2019

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.

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.

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.

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…

On October 27, 2019, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, the country’s nominally independent media regulator, issued an order posted on its official Twitter account prohibiting news anchors from expressing opinions, stating that anchors hosting news programs “should not appear in talk shows,” and saying that news organizations would be held responsible for “any biased,…

New York, October 17, 2019 — Last night, Pakistani immigration authorities denied entry to CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Steven Butler, citing a blacklist managed by the Ministry of Interior.

Washington, D.C., September 18, 2019 — Pakistan’s federal cabinet has approved an initiative to establish specialized courts aimed at resolving media-related issues, the government announced yesterday, according to news reports. The proposal drew swift condemnation on social media from human rights and press freedom organizations.

On August 6, 2019, Pakistani broadcaster Channel 24 HD cancelled the “Najam Sethi Show,” a news and political commentary program, after the broadcaster’s management received a phone call from an unidentified individual demanding the show be dropped, according to Najam Sethi, the show’s host, who spoke with CPJ on the phone.

New York, July 21, 2019 — Pakistan’s most popular news channel, the privately owned Geo News broadcaster, has been forced off the air or had its channel number abruptly changed in many parts of the country, according to reports on social media and the broadcaster’s managing director, Azhar Abbas, who spoke to CPJ via messaging…

Washington, D.C., July 9, 2019 — Pakistan authorities should immediately unblock broadcasts of privately owned news channels Capital TV, 24 News HD, and the Abbtakk News Network, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.