Pakistan / Asia

  
Statements
A facade with the names of the daily newspapers "The News International" and "Jang Daily" is seen Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on June 28, 2018. Jang Media Group CEO Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman was arrested today over a 34-year-old land dispute. (AFP/Aamir Qureshi)

CPJ demands Pakistan release Jang Media Group CEO Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman

Washington, D.C., March 12, 2020 — Pakistani authorities should immediately release Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman, the CEO, owner, and editor-in-chief of the Jang Media Group, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Alerts
Newspapers are seen in Karachi, Pakistan, on May 20, 2018. The Pakistan government recently suspended advertising to two independent media groups. (AFP/Rizwan Tabassum)

Pakistan government suspends advertising in 2 independent media groups

Washington, D.C., March 2, 2020 — Pakistani authorities should grant government advertising to outlets without regard for their editorial stances, and should lift the suspension of advertising in the Dawn and Jang media groups, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Alerts
An employee of a local television channel shows a picture of slain journalist Aziz Memon on his mobile, after a demonstration to condemn his killing, in Hyderabad, Pakistan, Monday, Feb. 17, 2020. The body of Memon was found dumped in a canal just hours after he went missing while on his way to work, police said Monday. His family said he was brutally killed but that they have no idea who was behind the slaying. (AP/Pervez Masih)

Pakistani journalist murdered after warning of threats against him

Washington, D.C., February 17, 2020 — Pakistan authorities should take swift action to launch a thorough and credible investigation into the murder of journalist Aziz Memon, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Memon, who worked for the privately-owned Sindhi TV channel KTN News and the Sindhi-language Daily Kawish newspaper, was found strangled to death…

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Alerts
People using computers are seen in Islamabad, Pakistan, on October 20, 2017. The country secretly passed regulations that restrict social media activity. (Reuters/Caren Firouz)

Pakistan government secretly passes strict social media regulations

Washington, D.C., February 13, 2020 — The Pakistan government should immediately roll back a set of social media regulatory measures that were passed in secret, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Alerts
Columnist Gul Bukhari is seen in Lahore, Pakistan, on June 22, 2018. Pakistani authorities recently threatened to file terrorism charges against Bukhari. (Reuters/Mohsin Raza)

Pakistan threatens journalist Gul Bukhari with terrorism charges, extradition from UK

Washington, D.C., February 12, 2020 — Pakistani authorities should withdraw their threats to bring terrorism charges against journalist Gul Bukhari, and should stop harassing journalists at home and abroad, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Features & Analysis
A Pakistani man watches a broadcast by Prime Minister Imran Khan on a smartphone in August 2018. Pakistani regulators are moving to regulate internet videos in measures that journalists fear will result in censorship or penalties. (AFP/Rizwan Tabassum)

Pakistan broadcast regulator proposes sweeping control of internet news programs

Munizae Jahangir knew she’d be prevented from putting Mohsin Dawar on her nightly “Spotlight” talk show on Aaj TV, an Urdu-language Pakistani station. Dawar, an elected member of the national assembly, is a leading figure of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), which aims to boost the rights of the Pashtun people clustered in Pakistan’s western…

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Alerts
Pakistani journalists protest censorship, holding a banner that reads: "nation wide protest of journalists," in Karachi, Pakistan, Tuesday, July 16, 2019. Pakistani journalists hold nationwide protests to denounce rampant censorship by the country's powerful security services, massive layoffs due to budget cuts and months-long delays in payments of their wages. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

Pakistani journalist sentenced to five years in prison under anti-terrorism laws

Washington, D.C., December 31, 2019—Pakistani authorities should immediately release and drop all legal proceedings against journalist Nasrullah Chaudhry, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Chaudhry was convicted under anti-terrorism laws and sentenced to five years in prison on December 21 over the alleged possession of banned literature, according to news reports.

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Alerts
Journalists in Sindh province pictured at a protest in 2019. Police on December 24 arrested Daily Jurat reporter Ajeeb Lakho. (Ejaz Korai)

Police in Pakistan’s Sindh province arrest Daily Jurat reporter Ajeeb Lakho

Washington, D.C., December 26, 2019—Police in Sukkur, a city in Pakistan’s Sindh province, should immediately release Ajeeb Lakho and ensure his safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Statements
A man reads a copy of the Dawn English-language newspaper in Karachi, Pakistan, on May 20, 2018. Demonstrators recently besieged Dawn's Islamabad offices and threatened its staffers. (AFP/Rizwan Tabassum)

Demonstrators block entrance to Dawn newspaper in Pakistan, call for staffers to be hanged

New York, December 3, 2019 — Pakistan authorities must prevent demonstrations against the Dawn newspaper from turning violent, and should investigate death threats made against its staffers, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Reports

Getting Away with Murder

CPJ’s 2019 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and their killers go free Published October 29, 2019 Somalia is the world’s worst country for the fifth year in a row when it comes to prosecuting murderers of journalists, CPJ’s 2019 Global Impunity Index found. War and political instability have fostered a deadly…

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