Pakistan / Asia

  
Murtaza Razvi (Dawn.com)

Murtaza Razvi, and what should come next

The ceremony for Murtaza Razvi was held in Karachi Friday. Even as more details of the killing of one of the Dawn Media Group’s most senior journalists emerge, it’s difficult to discern a motive. Several Pakistani media quoted an anonymous police official as saying, “We are investigating into the matter but it is a case…

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Pakistani journalist tortured, killed in Karachi

New York, April 19, 2012–Pakistani authorities must thoroughly investigate the death of prominent editor and writer Murtaza Razvi, determine a motive in his killing, and apprehend all those responsible, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Pakistani court says website blocking violates constitution

When CPJ covered the Pakistani government’s attempt to build a massive censorship system for the country’s Internet in February, we noted a key problem with such huge blocking systems: they are, at heart, democratically unaccountable.

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Video: Getting Away With Murder

CPJ’s María Salazar-Ferro names the 12 countries where journalists are murdered regularly and governments fail to solve the crimes. Where are leaders failing to uphold the law? Where are conditions getting better? And where is free expression in danger? (4:46) Read CPJ’s 2012 Impunity Index. And visit our Global Campaign Against Impunity and see how…

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Getting Away With Murder

CPJ’s 2012 Impunity Index spotlights countrieswhere journalists are slain and killers go free

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CPJ
At a protest against the murder of a journalist in Sao Paulo, Brazil, a sign reads: "Enough of violence, exclusion and impunity." (AP/Dario Lopez-Mills)

Brazil, Pakistan, India fail test on journalist murders

Brazil, Pakistan, and India–three nations with high numbers of unsolved journalist murders–failed an important test last month in fighting the scourge of impunity. Delegates from the three countries took the lead in raising objections to a U.N. plan that would strengthen international efforts to combat deadly anti-press violence.

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Journalist Hayatullah Khan, shown in the picture above surrounded by his family, was killed in 2006. (AP/Abdullah Noor)

Pakistan’s response to UNESCO shows true colors

In case there was any doubt about the stance of Pakistani authorities on the murder of journalists, UNESCO’s 28th biennial session offered an instructive insight. In addition to discussing the U.N. Draft Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity during the meeting, held in Paris in March, member states…

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Pakistani journalists rally against the killing of their colleague Mukarram Khan Atif. No arrests have been made in the case. (AP/Mohammad Sajjad)

With impunity, more danger ahead for Pakistani press

Pakistani journalists are under threat, and the public is paying the price. The most recent report from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan includes a detailed chapter on freedom of expression, which ties growing suppression to rising incidence of violence and threats against news media. Not coincidentally, Pakistan sits near the top of CPJ’s Impunity…

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A Pakistani ‘sword of Damocles’ in the making?

Given that it is usually punishable by death, “treason” is a dangerous word to bandy about. When it is applied to journalists, it is even more worrisome. We’ve seen that in Sri Lanka, which is in the throes of a backlash against a U.N. resolution on past human rights abuses. (See “Amid Sri Lankan denial,…

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Ahmed Rashid on U.S. policy in South Asia

At Columbia University on Monday evening, CPJ board member Ahmed Rashid held forth to a full house in a conversation with Steve Coll about U.S. foreign policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. If you’re reading this blog, there’s most likely no need to explain who Rashid is–or Coll, for that matter. The earliest reference I could…

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