empowers the speaker…
Pakistan journalist Nadeem Malik summoned over political reporting
Washington, D.C., July 6, 2021 – Pakistan authorities should cease harassing journalist Nadeem Malik and refrain from summoning him over his work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 2, the counterterrorism wing of the Federal Investigation Agency issued a summons to Malik to appear for questioning today, according to news reports, the…
Pakistani journalist Muhammad Bilal Ghauri summoned over YouTube videos
Washington, D.C., June 22, 2021 – Pakistani authorities should cease harassing journalist Muhammad Bilal Ghauri and allow all members of the press to freely report on state institutions, including the military, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Today, M. Waseem Sikandar, a sub-inspector at the Federal Investigation Agency’s Cyber Crime Reporting Centre in Islamabad,…
At-risk journalists who must flee home countries often find few quick and safe options
In 2018, journalist Mohammad Shubaat was in Daraa, Syria, caught between advancing forces aligned with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the closed borders of Israel and Jordan. Despite the dire threat to Shubaat and many of his colleagues, it would take over a year of intense negotiations with some 20 countries by the Committee to…
Pakistan: Press freedom organizations demand re-investigation of the murder of journalist Zubair Mujahid
Amsterdam, 16 June 2021 – A new report on the murder of Pakistani journalist Zubair Mujahid finds significant errors in the official police investigation. Leading press freedom organizations now call for an independent re-investigation of the case to bring the killers to justice. The report “Breaking the Silence: An Investigation into the Murder of Zubair…