Although the press in Pakistan enjoyed greater freedom under its president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who took power in a military coup in 1999, journalists there still operate under pressure from the military, religious hard-liners, intelligence agencies, and the country’s antiquated blasphemy laws.
There were 138 journalists in prison around the world at the end of 2003 who were jailed for practicing their profession. The number is the same as last year. An analysis of the reasons behind this is contained in the introduction on page 10. At the beginning of 2004, CPJ sent letters of inquiry to…
New York, March 3, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns yesterday’s attack on the offices of Geo television in Quetta, the capital of southwestern Pakistan’s Balochistan Province. On March 2, about 20 rioters broke into the offices of the private Geo television station and set fire to administrative records, newspapers, and other materials, according…
New York, January 29, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the murder of Sajid Tanoli, a reporter with the regional Urdu-language daily Shumal, who was shot and killed today in the town of Manshera in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province Police filed murder charges today against Manshera’s local government head, Khalid Javed. The police…
New York, January 26, 2004—After authorities denied holding freelance journalist Khawar Mehdi Rizvi for weeks, on Saturday, January 24, Pakistan police formally charged him with sedition, conspiracy, and impersonation, senior police officials told Agence France-Presse (AFP). The maximum penalty for the charges is life imprisonment. Two other individuals were also charged with Rizvi, Allah Noor…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the prolonged detention of freelance journalist Khawar Mehdi Rizvi. We call on your government to confirm which agency is holding Rizvi, to make any charges against him public, or to release him immediately.
New York, January 12, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes the release of Marc Epstein and Jean-Paul Guilloteau, a reporter and photographer, respectively, from the French news magazine L’Express, from house arrest in Karachi today. CPJ, however, remains gravely concerned about Khawar Mehdi Rizvi, a local journalist working as the French journalists’ guide, who…
New York, December 22, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is concerned about two journalists who were arrested in Pakistan last week: Marc Epstein, a reporter with the French news magazine L’Express, and Jean-Paul Guilloteau, a L’Express photographer. CPJ is also investigating the whereabouts of Khawar Mehdi Rizvi, a local journalist working as their guide…