Covering the New War
New York City, October 17, 2001–Two weeks after the September 11 attacks, the number of foreign journalists in Pakistan swelled to an estimated 700. The country’s location alongside Afghanistan, the first target of Washington’s “new war,” made Pakistan a natural destination for journalists. Pakistan An initially lax visa policy–allowing citizens of most Western countries and…
CPJ demands release of French journalist and Pakistani guides
New York, October 16, 2001—CPJ is deeply concerned by the prolonged detention of French journalist Michel Peyrard and his guides, Pakistani nationals Mukkaram Khan and Mohammad Irfan. Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban regime has accused all three of spying, a charge that carries the death penalty. Peyrard is a reporter for the weekly magazine Paris Match. Khan,…
Authorities release French reporter Aziz Zemouri
New York, October 16, 2001—CPJ welcomes the release of Aziz Zemouri, French reporter for the weekly Figaro Magazine, whom Taliban officials detained and subsequently handed over to Pakistani authorities after he crossed into Afghanistan last week. Zemouri was turned over to Pakistan’s border security forces at Ghulam Khan by Taliban authorities in North Waziristan Agency…
CPJ urges authorities to release French journalist Aziz Zemouri
New York, October 12, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the detention of Aziz Zemouri, a reporter for the French weekly Figaro Magazine. On October 11, Pakistan’s border security forces arrested Zemouri at Ghulam Khan in North Waziristan Agency, according to Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper. A French Foreign Ministry spokesperson told CPJ…
Journalists arrested without charges
Dear Governor Shah: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) respectfully asks you to order the immediate release of Rifatullah Orakzai, a reporter for the Peshawar-based English-language newspaper Khyber Mail; Muhammad Iqbal Afridi, a district correspondent based in Bara, Khyber Agency, who contributes to the national Urdu-language daily Al-Akhbar; and Syed Karim, a stringer for the national Urdu-language daily Khabrain.
TALIBAN CHARGE FRENCH JOURNALIST AND TWO PAKISTANI GUIDES WITH ESPIONAGE
October 10, 2001, New York—CPJ is deeply concerned by the ruling Taliban’s announcement that journalist Michel Peyrard and his guides, Mukkaram Khan and Mohammad Irfan, will be tried on charges of espionage. Peyrard, a French national, is a reporter for the weekly magazine Paris Match. Khan, a Pakistani, is the regional correspondent in Mohmand Agency…
American journalists threatened by protesters
New York, October 10, 2001—Susan Taylor Martin, a reporter for the St. Petersburg Times, and Jamie Francis, a photographer for the same paper, were threatened and harassed by protesters angered by the recent U.S.-led bombing campaign in neighboring Afghanistan. The two were reporting in Sakot, a town in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province, when they…
TALIBAN ARREST FRENCH JOURNALIST AND TWO PAKISTANI GUIDES
New York, October 9, 2001—CPJ is deeply concerned about the detention of French journalist Michel Peyrard and his two Pakistani guides in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. A Taliban official has accused Peyrard, a reporter for the magazine Paris Match, of spying. The Afghan Islamic Press (AIP), a Pakistan-based news agency with close links to the Taliban, reported…