Briefing: Pakistani journalists face Taliban, military threats
Journalists in Pakistan have come under rapidly escalating pressure as the military confronts Taliban militants in the northwest region of the country. Threats and attacks from both sides have made reporting from Taliban-controlled areas more dangerous.
Concern as Pakistan kidnapping case continues
New York, March 27, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists is greatly concerned about the safety of Khadija Abdul Qahaar, publisher of the Web site Jihad Unspun, who has been held by kidnappers in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas for more than four months.
Getting Away With Murder 2009
CPJ’s Impunity Index spotlights countrieswhere journalists are slain and killers go free New York, March 23, 2009 — The already murderous conditions for the press in Sri Lanka and Pakistan deteriorated further in the past year, the Committee to Protect Journalists has found in its newly updated Impunity Index, a list of countries where journalists…
Under pressure, Pakistani cable carriers drop news channels
New York, March 13, 2009–Amid widespread civil demonstrations and a growing political crisis, Pakistan’s largest independent news broadcaster, Geo TV, was removed today from cable carriers in five major cities, Managing News Editor Azhar Abbas told CPJ.
Journalist’s murder shatters peace negotiations in Swat
New York, February 18, 2009–The Pakistani government should immediately investigate today’s shooting murder of Geo TV and The News daily correspondent Musa Khankhel in the country’s northwest Swat valley, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Journalist kidnapped and released in Pakistan
According to the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, Noorul Hasan, Royal TV’s Peshawar bureau chief, was kidnapped on February 8, when a group of armed men in two cars stopped his car while he and his crew were returning from Swat in North West Frontier Province. The others were not harmed, but Hasan said he…
Attacks on the Press in 2008: Pakistan
Military leader Pervez Musharraf resigned as president in August under threat of impeachment, leaving a decidedly mixed legacy on press freedom. As his power waned in late 2007, Musharraf shut down all independent broadcasters for a time and then tried to impose a rigid “code of conduct” on the stations.
CPJ urges Obama to assert U.S. leadership on press freedom
Dear President-elect Obama: I am writing as chairman of the Committee to Protect Journalists to seek your leadership in reaffirming America’s role as a staunch defender of press freedom throughout the world. Journalists in many countries who risk their lives and liberty upholding the values of free expression look to the United States for support.