Pakistan: CPJ urges kidnappers to release Daniel Pearl (January 28, 2002) New York, January 30, 2002—In response to his captors’ demands and threats against Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl’s life, CPJ called again for the reporter’s release in a statement today. “We appeal to the captors of Danny Pearl to release him immediately,…
New York, January 28, 2002—CPJ is deeply concerned about Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who has been missing in Pakistan since January 23. A previously unknown group stated in an e-mail to news organizations that they had abducted Pearl and accused him of working for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. “Daniel Pearl is a…
Read first-hand accounts by journalists covering the war in Afghanistan. • December 21, 2001—The New York Times reported that on December 20, Afghan tribal fighters detained three photojournalists working for U.S. news organizations. The journalists were detained for more than one hour, apparently at the behest of U.S. Special Operations forces in the Tora Bora area….
Fisk, his Independent colleague Justin Huggler, driver Amanullah, and translator Fayyaz Ahmed were driving past Kila Abdullah, near the Afghan border, when their car broke down. A large crowd gathered around the car and started throwing stones and hitting Huggler and Fisk. As the two reporters tried to board a bus, Fisk was dragged off,…
New York, December 10, 2001—On December 8, Robert Fisk, Middle East correspondent for the London daily Independent, was severely beaten by Afghan refugees in the village of Kila Abdullah in western Pakistan. Fisk, his Independent colleague Justin Huggler, driver Amanullah, and translator Fayyaz Ahmed were driving past Kila Abdullah, near the Afghan border, when their…
New York, July 11, 2001 — CPJ is dismayed that local authorities in Abbottabad have not dropped blasphemy charges brought against journalists from the Urdu-language daily Mohasib, even though officials at both the provincial and federal levels have issued statements noting that these charges are groundless. On May 29, Mohasib published an article entitled “The…
Tuesday, October 30, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that the Pakistani government is delaying the visa applications of Indian journalists, as well as journalists of Indian origin holding citizenship from Western countries. Some of these journalists have told CPJ that visa applications submitted in mid-September are still awaiting approval. Officials at Pakistan’s…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is extremely concerned by your government’s apparent refusal to process visa applications from journalists of Indian descent. Indian journalists, as well as journalists of Indian origin holding citizenship from Western countries, have told CPJ that visa applications submitted in mid-September are still awaiting approval. Officials at Pakistan’s High Commission in London have informed journalists of Indian origin that the Information Ministry office in Islamabad must clear their applications before they can be approved. Meanwhile, non-Indian journalists typically receive visas within days, if not hours, of submitting their applications.
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…
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…